Eumenides

Roles

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

About this piece

Athena welcomes the Furies to Athens

Summary

This play concludes the Oresteia trilogy which started with Agamemnon and The Libation Bearers. The first play focuses on Clytemnestra's revenge on Agamemnon for sacrificing their daughter during the Trojan war. She kills him along with his mistress Cassandra. In The Libation Bearers, Orestes, Agamemnon's exiled son, along with his sister Electra, murder their mother and her lover Aegisthus, avenging their father's death. Right after the murder, Orestes is tormented by the Erinyes (Furies), goddesses that avenge patricide or matricide. The Eumenides about the Furies' wrath on Orestes. They pursue him relentlessly and he is forced to seek the help of Apollo and Hermes. Hermes casts a spell on them and the goddesses fall asleep. After being awaken by Clytemnestra's ghost, they continue their pursuit until Athena intervenes and forces a trial. She invokes a jury of 12 Athenians to judge the case, with Apollo defending Orestes and the furies advocating for Clytemnestra. They decide in favor of Orestes, who leaves and becomes king. After the trial, to placate the Furies' outrage for the decision, Athena offers them a place in Athens and names them the city's protectors. In this monologue Athena tries to persuade the Furies to accept her offer.

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