Orestes in the Ancient Sources: 140 Passages in Greek & English

Homer (5)

Homer, Iliad 12.108–194Asius at the gate; the Lapiths defendAsius will not leave his horses, and drives his chariot to the left of the ships to a gate that stands open for the retreating Achaeans. There the Lapith captains Polypoetes and Leonteus stand firm like oaks and kill several Trojans, while stones rain down from both sides of the wall. Asius cries out against Zeus, but Zeus does not turn his purpose.
Homer, Odyssey 1.1–95Invocation; the gods in councilThe poet asks the Muse to sing of the man who wandered long after the sack of Troy and lost his comrades through their folly in eating the cattle of the Sun. Odysseus is held on Calypso's island, longing for home, while Poseidon, who is angry with him, is away among the Ethiopians. In the council of the gods Zeus speaks of Aegisthus, and Athena pleads for Odysseus and obtains leave to send Hermes to Calypso and to go herself to Ithaca.
Homer, Odyssey 3.201–328Nestor tells of Agamemnon's deathTelemachus wishes that the gods would give him such vengeance, and Nestor tells how Aegisthus seduced Clytemnestra while Agamemnon was away and killed the king on his return. Orestes came home in the eighth year and killed Aegisthus. Nestor tells of Menelaus' stormy journey home, and urges Telemachus to go to Menelaus in Sparta, offering his sons as guides.
Homer, Odyssey 11.385–464AgamemnonPersephone scatters the ghosts of the women, and the ghost of Agamemnon comes with those who died with him in the house of Aegisthus. He tells Odysseus how Aegisthus and Clytemnestra killed him at a feast, and warns him not to be too open with his wife. He asks for news of his son Orestes, and Odysseus has none.
Homer, Odyssey 3.102–200Nestor tells of the Achaeans' returnNestor recalls the long fighting at Troy, where no one could match Odysseus in counsel, and tells how the Achaeans quarrelled and divided on the eve of their departure. Some sailed with Menelaus, Diomedes and Odysseus to Tenedos, where they quarrelled again, and Nestor sailed home. He says he has heard that Neoptolemus, Philoctetes and Idomeneus reached home safely, and he praises Orestes for killing Aegisthus.

Apollodorus (2)

Apollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca), with the Epitome E.6.1–29The returns from Troy: Nauplius, Agamemnon's murder and OrestesThe Greeks quarrel at an assembly over whether to leave at once, and the section follows the returns: Calchas and Mopsus at Colophon, the storm at Tenos in which Ajax dies, Nauplius's false beacon at Caphereus, Neoptolemus in Molossia, and the fates of Demophon and Phyllis, Podalirius and the Locrian maidens. Agamemnon is murdered by Clytemnestra and Aegisthus, and Orestes avenges him, is tried at Athens, and brings the image of Artemis from the Taurians. The section ends with Menelaus's wanderings and his return to Sparta.
Apollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca), with the Epitome 2.8.1–5The return of the HeraclidsAfter Heracles' death his sons flee from Eurystheus to Athens, where Eurystheus is killed by Hyllus and Alcmena gouges out the eyes of his severed head. The Heraclids retake the Peloponnese but are driven out by a plague, and Hyllus and Aristomachus are defeated when they misread the oracle about 'the third crop'. Temenus and the sons of Aristodemus finally conquer it with Oxylus as their 'three-eyed' guide, draw lots for Argos, Lacedaemon and Messene (Cresphontes cheats with a clod of earth), and the section closes with the murder of Temenus and the revenge of Aepytus in Messene.

Pindar (2)

Pindar, Pythian Odes 11.1–64Pythian 11: for Thrasydaeus — Orestes and AgamemnonPindar invites the daughters of Cadmus to honour Thrasydaeus of Thebes, victor in the boys' foot-race, and then tells how Orestes was rescued by his nurse after Clytaemnestra killed Agamemnon and Cassandra, how he reached Strophius, and how he later killed his mother and Aegisthus. He asks whether a wind has blown him off course, like a traveller at a fork in the road, and returns to the glory of Thrasydaeus and his father. The ode ends with a prayer to Iolaüs and to Castor and Polydeuces, who live alternately at Therapne and on Olympus.
Pindar, Nemean Odes 11.1–48Nemean 11: for Aristagoras — Hestia and TenedosPindar invokes Hestia, guardian of the hearths of States, and praises Aristagoras of Tenedos on taking office as magistrate, noting that his parents had held him back from the contests at Pytho and Olympia. He recalls Aristagoras' Spartan descent from Peisander, who came from Amyclae with Orestes to colonise Tenedos. He ends by saying that excellence passes from generation to generation as the fields do, and that one should pursue due measure and not unattainable longings.

