See a complete list of the characters in the libation bearers and indepth analyses of orestes, clytamnestra, and electra. These plays contain a strong sense of brutality against civilians because there were lots of slaughtering within the house of atreus. Characters in the libation bearers the randolph college. The libation bearers is the english title of the center tragedy from the orestes trilogy of aeschylus, in reference to the offerings electra brings to the tomb of her dead father agamemnon. Index of important characters classical literature. The the libation bearers characters covered include. You can see our sharp fingernails are weary from plowing new furrows on our cheeks till theyre torn and bloody.
Electra describes how her mother treats her little better than a slave, and orestes is. Customarily, the trilogy was followed by a satyr play, in this case one titled proteus, of which only two lines have survived. Libation bearers study guide by neeslemf includes 45 questions covering vocabulary, terms and more. She and her brother orestes plotted revenge against their mother clytemnestra and step father aegisthus for the murder of their father, agamemnon. Cilissa the rather simple nurse of orestes, cilissa plays a small but crucial role in the libation bearers. The libation bearers are curious for a couple of reasons. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of the libation bearers by aeschylus. Index of important characters classical literature ancientadmin 20191114t17.
Oresteia summary agamemnon, libation bearers and eumenides. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one. Sophocles gives one of the most detailed descriptions of libation in greek literature in oedipus at colonus. In the first play of the oresteia trilogy, agamemnon returns to argos after ten years away at the trojan war. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. The trilogyconsisting of agamemnon, the libation bearers. The libation bearers stems from a story that dates back to homers the odyssey, as the olympian gods discuss aegisthus murder by a vengeful orestes at the start of book i. He took part in the persian wars and his epitaph, said to have been written by himself, represents him as fighting at marathon. It is his last work and the only complete trilogy of greek dramas that has survived. Detailed analysis of characters in aeschyluss the libation bearers.
Orestes best friend and constant companion electra. Drawing on his wide experience teaching about performance in the ancient world, c. Many critics consider clytaemestra the most impressive and fascinating woman in greek tragedy. Learn all about how the characters in the libation bearers such as orestes and electra. Libation bearers is the second play within the oresteia trilogy, originally performed at the dionysia festival in 458 bc, where it won the first prize for tragedy. Choephoroi the libation bearers reading libation bearers would give you an excellent opportunity to practice your greek, not ordering ouzo in the plaka or old town of athens, of course, but those key value terms on the sheet posted to goucherlearn. Learn everything you need to know about orestes, electra, and more in the libation bearers. The libation bearers is an ancient greek tragedy, written in the middle of the fifth. Complete list of characters in aeschyluss the libation bearers.
The libation bearers characters from litcharts the. In this family history, fate and the gods decree that each generation will. Heres where youll find analysis about the play as a whole. They represent the common interests and ideals of society and frequently comment on the action in highly lyrical odes. A list of all the characters in the libation bearers. Orestes, pylades, electra, chorus, clytamnestra, cilissa, aigisthos, apollo, hermes, furies, agamemnon, iphigineia. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Welcome to part two of this series on aeschylus oresteia. Study guide, aeschylus libation bearers, eumenides. Even for a guy whos got an entire tragic trilogy the oresteia named after him, orestes is one. The second play of the oresteian trilogy is the first one to feature the titular character orestes, and indeed he is the most important character from now on. The chorus of this play differs from those of other famous tragedies in that it influences the course of events by telling characters what to do. The libation bearers the role of the chorus in the. This introduction to the play will be useful for anyone reading it in greek or in translation.
Revenge in agamemnon, the libation bearers, and the furies. Quizlet flashcards, activities and games help you improve your grades. She dominates the action of agamemnon but has smaller roles in the other two plays. The plot of the libation bearers the randolph college. None of the slaves and other people in the household are big fans of the current ruler, on account of them murdering agamemnon. Clytaemnestra is a very prideful woman who does not want to be punished for her crimes, although she is tormented by a prophetic dream in which a snake suckles her breast and bites her. Orestes prays to hermes, begging for help, now that he has returned from exile, and he calls out to his father. Aeschylus takes this popular myth and transforms it into a social commentary. This is a seven minute summary of the four hour greek drama called the oresteia the masterwork of aeschylus. Marshall helps readers understand how the play was experienced by.
