It begins with a human sacrifice. Agamemnon kills Iphigenia. Then her mother kills Agamemnon, and the son, Orest, kills the mother: out of revenge, an entire family nearly wipes itself out. Only Orest is not killed but put on trial - the curse is broken! "The Oresteia of Aeschylus addresses fundamental questions of human existence in a highly tragic and aesthetic manner and is among the most profound texts ever written," says Anton Bierl, who illuminates the background and the continuing influence of the work in the afterword. The award-winning translator Kurt Steinmann has newly rendered the ancient Greek text, as always, with precision and closeness to the original.