The Oresteia: Agamemnon; The Libation Bearers; The Eumenides (Penguin Classics)

This book goes really well with The Making of Americans, maybe because it's about the making of Athenians. I don't know. I just felt compelled to pause in the middle of Gertrude Stein to read it. Each work deeply probes human consciousness and experiments with new ways of using language. The Oresteia is much more plotted than Americans, it's like the difference between revelation and scripture,...more

This book goes really well with The Making of Americans, maybe because it's about the making of Athenians. I don't know. I just felt compelled to pause in the middle of Gertrude Stein to read it. Each work deeply probes human consciousness and experiments with new ways of using language. The Oresteia is much more plotted than Americans, it's like the difference between revelation and scripture, to use a pan-religious analogy. Anyway, the Aeschylus trilogy had a visceral impact on me this time around that I think was influenced by its relief against Americans.   hide

I studied these plays and fell in love with them. I have always been a sucker for the classics, ever since reading Oedipus Rex in high school. I recommend reading all three plays as one continuation, since neither Agamemnon nor the Libation Bearers conclude. It is a wonderful, poetic work and should be read with an attention to the ancient Greek philosophy concerning justice and blood feuds. The...more

I studied these plays and fell in love with them. I have always been a sucker for the classics, ever since reading Oedipus Rex in high school. I recommend reading all three plays as one continuation, since neither Agamemnon nor the Libation Bearers conclude. It is a wonderful, poetic work and should be read with an attention to the ancient Greek philosophy concerning justice and blood feuds. The web of vengeance is stimulating.   hide

This trilogy brings up a few important questions such as the role of women and their treatment as well as the fairness of a judicial system lead by Athena. Overall, wonderful fodder for those with a feminist slant. I say the Grene and Lattimore translation is the best.

Blood for vengeance is overrated ... law of the land (and man) is better. Great Books of the Western World.