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Orestes
Sign in to savethumb|upright=1.1|Orestes being purified by Apollo on an Apulian red-figure bell-krater, 380–370 BC, now in the Louvre.
"Orestes" is an ancient Greek tragedy by Euripides that tells the story of Orestes, who kills his mother Clytemnestra to avenge his father Agamemnon's murder, then faces madness and divine punishment for the act. The play remains significant because it explores profound themes of justice, revenge, and moral responsibility that have influenced Western literature and thought for over two thousand years.
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- Ὀρέστης
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Article
16 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Greek literature
- Homer
- Pindar
- Greek drama
- Aeschylus
- Euripides
- Other literature and media
- Reported remains
- Brought to Sparta
- The ashes of Orestes as ''Pignora Imperii''
- Orestes and Pylades
- Sanctuary of Maniae
- References
- Further reading
- External links
thumb|upright=1.1|Orestes being purified by Apollo on an Apulian red-figure bell-krater, 380–370 BC, now in the Louvre.
In Greek mythology, Orestes or Orestis (; ) was the son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, and the brother of Electra and Iphigenia. He was also known by the patronymic Agamemnonides (), meaning "son of Agamemnon." He is the subject of several Ancient Greek plays and of various myths connected with his madness, revenge, and purification, which retain obscure threads of much older works. In particular Orestes plays a main role in Aeschylus' Oresteia.