Orestes

Orestes is a tragedy by Euripides performed in Athens in 408 BCE, in the final years of the Peloponnesian War. It continues the story of Orestes after he killed his mother, Clytemnestra, and belongs to the same cycle as Electra and Iphigenia among the Taurians, although its tone and approach differ from other versions of the myth, notably Aeschylus' treatment in The Eumenides.

The play opens with Orestes ill and pursued by the Furies for his crime, cared for by his sister Electra. The city of Argos is about to vote on his death sentence. His uncle Menelaus, just returned from Troy, refuses to commit himself to his defense, and his grandfather Tyndareus demands punishment. Orestes and his friend Pylades end up seeking revenge by planning to kill Helen and take her daughter Hermione hostage. The resolution comes with the intervention of Apollo, who restores order, tells Orestes that he must be tried before the Areopagus in Athens and will be acquitted, and arranges several marriages.

The plot explores the tension between divine justice, human law and blood vengeance, and offers a sharply critical view of the politics of its time: leaders who manipulate the crowd, an assembly that decides on impulse, and violence dressed up as justice. Some scholars have read the play as a reflection on a war-weary Athens. Its reception has been uneven, and its character, often seen as bleak or ironic, remains much debated. A musical fragment preserved on papyrus, probably composed by Euripides himself, makes it an exceptional witness to tragic music.