He was son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra.   While Agamemnon was away at Troy, Clytemnestra sent him abroad so that she might enjoy her illicit affair with Aegisthus.   When he returned, he found his father already murdered, and so he killed his mother and her paramour.   The Eumenides pursued him for his matricide until a trial before the Areopagus purged him of his guilt. 

[解說]

1.      “While Agamemnon was away at Troy, Clytemnestra sent him abroad so that she might enjoy her illicit affair with Aegisthus”: 當 Agamemnon 離家在 Troy 時， Clytemnestra 送他到國外好讓她可以享受她和 Aegisthus 之間的不法戀情。 “illicit affair”: 不法之事 (指「不法之戀情」)。

2.      “When he returned, he found his father already murdered, and so he killed his mother and her paramour”: 當他回來時，他發現他父親已經被謀害，而所以殺死他母親以及她的情夫。  paramour: 情夫或情婦。

3.      “The Eumenides pursued him for his matricide”: 復仇之神追逐他，因為他弒母。 “Eumenides”: 是報復違反天道人倫之神。 “matricide”為「弒母」， “patricide”則為「弒父」。

4.      “until a trial before the Areopagus purged him of his guilt”: 直到天庭之前的審判清除了他的罪過。 “Aeropagus” 是在雅典 (Athens) 神殿 (Parthenon) 所在之城堡 Acropolis 上，由 Athena 所主持的天上法庭。  purge A of B: 清除掉 A 之 B。 

[複習填充]

Orestes was son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra.  While Agamemnon was a___ at Troy, Clytemnestra sent him abroad so that she _____ enjoy her illicit affair with Aegisthus.  When he returned, he found his father already m_______, and so he killed his mother and her p_______.  The Eumenides pursued him for his matricide until a trial before the Areopagus purged him ___ his guilt.