Orestes

American  

[aw-res-teez, oh-res‑] / ɔˈrɛs tiz, oʊˈrɛs‑ /

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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Orestes British  

/ 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

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Orestes Cultural  

1. 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.

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Example Sentences

Migrant life is hard, said Orestes Gómez, a Venezeulan-born percussionist who tours with Rawayana.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2025

In art, the image of the enraged woman often represents an ugly, almost talismanic evil: In Adolphe-William Bouguereau’s 1862 painting “Orestes Pursued by the Furies,” the women sneer, brandishing weapons at Orestes.

From New York Times • May 22, 2023

You may hear, in the trial of Electra and Orestes by a jury of ordinary Athenians, an argument against capital punishment that sounds as if the words spewed from an op-ed columnist’s laptop.

From Washington Post • May 7, 2019

“No one is going to be left without seeds to plant again and recover losses,” said Salvadoran Agriculture Minister Orestes Ortez.

From Reuters • Jul. 26, 2018

The other two were a girl and a boy, Electra and Orestes.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton