Editing Orestes (section)

== Greek drama ==
[[Image:Orestes Pursued by the Furies by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1862) - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|left|''[[Orestes Pursued by the Furies]]'' by [[William-Adolphe Bouguereau]]]]

The story of Orestes was the subject of the ''[[Oresteia]]'' of [[Aeschylus]] (''Agamemnon'', ''Choephori'', ''Eumenides''), of the ''[[Electra (Sophocles)|Electra]]'' of [[Sophocles]], and of the ''[[Electra (Euripides)|Electra]]'', ''[[Iphigeneia in Tauris]]'', ''[[Iphigenia at Aulis]]'' and ''[[Orestes (play)|Orestes]]'', all of [[Euripides]].<ref name="EB1911"/> He also appears in Euripides’ [[Andromache (play)|''Andromache'']].

=== Aeschylus ===
In Aeschylus's ''[[Oresteia#The Eumenides|Eumenides]]'', Orestes goes mad after killing his mother and is pursued by the [[Erinyes|Erinyes (Furies)]], whose duty it is to punish any violation of the ties of family piety. He takes refuge in the temple at [[Delphi]]; but, even though [[Apollo]] had ordered him to kill his mother, the god is powerless to protect Orestes from the consequences. At last [[Athena]] receives him on the [[Acropolis of Athens]] and arranges a formal trial of the case before twelve judges, including herself. The Erinyes demand their victim; Orestes asserts that it was indeed he who killed his mother,<ref name="EB1911"/> though he was acting on the orders of Apollo.  At the close of the trial, Athena votes on the verdict last, announcing that she is for acquittal; the votes are counted and the result is a tie, forcing an acquittal in accordance with the rules previously stipulated by Athena. The Erinyes, who insisted on Orestes' responsibility in the murder, are converted into the Eumenides, who now offer him wisdom and counsel.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Aeschylus |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/9895300 |title=The Oresteia |date=1984 |others=Robert Fagles, William Bedell Stanford |isbn=0-14-044333-9 |location=New York |oclc=9895300}}</ref> They are then propitiated by the establishment of a new ritual, in which they are worshipped as "Semnai Theai", "Venerable Goddesses", and Orestes dedicates an altar to ''Athena Areia''.

[[Image:Orestes Iphigeneia Pylades BM GR1960.2-1.1.jpg|thumb|Orestes, [[Iphigeneia]], and Pylades on a repoussé silver cup, Roman, first century ([[British Museum]])]]
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=== Euripides ===
{{Main article|Iphigenia in Tauris}}
{{Main article|Orestes (play)}}
As Aeschylus tells it, Orestes' punishment for matricide ended after a trial, but according to Euripides, in order to escape the persecutions of the Erinyes, Orestes was ordered by Apollo to go to [[History of Crimea#Tauri and Scythians|Tauris]], carry off the statue of [[Artemis]] that had fallen from the heavens, and bring it to Athens. Orestes traveled to Tauris with [[Pylades]], where the pair were at once imprisoned by the people, among whom the custom was to sacrifice all Greek strangers in honor of Artemis. The priestess of Artemis, whose duty it was to perform the sacrifice, was Orestes' sister [[Iphigenia]]. She offered to release him if he would carry home a letter from her to Greece; he refused to go, but he implored Pylades to deliver the letter while he stayed to be slain. After a conflict of mutual affection, Pylades at last yielded, but the brother and sister finally recognized each other due to the letter, and all three escaped together, carrying with them the image of Artemis.<ref name="EB1911"/>