Orestes the Deceitful

Orestes had been previously judged by Menelaos, who declared him and Elektra traitors and decided they should be stoned. Elektra and Orestes quickly decide they would prefer to commit suicide and die together (Pylades decides he would die with them), showing impulsiveness. This impulsiveness might also have been what saved them: Their quick thinking and facility to take risks made it easy for them to make a plan and carry it out. Their plot is to kill Helen, but they then decide Hermione´s death would make Menelaos suffer and go to the Argives, pleading for Orestes innocence. Unexpectedly, Apollo, the god of oracles, appears and SHARES that Helen is in heaven, thus Menelaos ought to find another wife. Orestes would rule Argos with Hermione as her wife (quite ironic) and Elektra and Pylades would get married.

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Orestes: "Elektra you think like a man!" [935]

Orestes: "For gods´ sake don´t unman me. I forbid you to bring me to tears." [802]

While reading An Oresteia the reader may notice how Elektra tends to appeal to masculinity, always cut off by Orestes, yet she also tries to bring out Orestes´feminine side, giving a clear example on how pronounced were sexes and the characteristics belonging to each. 

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The Furies continiously haunt Orestes´ dreams for having betrayed his kin. They remind me of Dante´s Inferno, where the Eumenidies are guarding the Door of Dis. The way Greek mythological characters became part of the Italian´s epic poem astounds me and makes me wonder if Rome´s conquer of Greece had such a level of cultural diffusion that Greek beliefs became common in the Roman society. 

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Orestes is such a deceitful character, (thus the title), that I often find myself wondering whether he deserves to be stoned. He is the protagonist and Menelaos and Helen are presented as the antagonists, yet what if it was the other way around? Orestes seems desperate and seems like a bomb ticking away, ready to explode. Elektra is very loyal to Orestes because of bloodline and resentment towards her mother, but Orestes is like a lunatic, threatening whoever he thinks fit.