Home › Glossary › Letter O

Orestes

Mythology
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra who avenged his father's murder by killing his mother and her lover Aegisthus, then was pursued by the Furies until purified and acquitted in Athens.

Detailed Definition
Orestes, driven by Apollo’s command, murdered his mother to avenge Agamemnon, then was pursued by the Furies until acquitted in Athens. His story explores justice, guilt, and the evolution from blood feud to legal trial. Poets reference him to examine moral ambiguity and the burden of filial duty.
Example
Example in poetry:
Orestes avenges Agamemnon by killing Clytemnestra in Aeschylus’s Oresteia; In Euripides’ Electra, his return sparks familial drama; Ovid recounts his purification in Metamorphoses; Virgil references Orestes as a model of filial duty in Aeneid; Renaissance tragedy uses Orestes to explore justice and madness; Modern verse examines Orestes as a trauma survivor.
Additional Notes
Orestes, son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, avenged his father by killing his mother, then was pursued by Furies until acquitted in Athens—his story (Aeschylus’ Oresteia) charts the shift from blood feud to legal justice—central to poetry on guilt, purification, and the birth of democracy.
Also Known As
Avenger of Agamemnon Pursued by Furies Orestēs
Skip to main content