SOURCE: "The Oresteia of Aeschylus," in Drama Survey, Vol. 4, Summer, 1965, pp. 149-58.

In this essay, which was originally delivered as an address in 1963, Levy analyzes the problem of good and evil as presented in the Oresteia.

The unending fascination of Greek drama, both in its original form and in modern adaptations, is constantly confirmed here in the United States and abroad by stage presentations. As countless lectures, symposia, and articles attest, the ancient Greek drama off-stage serves as a plentiful source of serious discourse for scholars and thinkers of our own time. The reason is obvious: the great Greek dramaturgists discerned and presented in striking form some of the most crucial problems with which thoughtful human beings of all ages and all cultures must perforce concern themselves. And so it is with the Oresteia, the great trilogy of Aeschylus: the Agamemnon, the Libation-Bearers, and the Eumenides.

The Oresteia...