page_title: Oresteia
section_title: The Libation Bearers
hierarchical_section_title: Oresteia / The Libation Bearers
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Orestes, Elektra und Hermes vor der Grabe des Agamemnon. Seite A von einem lucanischen rotfigurigen Pelike, um 380-370 v. Chr. English: Orestes, Electra and Hermes at the tomb of Agamemnon. Side A of a lucanian red-figure pelike, ca. 380–370 BC. Français&#160;: Oreste, Électre et Hermès devant la tombe d'Agamemnon. Face A d'un péliké lucanien à figures rouges, vers 380-370 av. J.-C.
context_page_description: The Oresteia is a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus in the 5th century BC, concerning the murder of Agamemnon by Clytemnestra, the murder of Clytemnestra by Orestes, the trial of Orestes, the end of the curse on the House of Atreus and the pacification of the Erinyes. The trilogy—consisting of Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Eumenides —also shows how the Greek gods interacted with the characters and influenced their decisions pertaining to events and disputes. The only extant example of an ancient Greek theatre trilogy, the Oresteia won first prize at the Dionysia festival in 458 BC. The principal themes of the trilogy include the contrast between revenge and justice, as well as the transition from personal vendetta to organized litigation. Oresteia originally included a satyr play, Proteus, following the tragic trilogy, but all except a single line of Proteus has been lost.
context_section_description: In The Libation Bearers (Χοηφóρoι, Choēphóroi)—the second play of Aeschylus' Oresteia trilogy—many years after the murder of Agamemnon, his son Orestes returns to Argos with his cousin Pylades to exact vengeance on Clytemnestra, as an order from Apollo, for killing Agamemnon. Upon arriving, Orestes reunites with his sister Electra at Agamemnon's grave, while she was there bringing libations to Agamemnon in an attempt to stop Clytemnestra's bad dreams. Shortly after the reunion, both Orestes and Electra, influenced by the Chorus, come up with a plan to kill both Clytemnestra and Aegisthus.
  Orestes then heads to the palace door where he is unexpectedly greeted by Clytemnestra. In his response to her he pretends he is a stranger and tells Clytemnestra that he (Orestes) is dead, causing her to send for Aegisthus. Unrecognized, Orestes is then able to enter the palace where he then kills Aegisthus, who was without a guard due to the intervention of the Chorus in relaying Clytemnestra's message. Clytemnestra then enters the room. Orestes hesitates to kill her, but Pylades reminds him of Apollo's orders, and he eventually follows through. Consequently, after committing the matricide, Orestes is now the target of the Furies' merciless wrath and has no choice but to flee from the palace.
caption: Orestes, Electra and Hermes in front of Agamemnon's tomb by Choephoroi Painter
exif: {"Image SubfileType": "Full-resolution Image", "Image Make": "NIKON CORPORATION", "Image Model": "NIKON D50", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "The GIMP", "Image DateTime": "2007:05:26 01:00:19", "Image ReferenceBlackWhite": "[0, 255, 0, 255, 0, 255]", "Image CFARepeatPatternDim": "[2, 2]", "Image CFAPattern": "[2, 1, 1, 0]", "Image ExifOffset": "304", "Image Tag 0x9216": "[1, 0, 0, 0]", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/10", "EXIF FNumber": "5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Aperture Priority", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2007:05:09 16:39:07", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2007:05:09 16:39:07", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "-1/3", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "18/5", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire", "EXIF FocalLength": "18", "EXIF SubSecTime": "20", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "20", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "20", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CVAPattern": "[0, 2, 0, 2, 2, 1, 1, 0]", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Manual", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "27", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "Low gain up", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0"}