The aftermath; Orestes, Euripides

 

Why you might read Orestes?

Orestes is a play that fills in a gap. This gap is left by the earlier plays about how and why Orestes flees his home city. As such it helps to complete his story and give him more direct motivation for the next step in his story.

In my Self Education, this play shows the Greeks were not against adding to a story. It shows their want to see the whole story, in a similar way that we see today with novels getting prequels.

The Story of Orestes

The play starts with Electra at Oreste's bedside. He is tortured by the furies about killing his mother in vengeance for her killing his father. We hear that Helen and Menelaus have just arrived by ship. Helen enters lamenting the loss of her sister and blaming Electra. She then asks her a favour as she is too scared to walk around Argos because of the fathers of sons that fell at Troy. She asks Electra to go and make libations at her mothers grave. Electra refuses and suggests she sends her daughter Hermione instead. This Helen does after giving her specific instructions. Electra and the chorus then discuss her brother's condition more. She charges them to be quiet and not wake him, though this conversation does eventually wake him. Orestes wakes in his right mind but does not really know what to do with himself. He keeps asking for her help to reposition himself. Electra informs him the Menelaus has arrived in town. Orestes speaks of his desire to see him as he is the only one that can preserve their lives. The madness overcomes him again and he rants and raves and shoots two arrows into the air at nothing. He regains himself and sends Electra off to get some sleep. 

Menelaus arrives, He and Orestes discuss the death of his mother. As well as the upcoming assembly to decide the sibling's fate. Tyndareus is the father of Helen and Orestes' mother. He complicates the discussion with his point of view. That is that Orestes and Electra must die. They should have sought a legal ruling not take her life themselves. Orestes does plead his case to him but it has no effect on him. Menelaus from this decides he cannot support Orestes too much for fear of his father in law and the crowd. Pylades, the friend who helped with the killing arrives. He and Orestes discuss Orestes' chances and their plan for the assembly. Pylades then helps Orestes to the assembly.

Electra awaits and asks where Orestes is. She is being told about him going to the assembly when a messenger arrives to tell her they are sentenced to death. The messenger gives an account on what happened at the assembly. This includes that Menelaus does nothing to help them and does not even attend. Electra starts lamenting her death. 

Orestes and Pylades arrive back. Orestes start to chastise Electra for her lamenting. He says that at least it's not death by stoning. Rather it is at their own hand, but that, even at her asking, he cannot take her life she must take her own. As they start to plan this Orestes asks Pylades to give them a burial but Pylades says if they must do so must he. Pylades then comes up with a rather foolhardy but desperate plan. His plan is to kill Helen as punishment to Menelaus before they die. Electra adds that they can take Hermione hostage. This would allow them to escape the city and punishment. So they set this plan in motion. When the two men go to kill Helen they get distracted for a moment by a slave and she disappears. They then proceed on with the next part of the plan. They successfully take Hemione hostage and lock all the gates. They then start setting up wood to make fires. If Menelaus won't let them out alive they will take the palace with them. Menelaus arrives and finds Orestes on the parapet with his sword at Hemione's throat.

Things are coming to a head and Menelaus is starting to cave to save his daughter. In pops Apollo and a sharp left turn with him. Apollo curbs both their anger and settles the situation. He sends Menelaus back to Sparta to be king there. He gives Orestes an exile lasting a year. In which time he will sort out the furies and the judgement for what he has done. Then he gets the throne of Argos and he gives Hermione to him to marry. With Electra, he gives her to Pylades as a wife. Helen he explains has been whisked away to be a goddess of the sea and Menelaus should take another wife. He says Helen was the gods' instrument to get the war between Argos and Troy. And they all go along with it, Orestes praises the Oracle for being right. 

Reflections on Orestes

This is the first time we have seen the consequences for Helen once she gets back from Troy. Though we did not expect to see her here. If she was at home with her husband Menelaus, she would have been Sparta as mentioned later in the play. In the end part of the play, I can't quite work out if it is revealed that Helen is a goddess or if she is made so by Apollo. Either way, she seems to skip out of the unfaithful wife situation straight into one far cushier.

I guess it goes with don't tempt a desperate man, how quickly this escalates. It escalates from we must die to let's kill Helen before we go. As well as let's use her daughter as a hostage and save ourselves. And there lies the point, when offered a way out from death it is so easy to grasp onto even the craziest of schemes. This is how false miracle cures get customers. 

The twist at the end, if you can call it that, seems to take the situation and turn it on its head. Including from he's going to kill my daughter to, sure he can marry her. It shows that at least in the theatre the gods must be obeyed. It is also a strange vindication for Orestes. It also sets this play up to fit into the chronology we have seen from other series of plays dealing with Orestes. In saying that it feels a little forced like the story must fit so we will make it do so no matter what it does to the plot lines. 

Oreste's initial view on his death is very fatalistic. He tries to get Electra to stop lamenting and just get on with it. The only thing he seems to be concerned about is at first their burial. Then in the unnecessary death of his friend with them. 

What others have to say about Orestes

From Greek Mythology "Orestes is, undeniably, unlike any other of the surviving ancient tragedies in terms of how loosely it is based on previous stories"

It "brings myths together in entirely new ways and freely adds to the mythic material" From Ancient Literature

Comparisons with other texts

Here we see the direct aftermath of plays like The Libation Bearers, Electra by Sophocles or Electra by Euripides. These are all different versions of Orestes coming back from exile. And on his return, finding his sister and killing their mother. 

The Eumenides traditionally follows the Libation Bearers. It follows Orestes as he gets a good judgement in exile. This play is set to bridge the gap between these two. Whether it needed bridging or not is another question. It does this bridging with its abrupt change when Apollo enters.

We see the importance placed on a proper burial. Though it does not go as far as we see in the Suppliant Women where they bring about a war to get the remains back from a foe. Even when they are the end of their line, Orestes is still thinking about being buried properly. 

Conclusion

Orestes from Euripides fills in a small gap in the timeline of Orestes. It does so by adding a mythical element with the arrival of Apollo in the end. The consequences for the unfaithful Helen are explored. As well as how the violence ramps up very quickly. We have looked at how it is fitted into the timeline. How there is still a focus on burial which we have seen in other plays.

Have you read Orestes? If so what did you think of it? 
 
Want to read Orestes but haven't? Please leave me a comment and let me know why you want to read it.

Hopefully, this post inspires you to take the time to look into it on your own journey of Self Education.

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