Aeschylus (25)

Aeschylus, Libation Bearers 479–584End of the kommos: Clytaemestra's dream and Orestes' planOrestes and Electra pray that their father will send up help and send Justice to fight for them. The Chorus tell why Clytaemestra sent the libations: she dreamed that she gave birth to a serpent and nursed it, and that it drew blood with her milk. Orestes takes the dream as a sign that he will kill her, and says that he and Pylades will come to the palace gate disguised as strangers, and that Electra must go in and keep their plan secret.
Aeschylus, Libation Bearers 892–930Episode: Orestes confronts ClytaemestraOrestes appears and tells Clytaemestra that he is looking for her, since Aegisthus has had enough. When she bares her breast and pleads with him, he hesitates, but Pylades speaks and reminds him of the oracles of Loxias and their sworn pact. Orestes drives her inside, and as they argue she warns him of the hounds of a mother's wrath and he answers that he must also escape his father's.
Aeschylus, Eumenides 566–621Second episode: the trial opensAthena has the herald call the court to order, and Apollo comes to give evidence, claiming that he is responsible for Orestes' act. The Furies question Orestes, who admits that he killed his mother, and says that Clytaemestra killed her husband. Orestes calls on Apollo to speak for him, and Apollo says that he spoke the oracle at the command of Zeus.
Aeschylus, Libation Bearers 152–245First episode (cont.): the lock of hair and the recognitionThe Chorus sing a short lament and wish for a warrior to save the house. Electra finds the lock of hair on the tomb and sees that it is like her own, and then finds footprints which match her own. Orestes steps forward and tells her who he is, and as proof asks her to compare the lock with his own head and shows her a woven cloth she made. She greets him as her father, her mother and her sister in one.
Aeschylus, Libation Bearers 653–718Episode: Orestes brings false news of his own deathOrestes knocks at the palace gate, and Clytaemestra comes out and offers the strangers hospitality. He tells her, as a man from Phocis, that he has been asked to bring word that Orestes is dead and that his relatives should decide about his remains. She laments, and orders the strangers to be received in the guest rooms.
Aeschylus, Eumenides 734–777The votes are counted: Orestes is acquittedAthena declares that she will cast her vote for Orestes, since no mother bore her and she favours the male in all things but marriage, and says that Orestes wins even if the vote is equal. The votes are counted and found equal, and Orestes is acquitted. He thanks Athena and promises that his country will never take up arms against Athens.
Aeschylus, Libation Bearers 719–782Episode: the Nurse and the message to AegisthusThe Chorus pray for the success of the plan. The Nurse of Orestes comes out weeping, sent by Clytaemestra to fetch Aegisthus to hear the news from the strangers, and to bring his guard. The Chorus persuade her to tell him to come alone and without his guard, and the Nurse agrees.
Aeschylus, Libation Bearers 1021–1076Exodos (2): Orestes sees the FuriesOrestes says that he is not sure how it will end, and declares that he will go to the shrine of Loxias and the bright fire said to be imperishable, as a suppliant. He suddenly sees women like Gorgons, dressed in black and with snakes in their hair, whom only he can see, and runs out in madness. The Chorus ask where the storm of the house will end.
Aeschylus, Libation Bearers 84–151First episode: Electra pours the libationsElectra asks the Chorus what to say as she pours the libations sent by her mother. The women tell her to pray for good to those who love Agamemnon, and for vengeance on his killers. She prays to Hermes and to her father, asking for Orestes to return and for a more chaste life than her mother's, and she calls on the women to crown the libations with lament.
Aeschylus, Libation Bearers 838–891Episode: Aegisthus walks into the trapAegisthus arrives, having heard the news that Orestes is dead, and the Chorus tell him that he can learn more from the strangers inside. He goes into the palace, and the Chorus pray to Zeus for the success of the plan. His cry is heard from inside, and a Servant comes out shouting that his master has been killed, and Clytaemestra, hearing him, calls for a battle-axe.
Aeschylus, Agamemnon 1577–1673Exodos: Aegisthus and the ChorusAegisthus enters and says that he rejoices to see Agamemnon in the net of justice, and tells the story of Atreus and the banquet he served to his brother Thyestes. The Chorus mock Aegisthus as a man who left the killing to a woman, and say that Orestes may still come back to take vengeance, and the two sides almost come to blows. Clytaemestra stops them and tells Aegisthus that they will be masters of the house.
Aeschylus, Libation Bearers 246–305Orestes' prayer to Zeus and the oracle of ApolloOrestes calls on Zeus to pity the orphaned brood of the eagle, and the Chorus tell the children to speak low, because they are watched. Orestes tells that the oracle of Loxias ordered him to avenge his father's murder and threatened him with terrible sufferings, among them leprosy and the madness sent by the Furies, if he did not. He adds that grief for his father and his poverty also drive him, and that he will not see the Argives ruled by two women.

