The Libation Bearers: Prologue: Orestes at the Tomb
The recap, key beats, and evidence for Prologue: Orestes at the Tomb, without reopening the whole book.
Section recap · 2 min read
What happens in Prologue: Orestes at the Tomb.
Orestes returns to Argos after years of exile and stands at his father Agamemnon's tomb. He leaves a lock of his hair as an offering and spots a group of women approaching. He steps aside to watch. The scene establishes who Orestes is, why he's back, and what he's been sent to do: Apollo has commanded him to avenge his father's murder.
The beats worth remembering.
Orestes arrives at Agamemnon's tomb
After years away, Orestes comes back to Argos and goes straight to his father's grave. He dedicates a lock of hair to Agamemnon, which signals mourning and filial duty before a single word of revenge is spoken.
Orestes invokes Apollo's command
Orestes makes clear that he isn't acting on personal impulse alone. Apollo has ordered him to avenge Agamemnon or face terrible consequences. This divine mandate is what drives the whole play forward.
Orestes sees the mourning women approaching
A procession of women in dark robes comes toward the tomb. Orestes pulls back to observe them, which sets up his reunion with Electra and the chorus in the scenes that follow.
The moments you can actually use later.
Hair offering at the tomb
Orestes places a lock of his hair on Agamemnon's grave as his first act on returning home, showing that his mission is framed as a religious and familial obligation, not just personal anger.
Apollo's explicit instruction
Orestes explains that the god Apollo told him to carry out vengeance and warned him of serious suffering if he refused. This positions the coming murder as divinely sanctioned, which matters enormously for how the play judges Orestes.
What to carry forward.
Apollo's command is the engine of the plot
Orestes didn't decide to kill Clytemnestra on his own. He was ordered to by Apollo, and the threat of divine punishment if he refuses is real. Keep this in mind whenever the question of Orestes' guilt comes up later.
The hair offering signals the play's central tension
Leaving hair at a tomb is a ritual act of mourning and loyalty. Orestes is honoring a dead father while preparing to kill a living mother. That contradiction is what the whole play is about.
Ask about this scene
Keep the question locked to Prologue: Orestes at the Tomb instead of the whole book.
How this guide is built
This guide is built from the original text to help you get oriented fast. It is designed for recall, paper planning, and getting unstuck, but it is still a paraphrased guide, not a substitute for the reading itself. Double-check anything important before you turn in formal work.