Son of Agamemnon and Clytaemnestra, Orestes is the titular hero Aeschylus trilogy of plays known as The Oresteia. In Agamemnon, Orestes has been sent into exile by his vengeful mother and is not present for his father’s murder. Some years later, in The Libation Bearers, Orestes returns to avenge his father Agamemnon’s death. He is accompanied by his close friend, Pylades, who keeps Orestes focused on his goal. Orestes’ story serves as a mythic foundation for the Athenian justice system.

Orestes is thrust into a tragic dilemma: he must avenge his father but doing so means murdering his mother. The Oracle of Delphi charged him with avenging Agamemnon, along with the warning that failing to do so would bring dire consequences. With help from Pylades and his sister Electra he kills Clytaemnestra and Aegisthus. However, the moral and spiritual pollution incurred by matricide leaves him as an outcast and tormented by the Furies of Clytaemnestra’s dying curse. Orestes is driven by the Furies to Delphi and Athens, where he is aided by Apollo, who takes personal interest in Orestes’ wellbeing. After a trial presided over by Athena, Orestes is cleared of guilt, ending the cycle of bloodshed in the House of Atreus.