13 more passages of Aeschylus that name Orestes

Sophocles (15)

Sophocles, Electra 1171–1287Fourth episode (cont.): the recognition of OrestesThe Chorus try to comfort Electra, and Orestes is so moved by her suffering that he cannot keep his disguise. He asks to take back the urn and tells her that the ashes are not his, and shows her their father's signet ring. Electra greets her brother with joy, and Orestes tells her to keep silent so that no one inside may hear.
Sophocles, Electra 1442–1510Exodos: Aegisthus is led in to dieAegisthus arrives and asks where the Phocian strangers are who brought news of Orestes' death, and Electra says that they are inside and have shown the body. He orders the gates opened, and sees a shrouded body, which he thinks to be Orestes. Orestes tells him to lift the veil himself, and when he sees Clytaemnestra's corpse he knows that he is lost. Orestes drives him into the house to die where he killed Agamemnon, and the Chorus end the play by saying that the house is free at last.
Sophocles, Electra 1098–1170Fourth episode: Orestes brings the urn; Electra's lamentOrestes arrives with Pylades and attendants, and asks for Aegisthus, saying that they bring the ashes of Orestes in a small urn. Electra asks to hold the urn and takes it in her arms. She pours out her grief for her brother, the care that she gave him as a child, and the hopes that she had for his return, and she asks to be taken into his tomb.
Sophocles, Electra 1288–1383Fourth episode (cont.): the Paedagogus urges hasteOrestes asks Electra to say no more about their mother and Aegisthus and to hide her joy, and she promises to do as he wishes. The old Paedagogus comes out of the palace and scolds them for talking at the door, and tells them to go in now that Clytaemnestra is alone. Electra greets him as the saviour of the house, and Orestes and Pylades go to pray at the shrines before entering while Electra prays to Apollo.
Sophocles, Electra 1–85Prologue: Orestes and the Paedagogus plan the deceptionThe old Paedagogus shows Orestes and Pylades the palace of Mycenae, where he once carried the boy away to safety. Orestes tells how Apollo's oracle at Delphi told him to take vengeance by stealth and not with an army. He plans that the Paedagogus will go into the palace and report that Orestes has died in a chariot race at the Pythian games, while he and Pylades first make offerings at his father's tomb. Electra's cries are heard from inside, and the three leave for the tomb.
Sophocles, Electra 680–772Second episode: the Paedagogus' false report of the chariot raceThe Paedagogus tells how Orestes won every prize at the Pythian games, and how in the chariot race he was thrown from his car and dragged by the reins, and died. He says that the body was burned at once and that men of Phocis are bringing the ashes in a small bronze urn. Clytaemnestra says that she does not know whether the news is fortunate or terrible, since she keeps her life through her own loss, and that a mother cannot hate the child she bore.
Sophocles, Electra 849–933Kommos; Chrysothemis reports offerings at the tombThe Chorus and Electra lament the death of Orestes, and she mourns that he was buried abroad without her care. Chrysothemis then comes running with joy, and tells her that at their father's tomb she found fresh libations, flowers and a newly cut lock of hair, and that she is sure Orestes has returned. Electra tells her that Orestes is dead, that a man who saw it is inside with their mother, and that the offerings must have been left in his memory.
Sophocles, Electra 1384–1441Third stasimon and the killing of ClytaemnestraThe Chorus sing that Ares and the avengers have gone into the palace, led by Hermes. Electra stands outside to watch for Aegisthus, and Clytaemnestra's cries are heard from inside as she begs her son for mercy. Electra calls out for a second blow, and the Chorus say that the curses are fulfilled. Orestes comes out with the news that all is well within if Apollo's oracle spoke well, and the Chorus see Aegisthus approaching.
Sophocles, Electra 251–327First episode: Electra describes her life in the houseElectra apologises to the Chorus for her vehemence, and says that she cannot do otherwise when she sees Aegisthus on her father's throne, wearing his robes and pouring libations at the hearth where he killed him. She says that her mother joins in these outrages and reviles her, and that Orestes keeps putting off his return. The Chorus ask whether Aegisthus is at home, and she says that he is in the country, and they see Chrysothemis coming from the house with offerings.
Sophocles, Electra 773–848Second episode: Clytaemnestra's relief and Electra's despairClytaemnestra says that Orestes' death frees her from the fear that kept her from sleep, and she invites the stranger into the house. Electra, left with the Chorus, says that she will lie at the gate and wither away, since her only hope of an avenger is dead. The Chorus answer her with the story of Amphiaraus, betrayed by his wife but still powerful among the dead, but Electra says that she has no champion left.
Sophocles, Electra 634–679Clytaemnestra's prayer to Apollo; the Paedagogus announces Orestes' deathClytaemnestra orders her maid to bring the offerings, and prays to Apollo to turn her dream to her good, to preserve her and her rule, and to keep away those who wish her ill. The Paedagogus arrives and asks whether this is the house of Aegisthus, and says that he has been sent by Phanoteus the Phocian with news. He tells Clytaemnestra that Orestes is dead, and Electra cries out in grief.
Sophocles, Electra 155–250Parodos (cont.): the Chorus consoles ElectraThe Chorus tell her that she is not the only mortal to suffer, and that Orestes lives and will come, but Electra answers that she waits year after year, childless and unwed, and serves in her father's halls like a slave. The Chorus recall the murder of Agamemnon at his banquet, and Electra says that the killers must pay for it, or shame and reverence will vanish from the world. The Chorus urge her to say no more, since such strife is dangerous against the powerful, but she says that she will not stop her cries while she lives.
Sophocles, Electra 417–471First episode (cont.): Clytaemnestra's dream and the offeringsChrysothemis tells how Clytaemnestra dreamed that Agamemnon returned to the light and planted his sceptre at the hearth, and that a branch grew from it and shaded all Mycenae. Electra persuades her not to lay Clytaemnestra's offerings on the tomb, and to give instead locks of hair from both sisters and Electra's belt, praying for the return of Orestes. The Chorus approve, and Chrysothemis agrees and asks them to keep silent.
Sophocles, Electra 558–633Second episode: Electra answers her motherElectra answers that Agamemnon killed a stag sacred to Artemis and was compelled to sacrifice his daughter for that, and not for Menelaus' sake, so that Clytaemnestra had no right to kill him. She says that her mother did it for her lover, with whom she now has children, while she has cast out Orestes and made Electra a servant. Clytaemnestra threatens her with punishment when Aegisthus returns, and prepares to sacrifice.
Sophocles, Electra 934–1016Third episode: Electra proposes to kill AegisthusChrysothemis, hearing that Orestes is dead, asks what she can do. Electra asks her to help kill Aegisthus herself, promising that they will win praise and honour as free women, and a worthy marriage. Chrysothemis answers that they are women and have no strength against men, that the plan is hopeless and will bring greater evil, and the Chorus tell Electra to listen.

Euripides (75)

