the libation bearers themes. Infection. Orestes' older sister, Electra cared for him as a child and loves him dearly. The tragedies of Sophocles, Aeschylus, Euripides and Homer have themes like royal murders, assassinations by near relatives, the supernatural, ghostly visits, and vengeful spirits of the dead- themes which reappear in Shakespeare’s tragedies with a difference. The chorus offers no solution to this dire situation of violence breeding m ore violence. All of the characters within The Libation Bearers speak a language of violence and death. At times, one may find Aeschylus rather overwhelming in his complexity. Fate, the Gods, and Piety. The Oresteia teaches us that, while we cannot choose how we are born, we can choose how to approach that birthright. The Libation Bearers [Choephoroi] 458 BC Dramatis Personae ORESTES: son of Agamemnon and Clytaemnestra, brother of Electra. The Libation Bearers is a play by Aeschylus that was first performed in 458 BC. 2 of 5. Important Quotes. In what way (if any) does this difference in the Chorus's connection to the past affect Libation Bearers as a play? Vengeance for Crimes. He approaches this fate with sophistication and grace, never wavering in his convic tion that he is doing the right thing, but also never sinking to the point of reveling in the slaughter. Libation Bearers Restoration of Lawful Government and War Between the Sexes Two other themes play a part: the theme of the need to reverence, and restore if need be, lawful government, and the theme of the horror of a world where the sexes are at war, where women kill men, where the bonds of kinship and marriage are destroyed. He reclaimed the power that his father had lost. Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. Aegisthus, too, remains motivated by revenge; having killed Agamemnon in … ELECTRA: daughter of Agamemnon and Clytaemnestra, sister of Orestes. Libation Bearers Themes Hate-in-love. One of the manifestations of this complexity is that there are no clear good guys or bad guys, but rat her men and women who are faced with impossible choices. Par exemple, Harry Potter et les reliques de la mort commence par deux: une citation de la tragédie d' Eschyle, The Libation Bearers, et une citation de William Penn . At the beginning of The Libation Bearers there is no contradiction between the will of the Furies and the will of Apollo, but by the end of the play we see that a split is developing between these two orders of gods. He does not flee from destiny , but calls upon his father's spirit and his mother's resolve in order to do what must be done. Orestes kills Clytemnestra to avenge the death of Agamemnon, Orestes' father. Nothing else can wash away a bloodstain but more blood, which in turn requires more blood in order to be cleansed. In fulfilling his duty towards Apollo and his fat her, Orestes condemns himself to suffering. "My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." The Libation Bearers illustrates the power of revenge by showing over and over how each of the characters’ arcs is motivated by a desperate need for, or fear of, retaliation. Forgetfulness. The Libation Bearers Topic Tracking: Death. 23. the libation bearers themes. But even when he does murder her, the Furies still pursue him. There is no co mpletely right or wrong answer, Aeschylus tells us, but there are better and worse choices. 1 of 5. Revenge; Justice and Judgment; Family; Language and Communication; Memory and the Past; Fate and Free Will; Lies and Deceit; Religion; Gender; Exile; Characters; Analysis; Quotes; Flashcards; Quizzes; Write Essay; Teaching LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Libation Bearers, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. The Libation Bearers and Hamlet Many of Shakespeare’s plays draw from classical Greek themes, plot and metaphors. The Libation Bearers, Lines 1-633. The play opens at the burial mound of Agamemnon, former king of Mycenae. Aeschylus was the great father of drama in the West, and this trilogy provides the … SERVANT: house slave serving in the royal palace. Martine Dewailly, Les femmes des guerriers indigènes dans les scènes de libation représentées sur les vases à figures rouges d'Italie du Sud au IVe siècle, p. 581-623. Apollo compels Orestes to avenge his father, but then suggests that the cycle of violence will end, as he will not have to die in recompense for his crime. The ancient law of the Furies mandates that blood must be paid for with blood in an unending cycle of doom. Oresteia Themes. )In the heyday of Athenian tragedy – and Aeschylus's work is definitely from the heyday – all three parts of a trilogy would be performed back-to-back on a single day. Principal themes of the trilogy include the contrast between revenge and justice, as well as the transition from personal vendetta to organized litigation. When Orestes speaks of claiming his inheritance, he means his kingdom, but also his family's legacy of ___. Libation Bearers is a continuation of the morally ambiguous cycle of revenge begun in Agamemnon. Our, "Sooo much more helpful than SparkNotes. The position of women, male power versus female power, and the vulnerability of women. This study guide and infographic for Aeschylus's The Libation Bearers offer summary and analysis on themes, symbols, and other literary devices found in the text. Finding Peace Within Justice “If you want peace, work for justice.” – Pope Paul VI. The Libation Bearers The House of Atreus Thyestes Agisthus Lovers Clytaemnestra Atreus Menelaus Helen Agamemnon ( Deceased) Clytaemnestra Iphigeneia (Deceased) Electra* Orestes* Featured Characters Orestes: The son of Agamemnon and Clytaemnestra. Death 1: Clytaemnestra brings death to her husband Agamemnon because he killed their daughter Iphigenia. -Graham S. “Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. As is also true of its “prequel” Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers centers on a series of acts of revenge. In its