Orestes Timeline and Summary

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• Orestes killed his own mother at the end of Libation Bearers, and ran off to Delphi to be purified of the crime.
• Orestes emerges out of the temple. Beside him is the god Apollo.
• Orestes asks Apollo if Apollo will stand by him and help defend him against the Furies' wrath. Apollo agrees.
• Orestes runs offstage, on his way to Athens.
• Orestes reappears onstage. His first words—a prayer to the goddess Athena, reveal that the scene of the action has now changed to Athens.
• Orestes prays for Athena to protect him; he points out that he has already been partially purified of his crime, both by Apollo, and by his wanderings over the earth.
• Everything looks like it's going fine and dandy, but then who should show up but some uninvited guests—the Furies!
• The Furies mock Orestes and say that they have come to drink his blood for what he did.
• Orestes tells the Furies to buzz off. He's purified, he says; then, he prays to Athena for help, saying that he will make Argos allies with Athens, if only she'll help him with his pesky Fury problem.
• In response, the Chorus of Furies says, "Well, you've sure got a lot of nerve." To prevent him from making any more trouble, they decide to entrap him with a magical "binding-song."
• When the Furies finish their song, and Orestes is thoroughly trapped, suddenly, the goddess Athena shows up.
• The Furies explain to Athena how they are pursuing Orestes because he murdered his mother. Athena doesn't accept this as an answer, however. She wants to know why Orestes killed his mother.
• Athena finally suggests that they put the matter to a trial.
• Then, Athena turns to Orestes, and asks if he would be willing to put the matter to a trial.
• Orestes replies that he has been purified of the crime because he has performed sacrifices.
• Then he explains how his mom (Clytemnestra) killed his dad (Agamemnon), which is why he (Orestes) killed Clytemnestra.
• After Athena rounds up some Athenian citizens to act as jurors, and Apollo shows up to act as Orestes's defense attorney, the trial gets going.
• The Furies lead off. They start by questioning Orestes, asking him if he killed his mother, how, and why.
• He says that he did it because Apollo's oracle told him to.
• Orestes justifies himself by saying that the spirit of his father, Agamemnon, approves of what he has done from beyond the grave.
• Then he asks the Furies how come they didn't pursue Clytemnestra for murdering his father.
• The Furies reply that at least she didn't kill someone of her own blood.
• Then Orestes turns to Apollo for some legal help.
• Apollo argues the case very skillfully, and, at the end of the trial, Athena casts the deciding vote to acquit Orestes.
• Orestes is understandably pleased with this verdict. He begins by thanking Athena, Apollo, and Zeus; then he says, once again, that his city of Argos and Athens will be allies.
• Then Orestes and heads offstage along with Apollo.