Aeschylus Oresteia: Agamemnon (VHS) Peter Hall National Theatre Of Great Britain

***FULLY TESTED AND REWOUND***

Agamemnon is the first play of the Oresteia-the oldest surviving classical tragedy and still universally accepted as the masterpiece of masterpieces.

The play opens as the Watchman at King Agamemnon's palace sees the beacon that announces the fall of Troy. The Chorus of Old Men tell the background to the story of the Trojan War. When Agamemnon returns home after a 10-year absence, his queen, Clytemnestra, welcomes him but Cassandra (daughter of the vanquished Trojan King Priam and now Agamemnon's captive mistress) foretells his murder.

The murder of Agamemnon will be a double revenge: Clytemnestra will avenge her daughter Iphigenia, sacrificed by Agamemnon to secure a favorable wind toward Troy; and Aegisthus, Clytemnestra's lover, will avenge the murder of his brothers by Agamemnon's father. This is the origin of the blood feud that runs through Agamemnon, Choephori and Eumenides.