The Chorus's Role in The Oresteia

Nikki Huett

September 20, 2018

Dr. Andrew Jacobs

Great Books I

   

                                              The Chorus’s Role in The Oresteia

                  One of the first characters we are introduced to is Chorus. From the actual definition, we can tell that Chorus is not just one person, in particular, it is many. The Chorus is played by a different set of people in each book. The Chorus plays a definite role in this Greek poem as they are the ones responsible for providing the background information to help further the plot. Because of this, they can be believed to be the narrators. Unlike actual narrators of stories, Chorus is considered an actual character as they often converse with the main characters and ask them of their future actions. This essay will cover the first two books of The Oresteia, “Agamemnon” and “The Libation Bearers.”

In “Agamemnon,” the Chorus’s commentary comes from a set of old men. The Chorus occupy most of the lines in “Agamemnon.” They have the most lines in the first story as to help the readers understand the story since it starts off in such an ambiguous spot. Their lines provide context to things that happened in the play and things that did not. For example, king Agamemnon’s sacrifice of his daughter, Iphigenia, for safe passage of the Greek fleet on their voyage to Troy is explained. They also mention the past events of the Trojan War that has lasted for ten years. The Chorus begins to question Agamemnon’s wife, Clytaemnestra’s, sanity as she moves around the palace lighting fires of sacrifice. “I beg you, Healing Apollo, soothe her before her crosswinds hold us down and moor the ships too long, pressing us on another victim..”(Ag.,145-146).  When asked the meaning of the fires, Clytaemnestra says that Troy has fallen. A couple moments later, Agamemnon arrives and is led into the palace by his wife. The Chorus began to suggest a sense of dread of what the future holds as he arrives. They hear screams and the world around them turns into chaos. Clytaemnsetra comes through the doors, covered in blood, admitting to her and her lover, Aegisthus, in the killing of her husband for revenge on him sacrificing their daughter. The first story ends with the Chorus praying for Orestes’s, Agamemnon and Clytaemnsetra’s son, return to the city. “If he still sees the light of day, bring him home, dear Fates, home to kill this pair at last.” (Ag.,1679-1681). The uniqueness of the Chorus’s role in these plays is so blatantly obvious. One second you have them narrating the scene and the next, they are interacting with the situations the characters are causing. They portray how the reader should feel towards certain characters like they would be against Clytaemnestra and feel sympathy towards Agamemnon. This shows a character style that was common back in Greek/Roman times, but not so much today.

      In “The Libation Bearers,” the Chorus have now changed gender from elderly men to elderly women. We start off this play with Orestes at his father’s grave, planting offerings. The Chorus and Orestes’s sister, Electra, enter. Orestes tells them of his plan to avenge his father by killing his mother and her lover. Since they both loved Agamemnon dearly, Electra and the Chorus do not oppose him. The Chorus does not want more blood, but they do think that the wicked queen should get what she deserves. “The outrage stands as it stands, you burn to know the end, but first be strong, be steel, then down and fight.” (Lib.,440-442). Orestes is successfully let into the palace by pretending to be a stranger. This draws suspicion from Aegisthus who calls his guards to investigate the man. Chorus stops them by convincing the nurse that they mean no harm. As Orestes’s plan is following through, the Chorus pray that the gods will have Orestes win. Sure enough, the Chorus hears screams from inside the palace. Orestes’s mission was successful. Orestes begins to feel guilty, but the Chorus do their best to reassure him that he did what was right. As they do so, Orestes starts to see tormenting visions. He runs off and the Chorus wonder when this cycle of revenge will ever end. “Where will it end?- where will it sink to sleep and rest, this murderous hate, this Fury?” (Lib.,1075-1077). Not only does the Chorus differ than the ones in Agamemnon, but they also develop. They differ in that they do have a more active role in “The Libation Bearers”, despite having fewer lines. In the first play, they do share their opinions, they do more in the second play by not just being opinionated, but by convincing characters to do certain acts.

  In conclusion, my original view of the Chorus was that they were minor characters. However, as the story went on, I realized they played such an important role as the main characters did. Though the role of the Chorus is the point of view of many, they embody as if they were just one character alone as they act as these powerful, all-knowing beings. Thus, their role proves that even background characters can be just as significant. They can debate, discuss, and advise with all the main characters, and most importantly, they are the carrier narrative context of the entire trilogy.