The essence of Aeschylus’s famous trilogy in a single play that speaks forcefully to today’s audiences. In lean, lyrical poetry, Rob Hardy’s adaptation highlights all the glory of the original:
- epic tales of lust, war, family strife, and revenge;
- choruses that echo the liturgical and hymnic infl uences behind Greek drama;
- Aeschylus’s pride in Athenian law, philosophy, and oratory. In his Oresteia Aeschylus gave Athens reason to believe that institutionalized justice, not revenge, tames the savagery of human beings. His message resonates in our time, and Hardy’s accessible adaptation is a steadfast modern guide to this ancient wisdom.
With a foreword, an introduction, notes, and figures. Called “masterful” by Thomas Van Nortwick, professor of classics (emeritus), Oberlin College.
Rob Hardy is a Minnesota poet and classicist who has published poems and essays in a wide range of publications.
Industry Reviews
"The Oresteia by Rob Hardy offered its audience a heady bouquet of new wine drawn from an old wineskin.… [It] has pared down the Oresteia to a manageable two-hour performance.… [and] offers a stripped-down style in which every word counts and immediacy trumps Aeschylean grandeur. Classicists may miss some of their favorite Aeschylean motifs; in the Watchman’s speech, for example, there is no 'resting on my elbows like a dog' or 'a woman’s hopeful heart, which plans like a man.' At the same time, Hardy has succeeded in producing a script that is evocative and unhurried. Like that of Ted Hughes before him, Hardy’s script lingers on his favorite Aeschylean images and teases out their resonances: he expands as much as he telescopes, and he is not shy about introducing ideas and imagery of his own."
