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 Icke’s “Oresteia,” mirroring the violence is never the intention; we encounter the war only through the perspective of the family, more precisely through Orestes, the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon.

From New York Times • Sep. 21, 2022

Diving into the still, turquoise waters has helped revive many depressed by the months of isolation, said master´s swim club member Orestes Quintana.

From Reuters • Feb. 9, 2022

Labor reformer Orestes Brownson went further and condemned wages as “a cunning device of the devil” that gave employers “all the advantages of the slave system, without the expense, trouble, and odium of being slave-holders.”

From Textbooks • Jan. 18, 2018

“Only as one speaks of the dead,” Orestes said.

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