The dramatic trilogy The Oresteia is Aeschylus's way of telling readers that mankind cannot hope to build a progressive society if there is a constant need for revenge. The author, Aeschylus, suggests that the way out of this downward spiral to anarchy is one in which there is the rule of law, not the code of personal honor and revenge. Queen Clytemnestra thinks that she has brought justice to Argos when she murders Agamemnon and his captive Cassandra. The Queen believes that she is ending a curse of bloodshed that has continued for several generations. The Queen's idea of justice is an eye for an eye. The implication is that only more slaughter can erase the sin of earlier murders. For his part, her lover Aegisthus helps Clytemnestra to plot Agamemnon's murder because he wants revenge against Atreus, who killed Aegisthus' older siblings. Rather than hoping for peace in Argos, another family member, Electra, hates both her mother Clytaemnestra and her mother's lover Aegisthus. Electra prays for violent and unpitying revenge for the death of her father.
There are no heroes and scoundrels in these three stories. There are people motivated by a societal expectation that murdered relatives will be avenged, and there are others like Orestes who face impossible choices. King Agamemnon is both a hero and a villain. When he returns following the Trojan Wars, Agamemnon declares that he will judge the citizens of Argos. Those who have been loyal to him will be rewarded; and the r
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