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title: The Oresteia
author: Aeschylus
illustrator: Michael Ayrton
year: 1961
condition: A clean copy in fine/excellent condition. Strong binding and spine. Clean and stainless pages free of any tears or foxing.
publisher: Heritage Press
pages: 176
dimensions: 13.25 inches x 9.75 inches x 1 inch
description: Hardcover, deep orange book with beautiful patterns along both the front and back covers. Features full-color illustrations by Michael Ayrton throughout the book. Includes an introduction and translator's note.
synopsis: In the Oresteia Aeschylus addressed the bloody chain of murder and revenge within the royal family of Argos. As they move from darkness to light, from rage to self-governance, from primitive ritual to civilized institution, their spirit of struggle and regeneration becomes an everlasting song of celebration. In Agamemnon, a king's decision to sacrifice his daughter and turn the tide of war inflicts lasting damage on his family, culminating in a terrible act of retribution; The Libation Bearers deals with the aftermath of Clytemnestra's regicide, as her son Orestes sets out to avenge his father's death; and in The Eumenides, Orestes is tormented by supernatural powers that can never be appeased. Forming an elegant and subtle discourse on the emergence of Athenian democracy out of a period of chaos and destruction, The Oresteia is a compelling tragedy of the tensions between our obligations to our families and the laws that bind us together as a society.