She says Aegisthus is beside her and that they slew Cassandra, Agamemnon's concubine.They take to task the two women who have caused such turmoil, Clytemnestra, for killing their guardian, the king, and her sister Helen. The Queen appears, and the Chorus asks her why she has ordered sacrifices of thanksgiving. ThoughtCo uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience.
These were Aegisthus' brothers. As they debate what to do, the doors open, and Clytemnestra appears, standing over the corpses of her husband and Cassandra. The chorus says it has been anxious for the return.She says she already knew it was time to rejoice and asks that the message is brought to her husband that she has remained faithful and loyal.The herald doesn't know any better than to believe Clytemnestra. Clytemnestra welcomes him, professing her love, and orders a carpet of purple robes spread in front of him as he enters the palace.
She addresses her attendants to fete her husband and strew his path with a royal cloth. The chorus wants to know whether Menelaus suffered any mishaps, which he and other Achaeans have, but the herald says it's a day for rejoicing.The chorus takes Helen to task. Agamemnon returns with Cassandra, a prophetess from Troy and captured member of the royal family, now his war prize. She says they should have exiled him when he sacrificed his own child. The Chorus tells her to do so, too.Cassandra is distraught and invokes the god Apollo. By using ThoughtCo, you accept ourPlot Summary of the Episodes and Stasima of "Oedipus Tyrannos," by Sophocles.Parode and Related Terms in Ancient Greek Tragedy and Comedy The chorus doesn't understand, so Cassandra tells the future or the present that Clytemnestra is slaying her husband, and tells the past that the house has a lot of blood guilt. This channel was generated automatically by YouTube's video discovery system. The Herald replies that a terrible storm seized the Greek fleet on the way home, leaving Menelaus and many others missing.The Chorus sings of the terrible destructive power of Helen's beauty. The Trojan Princess is silent, and the Queen leaves her in frustration. He praises the gods for saving him and says he will work with the Chorus to establish a democracy. Clytemnestra welcomes him, professing her love, and orders a carpet of purple robes spread in front of him as he enters the palace. Orestes (silent role), son of Agamemnon, brother of Electra Pylades (silent role), son of Strophius, friend of Orestes The scene is laid partly inside and partly outside the palace of Agamemnon at Argos or Mycenae, on the day of the return of the king from his long absence at Troy, beginning in the period of darkness just preceding the dawn. Clytemnestra tells them to cool down. She tells them that a system of beacons has brought word that Troy fell the previous night. The Chorus' fears grow, and they hear Agamemnon cry out in pain from inside. They look around.She says she lied for good reason before. She tells the Chorus that they will see their king dead, says that she will die as well, and then predicts that an avenger will come. Then Cassandra begins to speak, uttering incoherent prophecies about a curse on the house of Agamemnon. The families suffer and begrudge their losses when their men follow Agamemnon to war to avenge Paris' theft. Agamemnon enters, riding in his chariot with Cassandra, a Trojan Princess whom he has taken as his slave and concubine. Gill is a Latinist, writer, and teacher of ancient history and Latin. This is a seven minute summary of the four hour Greek drama called The Oresteia - the masterwork of Aeschylus. She has been featured by NPR and National Geographic for her ancient history expertise. Too much glory brings an inevitable fall.The Herald asks the gods to welcome back those who have survived the 10-year war, and especially Agamemnon who destroyed their land and the altars to their gods. After these bold predictions, she seems resigned to her fate, and enters the house. Clytemnestra sends him back to Agamemnon, to tell her husband to come swiftly, but before he departs, the Chorus asks him for news of Menelaus.