Orestia
Ancient legends are known throughout the world and retold in versions generation after generation. Authors take an old story and reimagine it and reinvent it to fit the perspective of their own generation. The first known version of the Agamemnon story comes from The Odyssey. In Homer's book, The Odyssey, the author relates the story of King Agamemnon and his untimely death, as well as the resulting familial tragedy that follows that event. In each version, Agamemnon was a king who returned from the war in Troy to his, supposed, loving wife and family. Unfortunately, his wife is not so happy for his return. This queen, named Clytemnestra, is unwilling to give up sole power of their kingdom. This is the point in the story where versions change the order of events and the various players in the game. The subsequent versions of this same story change certain details in order to prove the intended point of the author of that work. In Greek mythology, there is a great difference between the concepts of vengeance the need for revenge. Vengeance is a strong desire which overcomes all other emotions or desires in the need for the act of revenge. In all versions, the need for vengeance and the need for revenge are counterpointed with the filial duties of a son. In Anne Carson's version of the story, told in her book, An Oresteia, the author takes these basic plot points and alters other moments in order to support her own perspective of that story.
The rest of the story goes like this: Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus, murder her husband and his prize from the wars, the cursed seer Cassandra. It is not only for power that Clytemnestra wishes her husband dead. Agamemnon sacrificed...
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