Euripides, Orestes 729–785bFourth episode: Pylades arrives; he has been banished by his fatherPylades comes at a run, having seen the citizens assembling against Orestes and his sister. He learns how Menelaus has failed Orestes, and tells how his father Strophius has banished him for helping in the murder. He urges Orestes to go and speak to the assembly.
Euripides, Orestes 1549–1620Ninth episode: Menelaus returns; Orestes threatens Hermione from the roofMenelaus arrives in haste, vowing that those who destroyed his wife must die. Orestes appears on the roof with Hermione at the point of his sword and threatens to hurl down a coping-stone. When Menelaus demands the body of Helen, Orestes threatens to kill the girl and burn the house.
Euripides, Orestes 380–447Second episode: Orestes tells Menelaus of his plightOrestes tells Menelaus who he is and asks him for protection, and Menelaus is shocked by his wasted look. Orestes says that he is tormented by his conscience and by the Furies, and that Apollo commanded the deed. He tells how the city shuns him and will vote today whether he is stoned.
Euripides, Electra 247–289First episode: Electra explains her marriage to the PeasantElectra says that she is married, to a poor but noble man who respects her, and who, thinking that the one who gave her had no right to, has never touched her. Orestes says that he must be well treated. Electra says that she would dare to kill her mother with the same axe that killed her father, and that she would not know her brother if she saw him, and that only her father's old servant, who saved Orestes, would. Orestes asks whether her father found burial, and Electra says that he found what he could, cast out of the house.
Euripides, Iphigenia in Tauris 492–532Second episode: Iphigenia questions Orestes about GreeceIphigenia asks which of the two is named Pylades, and Orestes says that the other is, and that they are friends, not brothers. Orestes refuses to give his own name, but says that he comes from Mycenae. She asks about Troy, Helen and Menelaus, and learns that Calchas is dead.
Euripides, Electra 585–647Second episode: Orestes and the Old Man plan the attackThe Chorus sings that the long-awaited day has come that has lighted a beacon to the city, for the one who went from it in exile has returned. Orestes asks the Old Man where he can find his father's enemies and how to join with his friends, and the Old Man says that he has no friend in his misfortune, and that he must rely on his own arm and fortune. The Old Man tells him that Aegisthus is sacrificing at his fields and that Clytemnestra will come to the feast, and when Orestes asks how he can kill both at once, Electra says that she will prepare her mother's slaughter.
Euripides, Iphigenia in Tauris 533–569Second episode: Orestes tells of Agamemnon's deathIphigenia asks what became of Odysseus and Achilles, and then of Agamemnon, whom Orestes says was killed by his own wife. He tells her that Orestes killed his mother to avenge his father, and that Electra is still alive. In answer to her question about the daughter who was sacrificed, he says that she is dead, and that the son lives nowhere and everywhere.
Euripides, Orestes 1069–1130Sixth episode: Pylades refuses to leave; they plan to kill HelenPylades blames Orestes for thinking that he would live when his friend is dead, and refuses to leave. They decide to take counsel so that Menelaus may share their misfortune. Pylades proposes to kill Helen, and they plan to enter the house under the pretence of going to their death.
Euripides, Iphigenia in Tauris 989–1051Second episode: Iphigenia and Orestes plan the escapeIphigenia says that she has long wished to see Argos and Orestes, and that she will help. Orestes says that he will not be her murderer as well as his mother's, and that he would rather share life or death with her. They plan to ask the king for leave to purify the image and the strangers at the sea, claiming that they are polluted by murder, and to sail away with the statue.
Euripides, Electra 220–246First episode: Orestes meets Electra in disguiseOrestes tells her not to fear him, and says that he is a messenger from Orestes. Electra, who does not recognise him, asks whether her brother is alive, and Orestes says that he is, though he lives wretchedly in exile. She describes her own condition, with her close-shaven head and her squalid dress, and Orestes asks what she is to her brother.
Euripides, Orestes 786–843Fourth episode: Orestes goes to the assembly; choral song on the house of AtreusPylades supports Orestes as they set off for the assembly, and Orestes says that one friend is better than a host of relations. The Chorus sings of the downfall of the house of Atreus, from the golden ram to the murder of Clytemnestra. They mourn for Orestes, now raving mad.
Euripides, Iphigenia in Tauris 777–821Second episode: the recognition of Orestes and IphigeniaIphigenia tells Pylades that Artemis saved her by giving a deer in exchange, and Pylades, released by his oath, hands the tablet to Orestes. Orestes embraces his sister in unbelieving joy, and the Chorus Leader rebukes him for laying hands on the priestess. Iphigenia doubts that he is her brother, and Orestes gives tokens: the quarrel of Atreus and Thyestes over the golden ram, the tapestry that she wove, her bridal bath and the lock of hair.

