Orestes

Also known as: OR / OR. / ORES. / ORESTES / Orest / Orest. · Family: Argos · Role: son · First appears: Aeschylus, Agamemnon — Scene 4

As a child, Orestes was brought to Aulis with Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, alongside his sisters Iphigenia, Electra, and Chrysothemis. After Agamemnon was slain, Electra rescued him and sent him to Phocis, where Strophius received and raised him; Kilissa also nursed him. “For now a kind ally doth nurture him, Strophios the Phokian.” When Orestes reached manhood, Apollo commanded him to avenge his father, and he returned to Argos with his trusted friend Pylades.

At Agamemnon’s tomb, Orestes revealed himself to Electra, who recognized him as their house’s hope. Disguised with Pylades, he entered the palace, falsely reported his own death, and then killed Aegisthus and Clytemnestra for Agamemnon’s murder, acting under Apollo’s oracle. Afterward he became an exile, pursued by the Erinnyes for shedding kindred blood, and sought refuge first with Apollo and then at Athena’s shrine. Hermes guided him, Apollo defended him, and Athena’s deciding vote acquitted him when the trial ended evenly: “The accused is found “not guilty” of the murder: For lo! the numbers of the votes are equal.”

In later events, Orestes remained afflicted by madness and was barred from shelter in Argos while the citizens considered his death. With Electra and Pylades, he faced condemnation, planned an attack on Helen, seized Hermione, and then released her when Apollo intervened. Apollo ordered him to leave Argos for a year and undergo trial at Athens, while Menelaus was commanded to let him reign over Argos and betroth Hermione to him; Electra was given in marriage to Pylades. In Tauris, Orestes and Pylades were captured for sacrifice, but Iphigenia recognized her brother and helped him escape with her and the sacred image, under Athena’s command and with Poseidon calming the sea.