WLIT: 2323 Study Questions for the ORESTEIA

AGAMEMNON

1. How does Clytemnestra flind out very rapidly that the Greek forces have conquered Troy?
2. To what are Agamemnon and Menelaus compared in the first great simile by the chorus (lines 50-60)?
3. To what are Agamemnon and Menelaus compared in the omen interpreted by Calchas (104-155)? Whose
sacrifice is then described in 205-255?
4. Why, according to the Chorus in lines 440-70, were the citizens angry at the sons of Atreus?
5. How reliable does the Chorus find Clytemnestra's report that Troy has been taken? Why do they doubt her information? (475-487)
6. What reason does the Herald give for the destruction of the Greek fleet on its way back from Troy?
7. To what is Helen compared by the Chorus in lines 718-735? How does Clytemnestra present herself in her first speech to Agamemnon? Where has she sent their child, Orestes?
8. What does Clytemnestra persuade Agamemnon to do in lines 905-958? What seems to be her most compelling argument?
9. By what god is Cassandra possessed in line 1073? What does this possession enable her to "see"? How does the Chorus initially react to her pronouncements?
10. According to Cassandra, is Clytemnestra's forthcoming murder of Agamemnon the first "family crime" in the House of Atreus? What other crimes have been committed before this one?
11. How does the Chorus react when Agamemnon cries out (1342-45)? Do they take effective action?
12. To what does Clytemnestra compare herself in lines 1380-1392 as she describes the murder?
13. Who must intervene between Aegisthus and the Chorus at the end of the play to prevent further bloodshed?

LIBATION BEARERS (Choephoroi)

1. Who is at the grave of Agamemnon when Electra and the Chorus appear? What has this person left at the grave?
2. Why are Electra and the Chorus visiting Agamemnon's grave? Who has sent them, and why?
3. What collection of evidence convinces Electra that Orestes is Orestes?
4. To what does Orestes compare himself and Electra in lines 246-263? Who or what represents Clytemnestra in this comparison? With what similes in Agamemnon does this passage correspond?
5. What is Orestes' mission? What god or goddess has sent him on this mission? With what has this divinity threatened Orestes if he does not take on this task?
6. According to the Chorus at line 400, what does "spilled blood soaking the ground" demand? What do the Chorus, Orestes, and Apollo seem to ignore about this reasoning?
7. What plan does Orestes devise to get into the house and dispatch Aegisthus?
8. Of all the terrors the Chorus mentions in 585-638, what turns out to be the most terrible? What examples do they give of this most terrible creature?
9. What crucial assistance does the Chorus give to Orestes' plan during their conversation with the Nurse? How does the Nurse compare with Clytemnestra?
10. How does Clytemnestra temporarily immobilize Orestes as he tries to lead her inside to kill her? Who speaks up at this point, and what does he remind Orestes about?
11. What does Orestes exhibit and discuss at length in lines 980-1006?
12. Who or what appears to drive Orestes out of his mind and off the stage at the end of this play?

FURIES (Eumenides)

1. Who has possessed the oracle at Delphi before Apollo? Who is inside the shrine at the beginning of the play, whose loathsome appearance drives the Pythian priestess out?
2. Where does Apollo tell Orestes to go? What is he to do when he arrives there?
3. What are the Furies during at the beginning of this play? Who or what appears to them and drives them to pursue Orestes? How do the Furies feel about the "new gods"?
4. Why, according to the Furies, do they not pursue a woman who has killed her husband?
5. In lines 306-396, what do the Furies outline as their special job in the universe?
6. How does Athena propose to settle the dispute between Apollo and the Furies?
7. In lines 499-526, what do the Furies suggest will happen if their function is removed?
8. When questioned by Orestes in line 604, what reason do the Furies again give for not pursuing Clytemnestra? What argument does this cause Apollo to make about the relationship between mother and child?
9. How does the Chorus respond to Apollo's argument that it was particularly horrible for Clytemnestra to enfold Agamemnon in a robe and stab him while he was helpless? How does Apollo respond to the Chorus' observations about Zeus' behavior in his own family?
10. For what reason does Athena declare that she will vote to acquit Orestes? What is the outcome of the jury's vote?
11. In lines 824-836, what means does Athena seem to be using to persuade the Furies to accept the outcome of the trial? How "just" is this means of persuasion? What does she offer them in turn if they relent?