63 more passages of Euripides that name Orestes

Aristophanes (3)

Aristophanes, The Acharnians 1143–1234Exodos: Lamachus wounded, Dicaeopolis victoriousThe Chorus wish the two men well on their different errands and call down two woes on Antimachus. A servant of Lamachus calls for water and bandages, for his master has wrenched his ankle in a ditch, and Lamachus is brought in groaning. Dicaeopolis comes in flushed with wine, having drained the pitcher first, and the play ends with the Chorus following him with the song of Victory.
Aristophanes, Birds 1444–1492Episode: the Informer is sent off with a whip; the Chorus sing of their travelsWhen the Informer will not hear of an honest trade, Peisthetaerus tells him that men are winged by talk, as the fathers in the barbers' shops say of their sons. The Informer insists on the trade of his fathers, and Peisthetaerus gives him a whipping-top and a whip for wings and drives him off. The Chorus sing of the strange sights they have seen on their flights, a Cleonymus-tree that bears nothing but shields and a gloomy place where Orestes strips any man he meets.
Aristophanes, Frogs 1126–1172Agon: the test of the prologuesEuripides takes a prologue of Aeschylus and finds a dozen faults in three lines. He says that Hermes cannot be watching a father's murder and that 'I come' and 'I return' say the same thing twice, while Aeschylus replies that an exile who comes back both comes and returns. Euripides then picks out another line of Aeschylus, about calling on a father to hear and to hearken.

Pausanias (13)

