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Aeschylus: Oresteia

By Aeschylus
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Aeschylus' Oresteia dramatizes a relentless cycle of vengeance within a single family, where each generation is compelled to avenge the previous one's bloodshed. The lines between right and wrong blur in this unforgiving system.

The narrative culminates with Orestes, who kills his mother to settle the score, leading to a resolution that combines divine insight and legal process. This ushers in a new era of justice, stabilising both family and society, set against the backdrop of ancient Athens.

The trilogy is celebrated for its majestic poetry and theatrical grandeur, marking the pivotal shift from myth to history.
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Format: Hardback
$71600

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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Ideal for readers interested in classical literature, ancient Greek tragedy, and theatre studies.

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Aeschylus' Oresteia is a tragedy of inescapable killing within one family. This new and close translation tries to preserve its theatrical and poetic qualities: introductory and explanatory matter emphasizes the interconnection of scenes, ideas, and language which distinguishes this work.

This new and close translation of Aeschylus' Oresteia preserves its theatrical and poetic qualities.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Aeschylus: Oresteia is a tragedy of inescapable killing within one family, such that each generation must avenge it in kind. Right and wrong are ambiguous in this harsh system. Their conflict is resolved, and the family saved from extinction, in the case of Orestes, the latest and matricidal killer.

The gods' wisdom and the human process together inaugurate a way of just conduct which will ensure stable families and community; and the exemplary setting for this transition from the mythic to the historical is Aeschylus' own city of Athens.

The Oresteia is majestic as theatre and poetry; its recent successful return to the stage has confirmed its very high place in world drama. This new and close translation tries to preserve these qualities: introductory and explanatory matter emphasises the interconnection of scenes, ideas, and language which distinguishes this unique work, the only trilogy to survive from Greek tragedy.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780198149675

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 22 August 2002

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Oxford University Press

Illustration: 1 map

Contributors:

  • Translated by Christopher Collard

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 21.0mm

Width: 145.0mm

Height: 224.0mm

Weight: 476g

Pages: 312

Collections

Aeschylus Arts & Culture Education & Reference Non-Fiction

About the Author

Christopher Collard was Professor of Classics at the University of Wales, Swansea from 1975 until his retirement in 1996.

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