Aeschylus: life, works, and dramatic legacy

Orestia

Ancient legends are known throughout the world and retold in versions generation after generation. Authors take an old story and reimagine it and reinvent it to fit the perspective of their own generation. The first known version of the Agamemnon story comes from The Odyssey. In Homer's book, The Odyssey, the author relates the story of King Agamemnon and his untimely death, as well as the resulting familial tragedy that follows that event. In each version, Agamemnon was a king who returned from the war in Troy to his, supposed, loving wife and family. Unfortunately, his wife is not so happy for his return. This queen, named Clytemnestra, is unwilling to give up sole power of their kingdom. This is the point in the story where versions change the order of events and the various players in the game. The subsequent versions of this same story change certain details in order to prove the intended point of the author of that work. In Greek mythology, there is a great difference between the concepts of vengeance the need for revenge. Vengeance is a strong desire which overcomes all other emotions or desires in the need for the act of revenge. In all versions, the need for vengeance and the need for revenge are counterpointed with the filial duties of a son. In Anne Carson's version of the story, told in her book, An Oresteia, the author takes these basic plot points and alters other moments in order to support her own perspective of that story.

The rest of the story goes like this: Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus, murder her husband and his prize from the wars, the cursed seer Cassandra. It is not only for power that Clytemnestra wishes her husband dead. Agamemnon sacrificed their daughter Iphigenia to the gods in order to aid his side in battle against the Trojans. Clytemnestra feels vengeful to her husband. Though his motivations for sacrificing their daughter are pure, Clytemnestra cannot accept the deed, thus she becomes consumed with a need to avenge the child. The woman's anger surpasses her understanding of her religion and the acceptable behavior of her society. To kill her husband, first Clytemnestra tries to get the Gods to be angered with Agamemnon and thus either kill the king themselves or forgive Clytemnestra for the murder of her husband. She does this by trying to get her husband to step on a carpet. Some version label the carpet as red and other times purple. Walking on this carpet and entering his castle would be an act of hubris and an action which would symbolize Agamemnon's elevating himself to a level of idolatry fit only for the Greek Gods and Goddesses. When this fails, Clytemnestra risks the wrath of the Gods in order to fulfill her own desire to have her husband dead. She is so bent upon her vengeance that she is no longer fearful of the ramifications.

In The Odyssey, the legend of Agamemnon is told by the brother of the deceased king, Menelaus. Agamemnon's family was a cursed one. Being from the house of Atreus, Agamemnon and his family are born doomed because of the actions of his relatives in the past. It is a continuous cycle of revenge for past misdeeds. The difference between vengeance and the desire for revenge becomes apparent here. It is not a heated, violent anger that dooms Agamemnon, but a retributive process designed by the gods. He was not the only person in the story doomed from the start. Cassandra, after rejecting the god Apollo, is cursed to see the future but have no one believe her visions. She sees her own murder and yet is unable to do anything to prevent it. Cassandra's visions prove true and she is killed by Clytemnestra. The queen announces that she has slaughtered her husband and his concubine with an ax, like an animal would be killed as a sacrifice to the Gods. She killed him in three blows, the last accompanied by a prayer to the Gods, just as an animal sacrifice would be conducted. By performing the act this way, Clytemnestra believed that she would be immune from the fates and any repercussions for her actions.

Anne Carson's story is called An Oresteia rather than The Oresteia, which is the title given to the story by Aeschylus. The reason for the changing of the title's article is to indicate that this is not the only version of these events. This small changed shows that the version of the story is told through Carson's perspective and she informs the reader of this. When comparing the Homeric with An Oresteia, it is obvious that the first version is more interested in telling the story itself and less with style. Homer's version of the story is told in the form of an epic poem. Carson utilizes a poetic style as well. It is a free verse with limited pattern, designed to reflect the format of that original piece. Homer uses the story of Agamemnon to tell a moral story about the cyclical nature of revenge. Carson's motives are more towards entertainment than in informing her readership. By changing the way the story is told, Carson also alters the emotions of the piece and makes the anger of the characters feel all the more palatable to the reader.