Pausanias, Description of Greece 8.34.1–6Maniae and Acé: Orestes' madness and cure near MegalopolisPausanias describes the sanctuary of the Maniae, goddesses of madness identified with the Eumenides, on the road from Megalopolis to Messene, where Orestes is said to have gone mad. Nearby are the mound called Finger's Tomb, where Orestes bit off a finger, the place Acé, where he was healed, and a place where he cut his hair. He explains the sacrifices to the black and white goddesses and gives the Peloponnesian version in which the accuser at the Areopagus was Perilaus. The section ends with the rivers Gatheatas and Carnion and the boundary with Messenia at the Hermaeum.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 7.14.1–7Achaia: the Roman decree and Critolaus' war on RomePausanias tells how the Roman commissioner Orestes announced that Sparta, Corinth, Argos, Heraclea under Oeta and Arcadian Orchomenus were to be released from the Achaean League. The Achaeans seized every Spartan in Corinth and imprisoned them. Critolaus, the new general, stalled the Roman commissioners at Tegea and persuaded the Achaeans to declare war on Rome, encouraged by Pytheas and the Thebans, whom Metellus had fined.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.18.1–9Argos: the road from Mycenae, the tomb of Thyestes and the kings of ArgosOn the road to Argos are a shrine of Perseus, the tomb of Thyestes with its ram, the sanctuary of Mysian Demeter, the river Inachus and an altar of the Sun. Pausanias explains the division of the Argive kingdom among the lines of Anaxagoras, Bias and Melampus, then the rule of Orestes and Tisamenus and the return of the Heraclids, who drove out Tisamenus and the descendants of Nestor.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.31.1–10Troezen: Saviour Artemis, Pittheus’ tomb and the purification of OrestesIn the market-place of Troezen Pausanias describes the temple of Saviour Artemis founded by Theseus and the altars of the gods below, the tomb and judgment seats of Pittheus, the sanctuary of the Muses and the temple of Wolfish Artemis. Near these are the sacred stone and the booth where Orestes was purified, the sanctuary of Thearian Apollo, the colonnade with statues of the Athenian women and children, the fountain Hippocrene, the Hermes Polygius with the sprouting club of Hercules, and the temple of Saviour Zeus.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 3.1.1–9Laconia: the early kings from Lelex to the sons of AristodemusPausanias opens the Laconian book with the early kings, Lelex, Myles, Eurotas and Lacedaemon, who named Sparta after his wife, then Amyclas, whose son Hyacinth is buried at Amyclae, and Oebalus, Tyndareus and the Tyndarid line to Orestes. He recounts the Heraclid return and the death of Aristodemus, whose twin sons Procles and Eurysthenes founded the two royal houses, and Theras’ colony on Thera.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 3.11.1–11Sparta: the market-place, the Persian Colonnade and the seer TisamenusPausanias begins his description of Sparta, restating his principle of selecting only the most memorable things. He lists the market-place magistracies, the Persian Colonnade with its marble Persians, temples of Caesar and Augustus and the statue of Agias, and tells of the seer Tisamenus and his five victories. He also describes the Chorus and sanctuaries of Pythaean Apollo, Market Zeus and the Fates, with the grave of Orestes and the statue of King Polydorus.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 3.3.1–10Sparta: Polydorus, the Messenian revolt and the bones of Orestes at TegeaPausanias continues the Agid kings, with Polydorus’ reign, colonies at Crotona and Locri, the first Messenian war and Polydorus’ assassination by Polemarchus, then the Messenian revolt under Anaxander. He describes how Lichas found the bones of Orestes in a Tegean smithy by interpreting the oracle, and argues from this and Homer that heroic weapons were of bronze. He ends with Anaxandrides’ two wives and the birth of Cleomenes, Dorieus, Leonidas and Cleombrotus.