The Oresteia

One of the foundational texts of Western literature, the Oresteia trilogy is about cycles of deception and brutality within the ruling family of Argos. In Agamemnon, queen Clytemnestra awaits her husband's return from war to commit a terrible act of retribution. The next plays, radically retitled here as The Women at the Graveside and Orestes in Athens, deal with the aftermath of the regicide, Orestes' search to avenge his father's death and his ceaseless torment. A powerful discourse on the formation of democracy, The Oresteia illuminates the tensions between loyalty to one's family and to the community. In this classic for future generations, Oliver Taplin captures the lyricism of the original.

About the author

Oliver Taplin is emeritus professor of classics at the University of Oxford. His books range from The Stagecraft of Aeschylus to Pots & Plays. He has recently published translations of Euripides’ Medea and Sophocles’ Oedipus the King and Other Tragedies.

Summary

This spellbinding, ground-breaking translation reenergises Aeschylus’ enduring saga of split loyalties, bloody sacrifice and the efforts to bring peace after generations of strife.

Product details

• Authors: Aeschylus
• Assisted by: Oliver Taplin (Translation), Taplin Oliver (Translation)
• Publisher: Norton and Co Ltd
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 30.09.2018
• EAN: 9781631494666
• ISBN: 978-1-63149-466-6
• Series: Liveright; Liveright
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature; Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > Classical linguistics / literary studies; DRAMA / Ancient & Classical, Classical texts, Plays, Playscripts, Classic and pre-20th century plays