Blood on Their Hands: The Oresteia vs. Iphigenia at Aulis

A victorious king is murdered at the hands of his own wife. One immediately questions: ‘Who are these people?’ and ‘Why would this happen?’. The story of Agamemnon, great king of Argos, and his wife Clytemnestra has been told many ways throughout history. Two of the most famous and contradictory accounts were written by Aeschylus in 458 B.C. and Euripides, over fifty years later, in 406 B.C. Even though both Aeschylus and Euripides were Greek dramatists, there were many factors that led to their different versions of the same subject matter. Although depicting the same basic story, Aeschylus’ The Oresteia and Euripides’ Iphigenia at Aulis are starkly different in their accounts and interpretations, due to their own historical context, the focus within the text, and their characterizations. Analysis of Aeschylus and Euripides’ time periods, the setting and plots of each play, and the portrayals of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, will shed light on the aim of both playwrights.
...