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Aeschylus, II, Oresteia: Agamemnon. Libation-Bearers. Eumenides (Loeb Classical Library) Hardcover – January 31, 2009

by Aeschylus (Author), Alan H. Sommerstein (Translator)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 45 ratings
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The tragic cycle of justice.

Aeschylus (ca. 525–456 BC), the dramatist who made Athenian tragedy one of the world’s great art forms, witnessed the establishment of democracy at Athens, fought against the Persians at Marathon and probably also at Salamis, and had one of his productions sponsored by the young Pericles. He was twice invited to visit Sicily, and it was there that he died. At Athens he competed for the tragic prize at the City Dionysia about nineteen times between circa 499 and 458, and won it on thirteen occasions; in his later years he was probably victorious almost every time he put on a production, though Sophocles beat him at least once.

Of his total of about eighty plays, seven survive complete. The first volume of this new Loeb Classical Library edition contains fresh texts and translations by Alan H. Sommerstein of Persians (472), on the recent war, the only surviving Greek historical drama; Seven against Thebes (467), the third play of a trilogy, on the conflict between Oedipus’ sons which ends when they kill each other; Suppliants, the first or second play of a trilogy, on the successful appeal by the daughters of Danaus to the king and people of Argos for protection against a forced marriage to their cousins (whom they will later murder, all but one); and Prometheus Bound (of disputed authenticity), on the terrible punishment of Prometheus for giving fire to humans in defiance of Zeus (with whom he will later be reconciled after preventing his overthrow). The second volume contains the complete Oresteia trilogy (458), comprising Agamemnon, Libation-Bearers, and Eumenides, presenting the murder of Agamemnon by his wife, the revenge taken by their son Orestes, the pursuit of Orestes by his mother’s avenging Furies, his trial and acquittal at Athens, Athena’s pacification of the Furies, and the blessings they both invoke upon the Athenian people.

This edition’s third volume offers all the major fragments of lost Aeschylean plays, with brief headnotes explaining what is known, or can be plausibly inferred, about their content, and bibliographies of recent studies.

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  1. Print length
    544 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Harvard University Press
  4. Publication date
    January 31, 2009
  5. Dimensions
    4.25 x 1.05 x 6.37 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0674996283
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0674996281
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Alan Sommerstein’s three-volume Aeschylus… is in many respects the best critical edition of this playwright available in any format. Sommerstein’s authority as a linguist and expert in Aeschylean drama is second to none, and he has provided an up-to-date and carefully constituted text for the seven surviving plays, plus all of the fragmentary remains that are at least one line long. Important manuscript variants and modern conjectures are scrupulously recorded (making the page a little cluttered, but clear enough); and in addition he has provided copious notes, fuller and more numerous than is normal for a Loeb, on matters of myth, geography, history and interpretation.”―Mark Griffith, Times Literary Supplement

About the Author

Alan H. Sommerstein is Professor of Greek, University of Nottingham.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harvard University Press (January 31, 2009)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 544 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0674996283
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0674996281
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.5 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.25 x 1.05 x 6.37 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 45 ratings

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Aeschylus

Aeschylus

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Aeschylus (/ˈiːskᵻləs/ or /ˈɛskᵻləs/; Greek: Αἰσχύλος Aiskhulos; Ancient Greek: [ai̯s.kʰý.los]; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian. He is also the first whose plays still survive; the others are Sophocles and Euripides. He is often described as the father of tragedy: critics and scholars' knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier tragedies is largely based on inferences from his surviving plays. According to Aristotle, he expanded the number of characters in theater to allow conflict among them, whereas characters previously had interacted only with the chorus.

Only seven of his estimated seventy to ninety plays have survived, and there is a longstanding debate regarding his authorship of one of these plays, Prometheus Bound, which some believe his son Euphorion actually wrote. Fragments of some other plays have survived in quotes and more continue to be discovered on Egyptian papyrus, often giving us surprising insights into his work. He was probably the first dramatist to present plays as a trilogy; his Oresteia is the only ancient example of the form to have survived. At least one of his plays was influenced by the Persians' second invasion of Greece (480-479 BC). This work, The Persians, is the only surviving classical Greek tragedy concerned with contemporary events (very few of that kind were ever written), and a useful source of information about its period. The significance of war in Ancient Greek culture was so great that Aeschylus' epitaph commemorates his participation in the Greek victory at Marathon while making no mention of his success as a playwright. Despite this, Aeschylus' work – particularly the Oresteia – is acclaimed by today's literary academics.

