Oresteia
A Family Affair Author: Aeschylus In Aeschylus’ famous triad, The Oresteia, the author explores themes of violence and honor killings, leading readers from primeval bloodlust into law and order and the establishment of civilization. It starts, as many know, with the House of Atreus and its escalating curse. Agamemnon triggers the curse again when he sacrifices his daughter, Iphigenia, for political gain and a successful war against Troy. Agamemnon’s wife, Clytemnestra, begins an assassination plan that ends when Agamemnon comes home, triumphant, and oblivious, new mistress in tow. The chain reaction is set, and Orestes determines to murder his mother [...]