Orestes and Aegisthus (avenger and victim)
The relationship between Orestes and Aegisthus is the Odyssey's foundational example of rightful vengeance, a story told and retold by gods and mortals alike to define justice, honor, and the duty of a son. Aegisthus, having seduced Agamemnon's wife Clytemnestra and murdered the king on his return from Troy, ruled Mycenae for seven years. In the eighth year, Orestes returned from Athens and killed him, an act that the poem presents as both a personal and cosmic restoration of order. This narrative is not merely a background tale but the ethical and structural model against which the entire plot of the Odyssey is measured.
The Paradigm of Divine Justice
The first and most authoritative telling of the Orestes-Aegisthus story occurs in the council of the gods on Olympus. Zeus himself introduces it, lamenting how mortals blame the gods for their own folly. He recounts how he sent Hermes to warn Aegisthus not to murder Agamemnon nor woo his wife, for Orestes would surely avenge his father once he came of age. Aegisthus ignored the warning and paid the full price. Zeus' speech establishes the principle that the gods warn but do not compel; human choice and its consequences are central. Athena immediately applies this paradigm to Odysseus' situation, contrasting the just punishment of Aegisthus with the undeserved suffering of Odysseus, who is trapped on Calypso's island despite his piety. The divine framework thus presents Orestes' act as the correct, divinely sanctioned response to usurpation and murder.
A Model for Telemachus
The story of Orestes is repeatedly held up to Telemachus as a direct example of the conduct expected of a noble son. In the assembly on Ithaca, after Telemachus has publicly denounced the suitors, the omen-interpreter Halitherses warns that Odysseus' return is near, but it is the suitors who are most directly threatened. Later, during Telemachus' visit to Pylos, Nestor explicitly urges him to emulate Orestes. Nestor tells the full story of Agamemnon's murder and Orestes' revenge, concluding with the exhortation: "See what a good thing it is for a man to leave a son behind him to do as Orestes did, who killed false Aegisthus the murderer of his noble father. You too, then—for you are a tall smart-looking fellow—show your mettle and make yourself a name in story." Telemachus responds by wishing that heaven would grant him the same power to avenge himself on the suitors. The parallel is unmistakable: the suitors, like Aegisthus, are consuming Odysseus' estate and plotting against his son; Telemachus, like Orestes, must prove his worth by taking action.
The Contrast with Agamemnon's Fate
The Orestes story also serves to highlight the difference between Agamemnon's disastrous homecoming and the hoped-for return of Odysseus. In the underworld, the ghost of Agamemnon tells Odysseus the grim details of his murder: how Aegisthus invited him to a feast and butchered him "like a fat beast in a slaughter house," along with all his men. Agamemnon contrasts his own wife's treachery with Penelope's virtue, warning Odysseus to be cautious even with his own wife. Yet the deeper lesson is that Orestes' vengeance has redeemed the family honor and secured his own fame. Agamemnon's ghost asks Odysseus for news of Orestes, hoping his son is still alive and thriving. The implication is that Orestes' success has, in part, salvaged Agamemnon's legacy from complete disgrace. The parallel between Orestes and Telemachus is thus reinforced: both are sons who must act to restore their fathers' houses.
The Culmination of the Pattern
The Orestes paradigm reaches its fulfillment in Odysseus' own slaughter of the suitors. When Odysseus finally reveals himself to Telemachus and they plan the revenge, the father explicitly invokes the model of Orestes. He tells Telemachus that they must hide the armor and then, when the moment comes, fight together. The suitors, like Aegisthus, are destroyed in their own feasting hall, a direct echo of the earlier crime. The poem's final book, the descent of the suitors' ghosts to Hades, provides a coda. There, the ghost of Agamemnon praises Odysseus for having a wife as faithful as Penelope, and contrasts her with Clytemnestra. He declares that the fame of Penelope's virtue will never die, while the song of Clytemnestra's wickedness will be hateful among men. The Orestes-Aegisthus story thus bookends the epic: it opens the divine council's deliberation on justice and closes with the vindication of the faithful wife and the avenging son, confirming that the pattern of rightful vengeance has been successfully repeated.
