Sardonyx Cameo of the Trial of Orestes, Asia Minor, 1st Century BC
Athena is shown here casting her ballot in favor of Orestes, who was on trial for the murder of his own mother, Clytemnestra. He killed her in an act of revenge because she murdered his father, King Agamemnon after he had sacrificed their own daughter, Iphigenia, so that his fleet could set sail for Troy.
Because the other jurors’ votes were tied, Athena’s ballot determined Orestes fate and he went free. The story of Orestes’ trial is told in The Eumenides, the final play of The Orestia by Aeschylus.
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