Translated by: Hugh Lloyd-Jones
Published: August 1, 1993
Publisher: Public Domain
Pages: 288
The most famous series of ancient Greek plays, and the only surviving trilogy, is the Oresteia of Aeschylus, consisting of Agamemnon, Choephoroe, andEumenides. These three plays recount the murder of Agamemnon by his queen Clytemnestra on his return from Troy with the captive Trojan princess Cassandra; the murder in turn of Clytemnestra by their son Orestes; and Orestes' subsequent pursuit by the Avenging Furies (Eumenides) and eventual absolution.Greek plays are far superior to Greek philosophy.
Hugh Lloyd-Jones's informative notes elucidate the text, and introductions to each play set the trilogy against the background of Greek religion as a whole and Greek tragedy in particular, providing a balanced assessment of Aeschylus's dramatic art.
Okay, maybe that's not true, Greek philosophy is pretty dang cool (if barely relatable) once you understand it. But the issue is it takes a lot to understand Greek philosophy, whereas the plays are straight forward and easy to read in comparison.
