Orestes

[ aw-res-teez, oh-res‐ ]

noun
  1. Classical Mythology. the son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, and the brother of Electra and Iphigenia: he avenged the murder of Agamemnon by killing Clytemenestra and her lover, Aegisthus, then was pursued by the Furies until saved by Athena.

  2. (italics) a tragedy (408 b.c.) by Euripides.

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British Dictionary definitions for Orestes

Orestes

/ (ɒˈrɛstiːz) /


noun
  1. Greek myth the son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, who killed his mother and her lover Aegisthus in revenge for their murder of his father

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for Orestes

Orestes

[ (aw-res-teez) ]


In classical mythology, the son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, and brother of Electra. Agamemnon was killed by Clytemnestra and her lover, Aegisthus. To avenge the murder, Orestes and Electra killed them both.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.