Can the young gods Apollo and Athena save him from a terrible fate?Īdapted by three of Britain’s most imaginative writers, Simon Scardifield, Ed Hime and Rebecca Lenkiewicz, these contemporary versions of Aeschylus’ trilogy are atmospheric, fast-moving and superbly accessible.

But the remorseless Furies, ancient deities of vengeance, are on his trail and baying for blood. Having committed matricide, Orestes flees to Delphi. But where can he find the strength to carry out such a horrific deed? Returning from exile, Agamemnon's son Orestes vows to avenge his father’s death by murdering his killer, his own mother Clytemnestra. Now, his wife Clytemnestra is determined to take a grisly revenge … But victory came at an appalling price – the sacrifice of his eldest daughter, Iphigenia. The Trojan War is over, and conquering hero Agamemnon arrives home to Argos. To break the chain, their private vendetta must become public, as questions of guilt and justification are decided in the first ever homicide trial. At once a family saga, morality tale and courtroom drama, it recounts how two generations of the cursed House of Atreus become locked into a deadly cycle of atrocities. The classic trilogy about murder, revenge and justice, as heard on BBC Radio 3 – plus a bonus documentary exploring Aeschylus' seminal Greek tragedy.Ī chilling tale of homecoming, violent death and bloody vengeance, The Oresteia dates back to the fifth century BC, but its themes still resonate today.

The Oresteia by Aeschylus