The Libation Bearers

Roles

• Nurse - Young Adult (20-35), Adult (36-50), Senior (>50), Female

About this piece

The nurse tells the Chorus that Orestes is dead

Summary

The Libation Bearers is the sequel to Agamemnon. In the previous play Agamemnon is killed by his wife Clytemnestra and her lover Aegistus for having sacrificed his daughter during the Trojan war. In the Libation Bearers Clytemnestra's daughter Electra and her son Orestes (who had been sent away in exile since he was a kid) unite to avenge their father's death by killing their mother and her lover. The play starts with Clytemnestra having disturbing dreams such as giving birth to a snake. Thinking that it is a sign of the god's wrath she sends her daughter to her father's grave to pour libations. There she meets her brother Orestes and they decide to murder their mother and Aegisthus. When he meets Clytemnestra, Orestes pretends to be a stranger bringing the sad news of Orestes' death. Clytemnestra sends Oreste's old nurse Cilissa to tells Aegisthus to come with his bodyguard to hear the news. In this scene the nurse is stopped by the Chorus and she tells them that she has to deliver to Aegisthus the sad news of Orestes' death. She tells them she knows that, even if Clytemnestra looked sad, the Queen rejoiced by hearing the news of her son's death. The nurse also remembers raising young Orestes and is saddened by the memories.

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