Libation Bearers Characters

Even for a guy who's got an entire tragic trilogy (the Oresteia) named after him, Orestes is one messed up dude. But hey, let's cut him some slack. He comes from a seriously dysfunctional family si...

Electra disappears before the half-way mark in Libation Bearers, never to be seen again. From the standpoint of the plot, she doesn't do very much; even though her encounter with Orestes in the ope...

To really see Clytemnestra in her element, you should turn to Agamemnon, the first play in Aeschylus's Oresteia trilogy. (You can also read all about her involvement in that play in our Shmoop guid...

Unlike the Chorus in Agamemnon, the first part of the Oresteia trilogy, who were a bunch of weather-beaten old citizens of Argos, the Chorus of Libation Bearers is made up (a) of women, and (b) wom...

Aegisthus is Clytemnestra's new lover. We met him at the end of Agamemnon, where he almost got into a fight with the Chorus of old men. Nobody seemed to like him then, and nobody likes him now eith...

Pylades was the son of Strophius the Phocian, Orestes's foster father. He is deeply devoted to his boyhood friend, and accompanies Orestes on every step of his revenge-quest. Even though Pylades sp...

The Nurse only appears briefly. She tells us embarrassing stories about Orestes as a baby, and seems deeply hurt that the child she nursed is now dead. Not an especially intelligent person, the Nur...

The doorman is in charge of manning the door of the palace in Argos. Apparently he is slow in responding after people knock.

The House-Slave runs out of the house to announce that Aegisthus has been killed. That's about it.