Comprising the first two thirds of The Oresteia, “Agamemnon” and “Choephoroe” tell of the vengeful efforts of Clytemnestra and her son Orestes, respectively. This is especially tragic because they are each taking vengeance upon a family member to avenge another family member. More importantly, each of their acts of murder do not go unpunished. The prevailing theme that can be interpreted in “Agamemnon” and “Choephoroe” is the idea that blood vengeance does not atone past offenses, but rather creates new tragedies because each of the characters who sought to avenge a loved one became the killer whom others would take vengeance upon. The first part of The Orestia, “Agamemnon,” follows Clytemnestra as she attempts to avenge her daughter, who
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Not long after the deed is done, he begins to see grotesque Gorgon-like creatures approach them and concludes them to be the agents of the mother’s curse that have come to punish his sin, and he flees in terror as they approach. This further supports the idea that the two pieces together form the idea that even just vengeance for the sake of a loved one does not go unpunished. His mother’s warning comes when he confronts her with his weapon and she tells him, "Cl. So then, my son, you mean to kill your mother?... Beware the hell-hounds of a mother's curse!" (Aeschylus 333). Here, she asks incredulously if Orestes actually will kill his own mother, and she then warns him to beware of a mother’s curse as he will be tormented by hell-hounds. This was later confirmed not to be an empty threat when he alone could perceive monsters approaching him and exclaimed, "Or. To me they are no fancies—only too clear— / Can you not see them?—hounds of a mother's / curse!" (Aeschylus 338). In saying this, Orestes expressed his terror and proved that, despite the chorus not being able to see them, he was in fact being tormented by hellish beings brought upon by his recent act. Judging by how the appearance of these creatures coincided with Clytemnestra's warning, both Orestes and the reader conclude that they are in fact beings dispatched to punish Orestes’s murderous act. Though Orestes only meant to avenge his father’s death, his deed was not unpunished, which supports the claim that the two first parts of The Oresteia were meant to portray one idea: blood vengeance, no matter how justified, will fix little while causing a slew of new
Not long after the deed is done, he begins to see grotesque Gorgon-like creatures approach them and concludes them to be the agents of the mother’s curse that have come to punish his sin, and he flees in terror as they approach. This further supports the idea that the two pieces together form the idea that even just vengeance for the sake of a loved one does not go unpunished. His mother’s warning comes when he confronts her with his weapon and she tells him, "Cl. So then, my son, you mean to kill your mother?... Beware the hell-hounds of a mother's curse!" (Aeschylus 333). Here, she asks incredulously if Orestes actually will kill his own mother, and she then warns him to beware of a mother’s curse as he will be tormented by hell-hounds. This was later confirmed not to be an empty threat when he alone could perceive monsters approaching him and exclaimed, "Or. To me they are no fancies—only too clear— / Can you not see them?—hounds of a mother's / curse!" (Aeschylus 338). In saying this, Orestes expressed his terror and proved that, despite the chorus not being able to see them, he was in fact being tormented by hellish beings brought upon by his recent act. Judging by how the appearance of these creatures coincided with Clytemnestra's warning, both Orestes and the reader conclude that they are in fact beings dispatched to punish Orestes’s murderous act. Though Orestes only meant to avenge his father’s death, his deed was not unpunished, which supports the claim that the two first parts of The Oresteia were meant to portray one idea: blood vengeance, no matter how justified, will fix little while causing a slew of new