Why does Zeus mention Aegisthus and Orestes?

Why does Zeus mention Aegisthus and Orestes?

Why does Zeus mention the Aegisthus and Orestes story? To compare with the story of Penelope and Odysseus because Odysseus has also been gone from home a long time because of the war, and Penelope has many suitors after her to take the place of Odysseus. How does Penelope hold off the suitors?

What happened to Agamemnon in the Odyssey?

Odysseus encounters Agamemnon’s spirit in Hades. Agamemnon was murdered by his wife, Clytemnestra, and her lover, Aegisthus, upon his return from the war. He was later avenged by his son Orestes.

What is the story of Aegisthus?

In Greek mythology, Aegisthus was the lover of Clytemnestra, and son of Thyestes and Pelopia. Thyestes, having a long – time rivalry with his brother and king of Mycenae, Atreus, was advised by an oracle to have a son with his own daughter, Pelopia, who would then kill his brother. Thus, Aegisthus was born.

What does the story of Orestes have to do with the Odyssey?

Greek literature Seven years later, Orestes returns from Athens and avenges his father’s death by slaying both Aegisthus and his own mother Clytemnestra. In the Odyssey, Orestes is held up as a favorable example to Telemachus, whose mother Penelope is plagued by suitors.

What did Aegisthus do in the Odyssey?

Sometimes spelled Aegisthus. The treacherous lover of Agamemnon’s wife, Klytaimestra. He conspired with her to kill her husband and was later murdered in revenge by Orestes, Agamemnon’s son.

What happens at the end of Book 4 of the Odyssey?

The discovery, at the end of Book 4 , that the suitors are plotting against Telemachus bears this lesson out. Telemachus’s meetings with the two kings also allow Homer to explore the idea of xenia, or hospitality.

What is the story of Aegisthus and Orestes?

After the abduction of Helen by Paris and the Trojan War, Aegisthus seduced Clytemnestra and together, they killed Agamemnon upon his return from Troy. He continued to rule over Mycenae, but on the eighth year, Orestes, son of Agamemnon, avenged his father’s death by killing him.

How did Aegisthus treat Orestes?

According to Homer, Orestes was away when his father returned from Troy to meet his death at the hands of Aegisthus, his wife’s lover. On reaching manhood, Orestes avenged his father by killing Aegisthus and Clytemnestra. At the play’s end, Orestes is acquitted, and the Furies are changed into the Eumenides (“Kindly”).

Who is Orestes in the Odyssey?

Orestes, in Greek mythology, son of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae (or Argos), and his wife, Clytemnestra. According to Homer, Orestes was away when his father returned from Troy to meet his death at the hands of Aegisthus, his wife’s lover.

Why are the first four books of the Odyssey about Telemachus?

As Professor Mulligan noted, the first four books are often called the Telemachy because Telemachus goes on his own journey. These first four books represent the education of Telemachus, through both divine and mortal means, in absence of the influence of his missing father, Odysseus.

How did Orestes kill Aegisthus in the Odyssey?

When Agamemnon returns from the war, Aegisthus and Clytemnestra kill him at a banquet (in violation of the all-important host-guest relationship). In retaliation, Orestes kills Aegisthus. Homer mentions this over and over to provide a series of foils to Odysseus and his family.

What did Aegisthus say to the defeated chorus?

The defeated Chorus accepts their authority, but declares that when Orestes returns, he will exact vengeance for his father’s murder. Aegisthus and Clytemnestra dismiss these words as empty threats, and together they take up the reins of the state.

Who are Orestes and Clytemnestra in the Odyssey?

Clytemnestra is his wife; Orestes is his son. While Agamemnon is at Troy, Clytemnestra has an affair with Aegisthus. When Agamemnon returns from the war, Aegisthus and Clytemnestra kill him at a banquet (in violation of the all-important host-guest relationship). In retaliation, Orestes kills Aegisthus.

Who is Aegisthus in the Book of Agamemnon?

Aegisthus, Clytemnestra’s lover, appears for the first time and is accompanied by his bodyguards. He is Agamemnon’s cousin, and as he rejoices over the murder, we learn the history of the ancestral curse that has led to the King’s death.