The Oresteia characters

Appears from the start

The queen of Argos, who has governed during her husband's long absence at Troy. She receives the news of victory with commanding assurance and prepares an elaborate welcome for Agamemnon, while the history of their sacrificed daughter Iphigenia hangs over his return.

Appears from the start

King of Argos and commander of the Greek expedition against Troy. He returns victorious after ten years of war, bringing the captive Trojan princess Cassandra with him and entering a household burdened by old violence and resentment.

Appears from the start

A Trojan princess taken as Agamemnon's captive after the fall of her city. Apollo gave her true prophetic sight but made her warnings unbelievable to others, leaving her able to perceive the crimes surrounding the royal house without persuading the Argive elders to act.

Appears from the start

Clytemnestra's partner and a surviving son of Thyestes. His hostility toward Agamemnon grows from the older feud in which Agamemnon's father, Atreus, murdered Aegisthus's brothers and served them as food to their father.

Appears from the start

A group of elderly Argive men left behind when the younger generation sailed to Troy. They recall the war's causes, debate the queen's reports, and serve as anxious witnesses to the return of the king and the inherited violence in his family.

First appears in chapter 2

Agamemnon and Clytemnestra's son, sent away from Argos as a child. He returns as a young man under Apollo's command to avenge his murdered father, a duty that places family obligation and divine law in direct conflict.

First appears in chapter 2

Orestes' sister, still living in the palace under Clytemnestra and Aegisthus. She goes to Agamemnon's grave with offerings and prays for justice before recognizing her returned brother and joining his plan.

First appears in chapter 2

Orestes' loyal companion in exile, who returns to Argos with him. Usually quiet, he stands beside Orestes during the revenge plot and speaks decisively when his friend falters.

First appears in chapter 2

The elderly servant who nursed Orestes and still remembers raising him. Clytemnestra sends her to summon Aegisthus after a stranger reports Orestes' death, and her genuine grief shows the affection that remains for him within the household.

First appears in chapter 2

Enslaved women of the palace who accompany Electra to Agamemnon's grave. They share the royal children's hatred of the usurping household and help turn mourning for the dead king into a demand for vengeance.

First appears in chapter 2

Ancient goddesses who punish bloodshed within a family. They appear to Orestes after he kills his mother and pursue him as the living force of an older law that demands payment for kindred blood.

First appears in chapter 3

The god whose oracle ordered Orestes to avenge Agamemnon. At Delphi he purifies Orestes of the killing and undertakes to defend both the command he gave and the man who obeyed it.

First appears in chapter 3

The patron goddess of Athens, called upon when Orestes seeks refuge there. Faced with a dispute too grave for a divine ruling made alone, she establishes a citizen court to hear the claims of Orestes and the Furies.