Orestes
Publié le 22/02/2012
Extrait du document
Greek The only son of Agamemnon
and Clytemnestra; brother of Electra, Iphigenia,
and Chrysothemis. Orestes killed his mother, who
had killed her husband, Agamemnon. According to
some accounts, the Furies drove Orestes mad for the
unforgivable crime of matricide. He took refuge in
Athens. He was tried and acquitted at the court of
Areopagus, a tribunal of Athenian judges. He then
took possession of his dead father's kingdom and
married Hermione, the daughter of Menelaus and
Helen.
Matricide had always been regarded as a terrible
crime, but in this myth, a court finds the son, Orestes,
innocent. Zeus, Apollo, and Athene had championed
his cause in this trial. Orestes absolution represents the
final triumph of patriarchy over the old pre-Hellenic
religions and customs.
Liens utiles
- Iphigenia Greek Daughter of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and leader of the Greek forces in the Trojan War; sister of Electra and Orestes.
- Orestes Greek The only son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra; brother of Electra, Iphigenia, and Chrysothemis.
- Electra (1) Greek Daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra; sister of Iphigenia and Orestes.
- Orestes