Study Questions and Suggested Essay Topics
Study Questions
Compare and contrast Clytamnestra and Electra
Does Orestes have moral qualms about killing his mother?
Who is the tragic hero of The Libation Bearers?
Suggested Essay Topics
Discuss Aeschylus's use of metaphor in The Libation Bearers.
Discuss the role of the chorus in The Libation Bearers. Do they function more as actors or observers?
Cilissa and Pylades both play very small roles in The Libation Bearers. However, they have a significant effect upon the outcome of the play. Discuss these effects.
What is the chorus's conception of Justice, and how does it affect their actions?
Some have looked at The Libation Bearers as a mere linking play that stands between the much longer and more complex Agamemnon and Eumenides. Others have said that it presents important issues in its own right and that its importance should not be overlooked. Support one of these claims with arguments from the play and/or the Oresteia as a whole.
Describe the chorus's position on women in myth and society and discuss what this says about Greek society in the fifth century BCE.
Although we never actually see any divinities on stage in The Libation Bearers, they play a large role in determining the action. Discuss how the characters perceive themselves in relation to divine influences and describe how it affects their actions.
