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The Oresteia Study Guide & Plot Synopsis

This Study Guide consists of approximately 58 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The Oresteia.
This section contains 651 words
(approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page)
Purchase our The Oresteia Study Guide

The Oresteia Summary & Study Guide Description

The Oresteia Summary & Study Guide includes comprehensive information and analysis to help you understand the book. This study guide contains the following sections:

This detailed literature summary also contains Topics for Discussion and a Free Quiz on The Oresteia by Aeschylus.

The Oresteia Plot Summary

Preview of The Oresteia Summary:

This trilogy of plays, written a number of years B.C.E., dramatizes one of the earliest, most culturally significant myths of Ancient Greek civilization—how a series of revenge/power-motivated murders in the family of King Agamemnon of Mycenae eventually leads to the establishment of democratic (as opposed to natural) justice. One of the few surviving complete examples of Classical Greek drama, the trilogy is populated by archetypal characters, whose actions explore themes relating to the nature and purpose of revenge, and the relationship between humanity and spirituality (the gods).

The Oresteia is set several years after the Trojan War, in which Agamemnon, the King of Mycenae and a general in the Greek army, fought alongside other Greek kings/generals to destroy the city of Troy. They were seeking revenge on Paris, a prince of Troy, for his having kidnapped Helen, the beautiful wife of Menelaus, another king/general. As they attempted to...
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This section contains 651 words
(approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page)
Purchase our The Oresteia Study Guide
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The Oresteia from BookRags and Gale's For Students Series. ©2005-2006 Thomson Gale, a part of the Thomson Corporation. All rights reserved.
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