opening lines, the chorus describes how "[t]he blood that Mother Earth consumes clots hard, it won't seep through, it breeds revenge and frenzy goes through the guilty" (lines 67–70). The Libation Bearers is the second play of the Oresteia. The work is the last in a trilogy called known as Oresteia; the first two plays are Agamemnon and The Libation Bearers. Lines 1-585 Quotes Dear god, let me avenge my … Home. By entering your email address you agree to receive emails from SparkNotes and verify that you are over the age of 13. As the male head of the household, Agamemnon should clearly command his children’s allegiance. Aegisthus helped her to plan this murder, because Atreus had killed his older siblings by cooking them … Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. From the play’s first moments, the playwright takes care to emphasize how alike the two are: they visit their father Agamemnon’s burial mound at the same time, they both pray to the god Hermes…, All of the characters within The Libation Bearers speak a language of violence and death. The Libation Bearers. Apollo has promised Orestes that he will not suffer for his crime, and we know that a god is unlikely to go back on his word. Just as in Agamemnon, Part 1 of the Oresteia trilogy, problems of fate and free will are closely linked with the overarching themes of revenge and justice in Libation Bearers. Further, the sense that Clytemnestra deserves her fate is heightened…, Although no gods appear within The Libation Bearers, Aeschylus makes clear that ideas of piety and the power of the gods are in the forefront of his characters’ minds. Aeschylus is telling us that life is unfair, and that we must develop systems for ourselves so that we can cope with the difficult decisions we will inevitably face. The chorus proclaims that, "the blood that Mother Earth consumes clots hard, it won't seep through, it breeds ___." Each play in the Oresteia cycle holds up justice as an ideal, especially where … Les romans de JK Rowling commencent souvent par des épigraphes relatives aux thèmes explorés. Clytamnestra had sent him away as a child so that he might escape this fate. Libation Bearers is the second play in a trilogy of tragedies by Aeschylus entitled the Oresteia. From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. (including. Themes. In order for society to prosper, the female powers must be subdued. When it happens, however, Orestes goes crazy, showing us that revenge just isn't the way to go. Vengeance is just, they say, and it has been the law of the house for generations. Orestes's particular situation pits his filial duties to Agamemnon against his filial duties to Clytamnestra. Orestes and Electra are the characters most obviously driven by revenge, seeking to make their mother suffer the same fate that she enacted upon their father. My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class.”, read analysis of Fate, the Gods, and Piety, read analysis of Violence, Death, and the Dead. Revenge. The Eumenides. Exploring themes of justice and duty, The Libation Bearers is one of the most important surviving examples of ancient Greek tragedy and one of the most significant and influential works of Western literature. In returning to Argos to pursue a terrible quest, Orestes shows himself to be a noble character. The Libation Bearers Topic Tracking: Revenge. Jealousy. Although they have some knowledge about the distant past, it is not nearly as detailed as that of the Chorus from Agamemnon. La peinture sur vase en Italie du Sud au IVe s. av. The Libation Bearers is the second part of Aeschylus' great trilogy, the Oresteia. In The Libation Bearers, Aeschylus makes a clear distinction between familial bonds that are wholesome and healthy, and those that have become twisted and deadly. A way out must be found, a new, more civilized law. For the siblings (and for Ancient Greek audiences of the day), the question was not a difficult one. The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. Aegisthus helped Clytaemnestra to plot Agamemnon's murder, and he later crowned himself king. It is also significant that that Furies are female deities, while Apollo is masculine, thus equating civilization and progress with male influences. Whether male or female, they all express sentiments that are incredibly bloody, from Orestes and Electra plotting their mother’s murder, to the Chorus wishing for “the fresh-drawn blood of Justice,” to Aegisthus contemplating Orestes’s (falsely reported) death, to Clytemnestra calling for a “ man-axe ” to defend … In the Eumenides, this theme is fully developed, as the Furies are tamed and relegated to a far less powerful position in society. If he does not murder Clytamnestra, the Furies will pursue him. In Libation Bearers, the Chorus is a group of slave-women, who are not native to Argos. However, over the course of The Libation Bearers, we get the sense that this time, things will be different . Since Apollo has thrown his weight behind the path of vengeance, Orestes chooses to comply with his commands. On the most basic level (not that it's very basic), these themes are connected because the idea of fate seems to give the idea of justice a hard time. Summary Read a Plot Overview of the entire play or a scene by scene Summary and Analysis. Towards the beginning of the play, Orestes states that he has returned to Argos in order to claim his inheritance. You can view our. But, in order to claim his inheritance and become a man, Orestes must return to the origin of his misery and confront it head on. Since her father … Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts. Explore Course Hero's library of literature materials, including documents and Q&A pairs. The way the content is organized, LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in. Man cannot hope to build a progressive civilization if he is steeped in a perpetual bloodbath. The house of Atreus has sat under a dark clo ud for many generations, beset