Translating and Directing the Oresteia of Aeschylus

• Main Author: Bond, Robin
• Format: Online
• Language: English
• Published: Centre for the Study of Myth and Religion in Greek and Roman Antiquity 2023
• Subjects: Medicine, Plants, Vegetables, Fruits, Disease, Magic, Religion; Greek mythology; Oresteia, Agamemnon, Clytemnestra; disbelief, iamata, epigraphic evidence, literary evidence, divine punishment, incubation; Iphigénie, Iphigénie en Tauride, sacrifice, protéleia, prémices; Asclepius, Justin martyr, Athenagoras, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Contra Celsum, euhemerism; Hercules; Steve Moore; comics; myth;counterfeit;origami; repetition; Agamemnon, hero, Kassandra, Amyklai, Zeus; Asclepius, testimonials, medical treatment, Aristides; Heracles’ private life; Love; Family; Man /woman; Mythic parallels; greek mythology; Agamemnon, history, rhetoric, politics; Ηρακλής; Γέλα; Ακράγας; Ρόδος; Κρήτη; Snake, ambiguity, health in antiquity, healing cult, symbolism, ancient medicine, snake imagery, manipulation

The consensus is among theater people that to translate and direct Aeschylean drama for a modern audience is a major task and even more so is the task of translating and directing the Oresteia. The Classics Department of the University of Canterbury undertook this task when I translated and directed the Oresteia for the Christchurch stage in New Zealand. The article discusses the directorial choices made in terms of compressing this epic drama into a smaller theater space, especially in handling in an effective way the parodos and first stasimon of the Agamemnon.