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.17.1–7The Argive Heraeum: the temple of Hera and Polyclitus’ statueFifteen furlongs from Mycenae lies the Heraeum, on the slope of Mount Euboea, with the Water of Freedom and the plant asterion. Pausanias describes the temple, its sculptures and fore-temple offerings, Polyclitus’ gold and ivory Hera with pomegranate and cuckoo, the old wooden image from Tiryns, Hadrian’s peacock and Nero’s crown and robe. Above it stand the remains of the earlier temple burnt through the priestess Chryseis’ lamp.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 3.16.1–11Sparta: the Leucippides, Lycurgus’ sanctuary and Artemis OrthiaPausanias describes the sanctuary of Hilaira and Phoebe, the egg said to be Leda’s, the Tunic where the women weave the garment for Apollo of Amyclae, and the house where the Dioscuri visited Phormio. He lists the shrines of Chilon and of the Athenians with Dorieus, and Lycurgus’ sanctuary and the graves nearby. He then argues that the wooden image of Artemis Orthia, in the Limnaeum, is the one brought from the Tauric land, and describes the scourging of the youths at her altar.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 3.22.1–13Laconian coast: Cranae, Helos, Acriae, Geronthrae, Asopus and BoeaePausanias describes the stone of Orestes near Gythium, Cranae and Migonium, then Trinasus, Helos and Acriae with its temple of the Mother of the Gods. He then describes Geronthrae, Marius and Asopus, with its giant bones and the cape Onugnathus, and finally Boeae, founded by Boeus, where a hare led the settlers to a myrtle sacred to Artemis Saviour.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 7.16.1–10Achaia: Mummius and the sack of CorinthPausanias describes how Mummius joined the Roman army at the Isthmus with Orestes and routed the Achaean horse and foot. Diaeus fled to Megalopolis, killed his wife and drank poison. Corinth was stormed and burned, its people were massacred or sold, and its art was carried off, partly to Pergamus. Mummius dismantled the walls of the cities that had fought and abolished the national confederacies, which the Romans later restored.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 8.5.1–13Arcadia: the kings from Echemus to the stoning of AristocratesPausanias gives the succession of Arcadian kings after Lycurgus, beginning with Echemus, who killed Hyllus in single combat. Agapenor led the Arcadians to Troy and founded Paphos in Cyprus. Pausanias traces Hippothus, Aepytus and Cypselus, during whose reign the Dorians returned, and then Pompus, Aeginetes, Polymestor and Aechmis. Aristocrates violated the priestess of Artemis Hymnia and was stoned, and his grandson of the same name was stoned for taking bribes from Sparta, which ended the line of Cypselus.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 8.54.1–7The Alpheus and the roads from Tegea: Orestes' tomb and Mount PartheniusPausanias describes the Alpheus, which rises at Phylace and repeatedly sinks underground, rising again at Asea and Pegae and flowing under the sea to mix with Arethusa at Syracuse. He lists what lies on the roads from Tegea: the tomb of Orestes, a sanctuary of Pan and the oak grove with temples of Demeter and Mystic Dionysus. On Mount Parthenius are the precinct of Telephus and a sanctuary of Pan, where Pan appeared to Philippides, and tortoises sacred to Pan. The boundary with Argos is at Hysiae, which closes his account of the Peloponnese.

Orestes in the ancient sources

Homer (5)

Apollodorus (2)

Pindar (2)

Aeschylus (25)

Sophocles (15)

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Aristophanes (3)

Pausanias (13)