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Unknown [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
45 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Edition!
Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2022
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The Greek text is presented very clearly; the reconstructions of corrupted sections of the text are generally persuasive, especially in the Eumenides's famous trial section. The accompanying notes provide the reader with a detailed exposition of the historical background and the dominant literary motifs threaded through the text.
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Joe G
5.0 out of 5 stars Fine copy by an excellent author/editor
Reviewed in the United States on September 17, 2011
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This is a Loeb edition. Those of you familiar with the concept will appreciate this new edition from Alan Somerstein. Updated from the previous (Smyth) edition, this copy of the Oresteia includes emendations based on decisions made by editors in the past eighty years. The introduction by the author to the trilogy is succinct, accurate, and includes a helpful bibliography. Furthermore, the author's running notes throughout the text will be useful for readers desiring a further perspective in commentary. Denniston and Page, Fraenkel, and Sommerstein will be a comprehensive series of Aeschylus scholars to consult in your exploration of this 5th century Athenian play. As with all Loeb editions, the text is bound firmly and yields well to use. The pages are crisp and clean and have a smooth finish. The facing translation, included with the notes Sommerstein provides, is accurate and will help a new generation of classics students grapple with the meaning of Aeschlean syntax. This will compliment your library very nicely, whether you are a student of Greek, or not. Enjoy.
16 people found this helpful
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harold walsh
5.0 out of 5 stars "we petty men" will do better to peep about
Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2015
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one hesitates to "review" such work as this. "we petty men" will do better to peep about, content with our lot and overjoyed to be able to enjoy the limitless richness of such as these who have gone before. I cannot even bring myself to comment upon the rendering here: I have tried my hand, and -- alas -- it shakes, trembles. with the voice in the garden, let us simply say take up, read
2 people found this helpful
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J. B. Powers
5.0 out of 5 stars latest scholarship
Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2012
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Professor Sommerstein has brought erudition and penetrating insight to this classic masterpiece. This 2008 reissue of the Loeb edition of the Oresteia contains a fine introduction which places the production in its historical context. A discussion of the manuscript witnesses is illuminated with a detailed sigla. There is a bibliography of pertinent literature for further study. This volume provides a solid foundation for those who want to see the original structure which underlies the freer poetic translations and performances.
2 people found this helpful
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Joseph Duvernay
5.0 out of 5 stars On The Loeb Classical Library
Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2010
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Aeschylus wrote beautifully, without doubt!
Thanks to Harvard University Press and their (James) Loeb Classical series,
'original' texts can be seen and read by the common man,
and this service gives translation its new old face and so much more meaning.
The books are beautiful; I'am indebted and learn much, I think.
2 people found this helpful
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Jeff Boyd
5.0 out of 5 stars Solid Greek text, excellent translation, wonderful notes.
Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2013
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This updated Loeb offers a solid Greek text (good enough to my eye for serious scholarship), an excellent and fairly literal prose translation, and notes that combine insight with surefootedness in their discussion of interpretative matters and the rhetorical/thematic features of the plays.
3 people found this helpful
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DavidJB
4.0 out of 5 stars Great, if Sometimes Difficult, Reading
Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2014
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There were several translations of the Aeschylus plays available on Amazon, and I am glad to chose this one. The translation is clear (and printed alongside the Greek text) and heavily footnoted, making the understanding of the plays much more accessible to the reader. A very nice little book.
3 people found this helpful
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Edward R. Levenson
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2018
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brilliant, thorough, readable, definitive
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on July 20, 2015
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After reading Richard Jenkyns' Classical Literature, I had to go back and revisit this. It is electrifying.
One person found this helpful
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lexo1941
5.0 out of 5 stars The most useful edition of Aeschylus in English
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 8, 2015
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I can't agree with the other review that describes this translation as 'wooden'. The Loeb classics are for people studying the original language, who want a reliable translation that will convey the meaning of the original as clearly as possible, given that the original is on the facing page. They are not meant to be read as exciting new adaptations of the original into the target language, in the manner of (say) Robert Fagles' excellent Penguin adaptations (I wouldn’t call them translations) of Aeschylus. To give you an idea of what I mean, there is a moment in the 'Choephoroi' (l. 929 in the original) where Klytaemestra exclaims something along the lines that the terrifying dream she'd had of her own death was indeed prophetic. Sommerstein translates this with great precision as 'The dream that terrified me was truly prophetic indeed!' However, Fagles does something rather unexpected; he gives the line to Orestes, and makes it ‘Yes! / That was the great seer, that terror in your dreams.’ It’s very dramatic, but it’s not what Aeschylus wrote, and it’s not hinted in the notes that it’s not what Aeschylus wrote.

So, if you want to read a version of Aeschylus that reads as very good English-language poetic drama but which takes great liberties with the text and doesn’t bother to provide justifications for them, by all means enjoy Fagles. If you want to read Aeschylus’s text, alongside one version of his meaning in English, read this.
14 people found this helpful
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Eleni
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on January 12, 2017
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Thetis of the Silver Feet
5.0 out of 5 stars The Oresteia
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 12, 2013
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Excellent translation - easy to follow with very good foot notes with the ancient Greek text on the opposite page.
One person found this helpful
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C Passaglia
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 20, 2015
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Excellent.
One person found this helpful
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