Cassandra's importance in Oresteia

A detailed Summary of Cassandra's importance in Oresteia


Aeschlyus's trilogy, The Oresteia, is a tragic manifesto that painfully paints a bloody chain of murder and revenge within the royal family of Argos. In the first respective play of the trilogy, "Agamemnon," the character of Cassandra plays a vital role to the play and the trilogy as a whole, in numerous distinct ways. Cassandra, as seer and prophetess, connects the present with the past, and more importantly, draws a foreshadowing veil of doom for the future. In her short yet powerful scene after meeting Clytaemnestra, the mischievous wife of Agamemnon, Cassandra gives a voice, a past, and a portrait to each of the three plays in the trilogy. Moreover, she is able to accomplish this remarkable feat in a divinely poignant manner. Cassandra possesses a woeful vulnerability as victim to both Apollo, her architect of prophecy, and Clytaemnestra, her murderer.

"Agamemnon," the first play of The Oresteia follows the ill fate of the victorious King of Argos, Agamemnon. Upon arriving home from war, royal mistress, Cassandra, at his side, Agamemnon is brutally murdered by his own wife, Clytaemnestra and accomplice, Aegisthus. Clytaemnestra distraught and enraged over Agamemnon's affair with Helen of Troy, coupled with his


Beggar! Wretch! Starve for bread in hell

She must learn to take the cutting bridle

and set a trap for the lord on his return. (1226-1234)

Curse of the Earth - Apollo Apollo! (1071-1072)

Ai, the torture! She is mixing her drugs,

And after he looked down and saw me mocked,

The picture becomes increasingly clearer with the second passage. Here we are referred once again back to Theyestes's unfortunate fate. Cassandra is able to connect the past transgression of Agamemnon for cause and justification for the future deaths of the home. The word, "witnesses," creates a somber testament to the truth of her predictions (1094). Cassandra "trusts" that the poor charred babies, eaten by their duped father, are indeed the impetus for such horrible deeds (1095).



Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1742
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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