Editing Oresteia (section)

=== Revenge ===
Revenge is a principal motivator for most characters in ''Oresteia''. The theme starts in ''Agamemnon'' with Clytemnestra, who murders her husband, Agamemnon, in order to obtain vengeance for his sacrificing of their daughter, Iphigenia. The death of Cassandra, the princess of Troy, taken captive by Agamemnon in order to fill a place as a concubine, can also be seen as an act of revenge for taking another woman as well as the life of Iphigenia.<ref>{{Cite web |title=LitCharts |url=https://www.litcharts.com/lit/agamemnon/themes/revenge |access-date=2024-02-24 |website=LitCharts |language=en}}</ref> Later on, in ''The Libation Bearers'', Orestes and Electra (siblings and remaining children of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra) succeed in killing their mother to avenge their father's death.<ref>{{Cite web |title=LitCharts |url=https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-libation-bearers/themes/revenge |access-date=2024-02-24 |website=LitCharts |language=en}}</ref> In ''The Eumenides'', the Furies—goddesses of vengeance—seek to take revenge on Orestes for the murder of his mother. It is also discovered that the god Apollo played a part in the act of vengeance toward Clytemnestra through Orestes. The cycle of revenge is seen to be broken when Orestes is not killed by the Furies, but is instead given his freedom and deemed innocent by the goddess Athena.<ref>{{Cite web |title=LitCharts |url=https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-eumenides/themes/revenge-vs-justice |access-date=2024-02-24 |website=LitCharts |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=LitCharts |url=https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-eumenides/themes/familial-bonds |access-date=2024-02-24 |website=LitCharts |language=en}}</ref>