Time in the Oresteia

Abstract

The paper aims at analysing the treatment of time throughout Aeschylus’ Oresteia, showing that the trilogy contains a much higher number of infractions of linear time. The chain on killings within Agamemnon’s genos is explicitly shown by Aeschylus as potentially infinite – which is a major threat to the dramatic meaning-making of the trilogy. The finale of the play will try to offer a solution to this ideological and dramaturgical problem.