79- Oresteia: What Goes Around Comes Around

Agamemnon comes home to find consequences waiting for him in Argos. This sets off a chain reaction resulting in a cycle of violence swirling around Orestes, son of Agamemnon. We get scenes of Furies chasing him from Argos to Athens where his fate will get decided by a trial- with Apollo's only contribution being an attack on all women...

Time period: 1192 BCE onwards

Relevant individuals:

• Agamemnon, King of Mycenae
• Clytemnestra, Queen of Mycenae
• Aegisthus, lover of Clytemnestra
• Orestes, son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra
• Electra, daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra
• Athena (Minerva), Goddess of Wisdom
• The Furies (Eumenides)

Sources for this episode:

• Aeschylus (1977), The Oresteia. Translated by R. Fagles. London: Penguin Books Ltd.
• The Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica (date unknown) Zygote (online) (Accessed 27/08/2024).
• Frazer, J. G. (1921), Apollodorus: The Library (Volume I). London: William Heinemann.
• Frazer, J. G. (1921), Apollodorus: The Library (Volume II). London: William Heinemann.
• Graves, R. (1981), Greek Myths: Illustrated Edition. London: Cassell Ltd.
• Ovid (1968), Metamorphoses. Translated by M. M. Innes. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd

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• Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Erinyes (online) (Accessed 27/08/2024)

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