"O" Is For More About The "Oresteia"! Quiz

Answer: Agamemnon

After Helen was abducted to Troy, Agamemnon gathered his ships and men and prepared to set sail. The wind, however, would not blow. Even though Agamemnon was a great warrior and powerful man, he was often arrogant and foolish. Apparently the reason the wind would not blow was because Agamemnon had angered Artemis in some way; there are several stories that try to explain exactly what happened. Artemis feared for the loss of Greek life in war. In addition she was angry because Agamemnon had sacrificed one of her deer before trying to leave. Even though it was expected that a suitable sacrifice be made, Agamemnon went too far. He claimed he was a better hunter than Artemis, which got him into a pack of trouble.

A prophet said that the only thing that could make the wind blow again was a human sacrifice. Agamemnon was expected to sacrifice his oldest daughter, Iphigenia, which he did. This - at least in part - is what helped to bring about the plan for Agamemnon's murder when he arrived back home after fighting for ten years in Troy.

Answer: Agamemnon

Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae, and Menelaus, the king of Sparta, were brothers who were married to sisters - Clytemnestra and Helen respectively. When Helen was abducted by Paris and taken to Troy, many of the Greek men were duty bound to help Menelaus get her back, as they had blindly taken a loyalty oath to Helen's husband before he was even named. Agamemnon became involved because he wanted to defend his family honor, as well as Greek honor, he was the most powerful Greek leader, and had the most ships.

Really, both Agamemnon and Menelaus had a difficult path to follow, as they belonged to the House of Atreus, which had been cursed due to the past actions of their father. Nevertheless, they both survived the long, ten-year war in Troy, with Agamemnon returning home to an absolutely furious wife, and Menelaus winning Helen back.

Answer: Agamemnon

Clytemnestra made a big deal about welcoming her husband Agamemnon home, which appeared to make her the bigger person since Agamemnon also brought home his mistress, Cassandra the prophetess. But she had been angry with him for ten years, and, in addition, had taken a lover who also held a huge grudge against her husband. Her lover, Aegisthus, was Agamemnon's cousin.

Some accounts say that Clytemnestra murdered her husband, while others say the deed was carried out by her lover, Aegisthus. In his play, Aeschylus wrote that Clytemnestra killed her husband in the bathtub.

How did the ordinary people of Argos react to these circumstances? Did Clytemnestra have the right to murder her husband? The answer is yes, she really did. According to the Greek code of justice, murder cried for revenge. In fact, if a person (Iphigenia) was murdered (and some believed she had been), it was the duty of someone in the family to avenge the death. And so on and so on. It was a terrible cycle of revenge. And, if the gods weren't satisfied with the act of vengeance, there was a harsh price to pay.

Answer: Agamemnon

It is necessary to briefly discuss the curse on the House of Atreus in order to explain the hatred that Aegisthus felt. It was an old feud with unspeakable acts. Agamemnon's father, Atreus, had served his brother's sons to him at a banquet, and he had eaten their flesh. Of course, it is easy to understand why Aegisthus was upset, but honestly Agamemnon didn't have anything to do with that decision. Struggles over power and other human relationships are nothing new.

Agamemnon was killed by either Aegisthus or Clytemnestra, however, Aegisthus claimed that he was the one to orchestrate the plan. This made Aegisthus as culpable as Clytemnestra was in this situation, so the vengeance had to be dealt to him too.

Answer: The Libation Bearers

When the story began, Orestes had been living in exile for quite some time; he was twenty years old. The god Apollo told him that it was time for him to return to Argos in order to seek vengeance for his father's death - so he went. Failure to do so would bring terrible horror. Orestes returned to Argos with his cousin, Pylades, who served to remind him of his duty when necessary.

Clytemnestra and Aegisthus had been ruling Argos since Agamemnon's murder, and his remaining two sisters were there as well. Electra, who saved Orestes' life when their father was murdered by sending him away, was living with her mother, but was basically reduced to servitude. Their other sister, Chrysothemis, didn't seem to have much if any impact on the story. She represents the normal plight of women in much of ancient Greece - to be neither seen nor heard.

