person
Orestes
Son of Agamemnon; his matricide is a recurring textbook case in De Inventione.
Reading notes
- On the Ends of Good and Evil §5.63 'I am Orestes'
An allusion to the famous scene in tragedy (Pacuvius's Chryses, after a Greek original) where Orestes and his friend Pylades each claim to be Orestes to save the other. The audience's applause shows admiration for selfless loyalty.