Aeschylus - The Eumenides

"You wish to be called righteous rather than act right…"




Towering over the rest of Greek tragedy, The Eumenides, one of Aeschylus’ earliest surviving tragedies, is one of the most enduring dramas ever written.


After the murder of his mother, Orestes wanders as an outcast. 


He seeks refuge in the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi as the Furies relentlessly torment him for taking his mother’s life.


Ultimately he arrives at Athens and throws himself on the mercy of the goddess Athene. 


The Furies threaten to take revenge on Athens, but Athene pacifies them and soon the Furies are transformed into benevolent spirits. 


Their name is changed to the Eumenides, ("the kindly ones,") to symbolize their new character.


AESCHYLUS (525-456 BC) is one of three ancient Greek tragedians (along with Sophocles and Euripides) whose plays have survived down through the centuries. Although he is said to have written over seventy plays, only a few have survived.



He was the playwright who first made Athenian tragedy one of the world's great art forms, although in his epitaph he preferred he should be remembered as one of those who fought the Persians at Marathon. 


His most famous plays include Seven Against Thebes, The Suppliants, The Oresteia, Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, The Eumenides, and Prometheus Bound.