Edited by Karl Gustav Vollmoeller, 1905
Aeschylus’ “Oresteia” depicts a dark family drama: King Agamemnon returns victorious from Troy – but his wife Clytemnestra murders him in revenge for sacrificing their daughter. Their son Orestes, driven by duty and guilt, in turn kills his mother. The play culminates in a court of the gods that replaces retribution with justice, marking the transition from bloody revenge to civilized justice.