This avenger is clytemnestras son, orestes, the main character of the libation bearers. Characters in the libation bearers the randolph college greek. He offers a lock of his hair to the river inachus and lays another lock on his fathers grave, since he was not able to. It has been said that athens left the world two masterpieces of surpassing beauty. In the second, they are passive slaves, subject to the whims of characters in the play, but they nevertheless participate wholeheartedly in the famous scene where orestes, elektra, and the slaves chant a ritual attempting to invoke the spirit of the dead agamemnon to help them in their murder of clytemnestra. It details the revenge of agamemnons daughter electra and his son, orestes. Orestes older sister, who has been living unhappily in her mothers house since agamemnon died the libation bearers. The oresteia tells the story of the house of atreus. The libation bearers is the second part of aeschylus great trilogy, the oresteia.
Clytemnestra dream of giving birth to a snake and giving it breast while it also sucks. The son of agamemnon and clytemnestra, orestes is the crown prince of argos, but has been banished from his homeland for many years. Learn all about how the characters in the libation bearers such as orestes and electra contribute to the story and how they fit into the plot. The character of apollo in the libation bearers from. Far from standing idly by as they do in many other tragedies, the chorus of the libation bearers incites the main characters to action. Clytemnestra is another character that is able to be analyzed in terms of moral responsibility, her premeditated killing. Oresteia, trilogy of tragic dramas by the ancient greek dramatist aeschylus, first performed in 458 bce. Character list clytaemestra clytaemestra is the only character to appear in all three plays of the trilogy. What does all this have to do with libation bearers. Libation bearers is the middle play in the only extant tragic trilogy to survive from antiquity, aeschylus oresteia, first produced in 458 bce. Libation bearers study guide contains a biography of aeschylus, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full. Unlike the chorus in agamemnon, the first part of the oresteia trilogy, who were a bunch of.
Curiously the play takes its name from the chorus who here serve as libation bearers, i. Choephoroi is the second of the three linked tragedies which make up the oresteia trilogy by the ancient greek playwright aeschylus, preceded by agamemnon and followed by the eumenides. She appears only once, just after orestes has told. Aeschylus oresteia is the only trilogy to survive from greek tragedy, and the religious and moral ideas it enacts afterwards influenced a great dramatic genre, as well as giving its three plays their lasting significance. Need help on characters in aeschyluss the libation bearers. The following the libation bearers and the eumenides are stronger, with more limited choruses, and, since the crux of the latter, especially, are debates with dialogue, there is no sense that important actions are occurring offscreen which was a major trope in greek drama. His wife clytemnestra, who has been ruling the kingdom in his absence, murders him and his concubine cassandra. Read a plot overview of the entire play or a scene by scene summary and analysis.
The libation bearers characters from litcharts the creators of. Picks it up from the previous play and leaves it open for conclusion. Ok, so the language of part 2 of the trilogy is still occasionally challenging, but at least we now have all the major characters, backstory, and issues in place from agamemnon. For assignments due 19mar through to end of semester, please check syllabus, required texts for alternative inexpensive and free editions of required readings. The trilogy as a whole, originally performed at the annual dionysia festival in athens in 458 bce, where it won first prize, is considered to be. The libation bearers character analysis course hero. Aeschylus was the great father of drama in the west, and this trilogy provides the.
The the libation bearers quotes below are all either spoken by apollo or refer to apollo. The oresteia trilogy, including the tragedies agamemnon, the libation bearers, and the furies, explores the theme of revenge on most of the characters. The libation bearers is a play by aeschylus that was first performed in 458 bc. The chorus in the libation bearers description in the libation bearers aeschylus, 1989, the chorus are elderly slave women, who at the beginning of the text, pour libations on agamemnons grave. The libation bearers deals with the reunion of agamemnons children, electra and orestes, and their revenge as they kill clytemnestra and. Rather than appealing to their father to help them through emotional connection, they approach him as they would a. According to greek myth, orestes was just a child at the time of. Look for repeated advice and capitalized terms that reoccur, especially justice. In this video we will summarize and analyze the second play of the tragic trilogy. In the libation bearers, the chorus is made up of slave women from the palace. The timeline below shows where the character apollo appears in the libation bearers. Electra disappears before the halfway mark in libation bearers, never to be seen again. The libation bearers aeschylus ancient greece classical.
1247 687 1316 969 374 1515 212 288 1091 397 1580 509 184 1190 234 1423 1600 566 388 226 847 188 637 1365 556 553 1481 1234 796 1172 806