Answer: The Libation Bearers

When Orestes returned to Argos, the first thing he did was go to his father's grave. There he found his sister Electra, and, even though the two had been separated for years, they immediately recognized each other.

Electra had been sent to her father's grave by their mother, who had been having bad dreams and thought that pouring a libation on the grave would help. Many things, such as wine, olive oil or honey were used by the ancient Greeks as libations. The purpose of pouring libations on the grave of the dead was to either give an offering in a person's memory, or give honor to the deities. The name "The Libation Bearers" is a reference to the offerings that Electra and Orestes took to their father's grave.

Together Electra and Orestes made a plan to avenge their father's death, and to kill both their mother and her lover. Orestes and Pylades were to arrive at Clytemnestra's palace as messengers to deliver the ashes of Orestes who they planned to say was killed in a chariot race. This was to give the men the opportunity to seek their revenge.

Answer: The Libation Bearers

When Orestes went to his mother's palace, she was the one who let him in; ironically, she did not recognize him, which gave him the opportunity to complete his mission. He killed Aegisthus first, and even though his mother tried to talk him out of it, he killed her too. It was a good thing that Pylades was there, as Orestes hesitated to murder his mother.

Orestes was now in an expected pickle; he did what Apollo told him that he must do, but now he must face the expected punishment for the murder that he had committed.

Answer: The Libation Bearers

According to the Greek code of justice, murder cried for revenge. Orestes sought revenge for his father's death and did what he was told to do - which was commit another murder. But who was to avenge his mother's murder?

The cycle of revenge carried on until there was no one left to seek revenge for the last killing. In this case - as was the case with Orestes - terrible creatures from the underworld came to seek the last revenge. They were fearsome beings, women who had snakes for hair, dog heads, and bat wings. They carried brass-studded whips, and their victims died a terrible death in torment.

Chased by the Furies, Orestes' guilt over the death of his mother caused him to temporarily become insane.

Answer: The Eumenides

Another name for the Furies was Eumenides, hence the name of this play in the trilogy. At the beginning of the play, the Furies chased Orestes into Apollo's temple, but Apollo had caused them to go to sleep. Apollo appeared to agree with Orestes and give him support, however, there was very little he could do in this situation. It was simply not within the realm of his powers and authority.

He did, however, ask the god Hermes to take Orestes to Athens to see if Athena could intervene. The screaming ghost of Clytemnestra awakened the sleeping Furies, and they continued their chase.

Answer: The Eumenides

Orestes traveled to the Temple of Athena on the Acropolis in Athens and bowed before her statue, pleading for help. By now the Furies have arrived, and were preparing to seek their revenge. When confronted with Orestes' dilemma, however, it was apparent that Athena understood his argument. He was only doing what he was supposed to do. But she also listened to the Furies, whose right it was to seek vengeance in family matters.

Athena decided to call the people of Athens together and hold the first homicide trial in history. Apollo spoke for Orestes, and the Furies were also heard. The jury was tied, but Athena cast the deciding vote for acquittal.

Answer: The Eumenides

The Furies were furious about Athena's decision to acquit Orestes. They threatened to poison the city and torment all of the people of Athens. Athena, however, had a plan for them as well. She offered that they become patrons of Athens and help protect the city. In this capacity they would no longer be feared, but respected. Acts of revenge would be set aside, except in war.

It was at this point that they became the "Gracious Ones" or "Venerable Ones", and took on a major role in the city's success.

Answer: The Eumenides

It is well known that Athens had the first democracy in history, however, they also had the first law court and jury system. The story told in the "Oresteia" was a way of explaining how it all came into existence more than it was a story about what happened to Orestes. The trilogy ended with Orestes returning to Argos to take his rightful place as King.

Other writers, however, disclose that when Orestes became King of Argos, one of his first acts was to kill his half-brother, the son of Clytemnestra and Aegisthus. He later was said to have died of a snakebite. Is that a veiled reference to the Furies getting even after all?