Moral values taken over by arrogance and revenge: The Oresteia Trilogy

In this essay, I will talk about the violence, traumas, and happenings in the two plays from the Oresteia
Trilogy, Agamemnon and The Libation-Beares. These plays include a family tragedy. In Agamemnon, we
read about a king who kills his daughter to appease the goddess Artemis so that he can conquer Troy.
And a wife who takes revenge on her husband because of the sacrifice of their daughter. In The Libation-
Beares, the son and daughter of Agamemnon, Orestes and Electra, seek revenge for their father's
murder. What will happen if a father sacrifices his daughter? A wife takes revenge on her husband by
killing him? And a daughter and a son kill their mother because of that?

Firstly, the play "Agamemnon" works out the revenge of Agamemnon’s wife, Clytemnestra, for their
daughter’s death. The main themes are justice and revenge. Clytemnestra is a cunning and manipulative
woman. She is against hegemonic masculinity and is a strong, assertive, man-like woman figure.
Agamemnon is a character who is false by killing his daughter. His hubris leads to tragic consequences.
During the Trojan War, Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter so that he could conquer Troy. He returns
home victorious from the Trojan War with Casandra as a treasure. When Clytemnestra finds out that her
daughter is sacrificed, she decides to take revenge and kill her husband. Clytemnestra, with the help of
her lover Aegisthus, murders Agamemnon and Cassandra upon their return. Clytemnestra justifies her
actions as retribution for Agamemnon's sacrifice. As a result of her revenge, in the second play, 'The
Libation Notes' her children, Orestes and Electra kill her. Apollo orders Orestes to avenge his father and
the Chorus encourages Orestes to kill his mother. One does something good by doing something bad.
The portrayal of Orestes' likeness to Hamlet is seen in the story because of his sense of hesitation.
Orestes makes a plan with her sister and first kills Aegisthus, then kills Clytemnestra at the palace.

On the other hand, talking about a series of retributive murders' we see tit-for-tat violence. One act of
violence gives rise to another. Agamemnon had to choose between her daughter's life and his ambition
to conquer Troy. He chose to sacrifice his daughter for the goddess Artemis. After this tragic death,
Clytemnestra gets furious and decides to kill her husband Agamemnon. Clytemnestra justifies her act.
She kills him with Aegisthus who has a big passion for the throne. In The Libation-Beares Orestes and
Electra take revenge on their mother. Orestes makes a plan with his sister Electra. He wants to kill
Clytemnestra, his mother because she killed their father. Shed blood for blood shed. As a descent guy, he
wants to follow the footsteps of his father. His duty is to protect the sanctity of blood. The help of Electra
seems to be bowing to the demands of hegemonic masculinity. And what Orestes has done is a
fundamental conflict between the forces of vengeance and justice.

All of these happenings traumatized the characters. Clytemnestra suffers from the betrayal and
abandonment she felt when Agamemnon sacrificed their daughter in the play 'Agamemnon'. Even if she
is victorious after killing Agamemnon, her traumatic memories are not easily removed because she has a
mental wound. I think in the play 'The Libation-Beares' when Clytemnestra sees a dream where she gave
birth to a snake, which she likeness to Orestes is a symbol of her trauma because of killing her husband.
Her mind is not at ease. Secondly, in 'The Libation-Beares' the part where Orestes and Electra ask help
from their father while he is dead and appears like a ghost is a representation of their traumas. They are
both traumatized by the murder of their father.

In conclusion, Aeschylus' masterpieces, "Agamemnon" and "The Libation-Bearers," cover the themes of
vengeance, justice, and revenge. We read about the consequences of hubris and betrayal. As I
mentioned before, it deals with a series of retributive murders which is rich in dramatical potential as a
Greek Tragedy. In "Agamemnon," the tragic downfall of Agamemnon at the hands of Clytemnestra is the
cause of the events that unfold in "The Libation-Bearers."