notwellread's review
4.0
It has been a while since I have revisited this trilogy (although it is difficult to escape as a Classics student), but in my reading I found both some familiar aspects to the story (and ones that are also recognisable in the mythological influences on the form the play takes as well as, obviously, the subject matter itself, and also plenty of imagery and references that will also be familiar to anyone who has already read later tragedies or the Aeneid, among other texts), and some that came as more of a surprise, either forgotten or actually unfamiliar – I felt the inclusion of Cassandra’s character also added a significant amount of tension and atmosphere, so I feel it is a shame that her place in the story is quite often overlooked. I don’t wish to delve much into the analytical details that will probably not be of interest to a more casual reader, but for those who are interested there are plenty of sources for notes, both in Greek and English editions, that show the density of the text, within the context of the story itself and in the wider thematic and tragic context and how deep the actual significance of the choices that Aeschylus makes is, since the language used is always at the centre of the tragedy’s value, beyond the actual mythological events covered.
One aspect of the story I had forgotten was the questions raised about Clytemnestra’s motivations – it remains ambiguous whether she truly set out to kill her husband to avenge her daughter, or whether she wanted to sacrifice him for the sake of her relationship with his cousin Aigisthus, but I am inclined to reach the former conclusion, since after reading this play I feel more sympathetic than I thought I would for Clytemnestra’s character despite the forked-tongue and ambiguities that she is known for. In this sense, you could even argue that Orestes is no better or worse than her (avenging his father on Clytemnestra but also acting in his own interests by coming home and taking his father’s position for himself), and acting in ultimately the same way as Clytemnestra by avenging one relative by killing another.
I think this play could actually win some popular appeal more so than other Greek tragedies because it is unusually eventful (as always, the focus is on the language used in the characters’ speeches more so than anything else, but apart from the unusually long first chorus near the beginning and the general length of the play there is an unusual amount of action happening), and I also feel that, although it is not my personal favourite, by revisiting this story and reading it in its entirety in two sittings I have gained a new recognition of why it is so highly valued.
One aspect of the story I had forgotten was the questions raised about Clytemnestra’s motivations – it remains ambiguous whether she truly set out to kill her husband to avenge her daughter, or whether she wanted to sacrifice him for the sake of her relationship with his cousin Aigisthus, but I am inclined to reach the former conclusion, since after reading this play I feel more sympathetic than I thought I would for Clytemnestra’s character despite the forked-tongue and ambiguities that she is known for. In this sense, you could even argue that Orestes is no better or worse than her (avenging his father on Clytemnestra but also acting in his own interests by coming home and taking his father’s position for himself), and acting in ultimately the same way as Clytemnestra by avenging one relative by killing another.
I think this play could actually win some popular appeal more so than other Greek tragedies because it is unusually eventful (as always, the focus is on the language used in the characters’ speeches more so than anything else, but apart from the unusually long first chorus near the beginning and the general length of the play there is an unusual amount of action happening), and I also feel that, although it is not my personal favourite, by revisiting this story and reading it in its entirety in two sittings I have gained a new recognition of why it is so highly valued.
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