... characteristics for each code are modified to fit the character, but in general, most heroes act within their own spheres of influence. Clytaemestra, Orestes, and Medea prove to be solid examples of the typical tragic hero, while Alcestis is solidly an Homeric hero. By comparing and contrasting ... for Agamemnon. This wretched conspiracy with Aegisthus is successful in killing Agamemnon and claiming the power over Agamemnon's subjects. In The Libation Bearers, Orestes cleverly conspires with his sister, Electra, and trusts many of the old and loyal subjects of Agamemnon. Additionally, t...

• Word Count: 2363
• Approx Pages: 9

... power. This is were the play "The Libation Bearers" starts. Many years after Agamemnon's death, Orestes and Electra return, which their mother Clytaemnestra has betrayed from their rightful inheritance. Orestes has been commanded by the god Apollo to take revenge on his mother for killing Agamemnon and to reclaim ... own justifications it only leads to more new killings with other new reasons for taking revenge. As it also explains in "The Oresteia"; "He (Orestes) must recognize, in fact, that his revenge is just, but that justice takes the form of matricide, the greatest form of guilt."...

• Word Count: 1623
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... intense protest against her husband Agamemnon's cruel decision to sacrifice their daughter Iphigenia holds no ground to the Greek audience and the other characters of the play. Her own son Orestes later kills her. To him, avenging his father's murder is all-important and the hideous crime of matricide is only secondary! So much so that Athene , the daughter of Zeus ... , successfully persuades the Furies to pardon Orestes. It is as if Agamemnon's life holds greater worth than Clytemnestra's. Secondly, Medea is not dependant on any other character for her dramatic significance. She appear...

• Word Count: 3814
• Approx Pages: 15
• Grade Level: High School