Olivera1 Diego Olivera 997801035 Professor Patrick Ancient and Mediaeval Literary Modes - VIC201Y December 20, 2010 Tragedy and Color in theOresteia TheOresteia, one of the oldest pieces of literature, not only ends the life of Agamemnon, Clytemnestra and Aeghistus but also the deathly curse which afflicts the House of Atreus -to which they belong to. This curse, however, has many similarities from generation to generation, such as the killing of children to serve a higher purpose - for Tantalus, this was to feed the gods, while for Atreus this was to taunt Thyestes; this essay focuses on the parallels between the three plays of theOresteiaby focusing on the nature of tragedy with respect to Agamemnon, the libation bearers, the Furies and finally Orestes. This analysis and comparison, using the plays as separate dramas and as a trilogy, shows repeated tragedies linked directly to the characters from the titles by unifying the title to denote tragedy -for instance, theAgamemnonis directly tied to Agamemnon’s death. The idea of tragedy is repeated four times, once for each play and a fourth time for the trilogy as a whole; each title -regardless of the play or the trilogy- further provides a dualistic nature to tragedy, as this tragic outcome only affects one party -although theLibation Bearershas a much stronger tragic component -Orestes, having acted as a hero, is nonetheless punished by the Furies’ haunting. Furthermore, this is to then be used to speak of each play as a stand-alone play -specifically as tragedies, but also as a part of theOresteiaand as a link to the next play -for instance, the chorus
Olivera2 announcing Orestes would have his revenge leads to theLibation Bearers. The use of imagery in colors is to also be analyzed within theAgamemnonand theEumenidesto show continuity through Agamemnon’s hubris and the Erinyes’ robes -denoting that godliness can only be handled by deities. Finally, the essay concludes by interpreting the Oresteiaplays as linear -each leading to the next, ignoring the yearly leaps to accentuate the conclusion and how this would have an impact upon the audience -the order in which the plays were performed not only told three individual tragedies but also concluded stories from the Golden Age of ancient Greece. In theAgamemnon, the return of the king with Cassandra as his geras amplifies the idea of war prizes, which were customary after looting a city. King Priam of Troy had fifty children; Cassandra, his daughter and prophetess, was the first to see her brother Hector’s corpse after Achilles killed him. Agamemnon taking Cassandra as a concubine makes theAgamemnonmore tragic because of her cursed prophecies -the fact no one believes her prophecies until it is too late makes Agamemnon’s death not only more
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