The Oresteia of Aeschylus

A brilliant new verse translation of the Oresteia of Aeschylus, with illustrations by Tom Phillips. The stories are familiar: family disharmony, mourning the loss of a loved one, vengeance, national tyranny, international war, a desire for justice - all 'relatable' themes, but hardly in a consoling way: the experience Aeschylus's plays put us through, as they have earlier readers and theatre goers for centuries.

This new translation by Jeffrey Bernstein, an independent scholar and novelist, preserves the artistry of the original while deploying a clear speech that directly addresses a twenty-first century temperament. The Oresteia, first performed in Greece in 458 bce, has been celebrated as an example of the highest literary art. The murder of King Agamemnon by his wife Clytemnestra, the bloody vengeance their son Orestes wreaks upon his mother, and the appearance of the goddess Athena to sort matters out, tells a foundation narrative of world drama.

The trilogy traces a progression from personal blood feud to institutionalised justice, and in doing so celebrates, by the end, the triumph of democracy among the citizenry.

About the Author

Jeffrey Scott Bernstein was born in Massachusetts and graduated from the University of Sheffield. The Oresteia of Aeschylus is his first published work.; Tom Phillips (Royal Academy of Arts) was born in London in 1937, attended Camberwell School of Art then taught at Bath Academy of Art, Ipswich and Wolverhampton Art College between 1965 and 1972.