by … Essentially the only example of the former is the relationship between Orestes and Electra. After all, if people are fated to commit crimes, how can it be just to punish them? The trilogy—consisting of Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Eumenides —also shows how the Greek gods interacted … They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!”, “This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. Orestes returns to Argos several years after the murder of Agamemnon, accompanied by his friend, Pylades.He leaves a lock of hair at his father’s grave. Libation Bearers study guide contains a biography of Aeschylus, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. As the only son of a murdered father, Orestes is fated to avenge his death. The trilogy follows the murders within the House of Atreus, an elite Greek household. Essay Topics. Themes and Colors. LitCharts Teacher Editions. Electra. Evil acts put one at risk of polluting themselves, their family, house, bloodline, or even city. The chorus states this fact several times throughout the play, most clearly in the first section of the kommos, which is discussed i n the quotes section of this SparkNote. The Libation Bearers Topic Tracking: Power. The Oresteia as a whole is Aeschylus's way of saying, "the buck stops here." Pollution. As the play opens, Orestes visits the burial mound of his father Agamemnon and offers a lock of his hair to his father’s spirit and to the gods, especially to Hermes, who guides the dead to the underworld. 2021. The Oresteia trilogy, which contains the plays Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Furies, uses justice as its dominant theme. (Part 1 is called Agamemnon, and Part 3 is called Eumenides. CHORUS: slave women captured at Troy and serving the royal palace at Argos. Character Analysis. Struggling with distance learning? Revenge 1: Aegisthus helped Clytaemnestra to plot Agamemnon's murder because he wanted revenge against Atreus, who had killed Aegisthus' older siblings. The entire plot of Libation Bearers is headed at 100 mph towards one conclusion: Orestes's killing of Aegisthus and Clytemnestra. However, it is this complexity that compels us to return to him again and again. Whether male or female, they all express sentiments that are incredibly bloody, from Orestes and Electra plotting their mother’s murder, to the Chorus wishing for “the fresh-drawn blood of Justice,” to Aegisthus contemplating Orestes’s (falsely reported) death, to Clytemnestra calling for a “man-axe” to defend her house. Within this world, in which fathers kill children, wives kill husbands…, Instant downloads of all 1441 LitChart PDFs It deals with the reunion of Agamemnon's children, Electra and Orestes, and their revenge. Having returned home from exile, Orestes (along with his sister Electra) is determined to murder his mother Clytemnestra (and her lover Aegisthus) for her role in the murder of his father Agamemnon—a murder that was itself an act of vengeance for Agamemnon’s sacrifice of his and Clytemnestra’s oldest daughter, Iphigenia, in…, The question of gender roles is pivotal to one of the most troubling issues of The Libation Bearers: should Orestes and Electra be loyal to their dead father, or their living mother? LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Libation Bearers, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. He chooses to make this sacrifice, however, in order to preserve the laws of society. He has just returned to Argos They merely state it as the natural law and do what is in their power to help Orestes fulfill his role in the divine plan. Power 1: Atreus exiled his brother, Thyestes, from Argos, assuring that he would never have the power to rule the city. These elements are closely... History. It has been said that Athens left the world two masterpieces of surpassing beauty: the Parthenon and the Oresteia. Aeschylus wrote these plays sometime after the end of the Persian wars, around 449 BC, when the star of Athens was on its superiority. The Libation Bearers. As this play chronicles the transition of society from its dark and primitive origins to its new civilized and illuminated state, it is natural that the motif of light and dark should occur throughout the play. The ancient law of the Furies mandates that blood must be paid for with blood in an unending cycle of doom. Teachers and parents! Agamemnon, Clytamnestra, and Orestes are all caught between a rock and a hard place, which we may find to be tragically unfair. Clytaemnestra wanted revenge because Agamemnon killed her daughter, Iphigenia, so that the Greek fleet could sail to Troy. Below you will find the important quotes in The Libation Bearers related to the theme of Fate, the Gods, and Piety. April. It was the commencement of a new era, marked by the … As the play moves forward, we…, In The Libation Bearers, Aeschylus makes a clear distinction between familial bonds that are wholesome and healthy, and those that have become twisted and deadly. The Furies represent th e ancient, primitive laws, and demand that blood must always be paid for with blood. Libation Bearers Introduction. Themes. Also called philos-aphilos, this central theme is explained by Lattimore in his introduction (9-10). The themes of Eumenides include the nature of revenge, the rule of law, and the intervention of higher powers in human affairs. From a distance, they spy Orestes’ sister Electra, accompanied by the chorus of enslaved women. However, implicit in this statement is the idea that he must claim his share in the destructive bloodshed that has plagued the house for generations. Clytaemnestra has sent them to bring libations for the dead to quiet their spirits. The ancient Greek concept of “miasma,” often translated as pollution, is a complicated concept concerning spiritual cleanliness and purity. Symbols & Motifs. 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. By this he means the kingdom that i s rightfully his.