La Pesadilla de Clitemnestra en Esquilo y Sófocles

Abstract

The dream like experience of Clytemnestra acquires a remarkable relevance in the tragic versions of the myth as an element that favours libations at the grave of Agamemnon, framework in which it develops the acknowledgement of his descendants before Orestes’ revenge. However, Sophocles and Aeschylus present us with a radically different dream content to capture the anguish of the dreamy murderer of her husband and announce the return of her avenging son. Despite the difference between the dream images of  Choeforoi and Electra, in both cases we can see a similar functionality of the dream element within the plot of the works. The imbrication of the dream in the myth is evident from Stesichorus, whose text (fr. 219 PMG) seems to have conditioned to a great extent the reworking of the mythical story by the tragic authors.