Format read: paperback
Reading time: ? (a lot)
Tags: theatre, tragedy, comedy, ancient Greece, classical literature, mythology
Own a copy: yes
Reread likelihood: 10/10
Aeschylus' The Oresteia (Agamemnon, Libation Bearers, & Eumenides)
I read this version of the trilogy with the idea of teaching it in university, which went surprisingly well. The plays have several important themes at their core such as family feuds, generational curses, women's place in society, violence against women, madness, justice and the birth of the judicial system, and religious zealotry, to name a few.
My favourite play of the three is the last one, Eumenides, as the ancient gods are brought to life and made to participate in the very first instance of a murder trial by jury. It's fascinating to have Apollo and Athena's ‘voices' (though I don't necessarily agree with their arguments!) as the primary speakers in the play. Even though the trilogy is very much concerned with the human, the last play reveals that, ultimately, the gods are still the ones who pull the strings behind the scenes (at least, within the context of ancient Greece).
This translation was very clear and easy to follow, but the musicality/poetry was lost most of the time. Also, there were some instances where the translator made use of much too modern language or phrases to convey an idea, which broke the immersion of the text.
Aeschylus gets 5 stars, the translation gets 4.