The Oresteia

The Oresteia comprises three of the greatest plays of all time: Agamemnon, The Cheophori and The Eumenides. Concerned with the immediate aftermath of the Trojan War as it affects the accursed royal house of Atreus, it follows a singularly harrowing course, from the bloodiest domestic discord to divine intervention and reconciliation. Ted Hughes's translation was written in his most pared-down and powerfully driven verse, at once equal to Aeschylus's tragic vision and speaking directly to modern audiences and readers.