Vulture Imagery
The imagery of a creature who has lost its young is used in several places throughout the trilogy, mostly to refer to Clytemnestra, whose daughter's life has been sacrificed by Agamemnon, setting Clytemnestra into a bitter, scheming fury. The image of a vulture who has lost its young, although nominally describing the Greek heroes of the war, fits her perfectly - she is frenzied and beyond all reason as a result of the loss of her daughter.
Orestes the Serpent
In The Libation Bearers, Clytemnestra has a dream that she gives birth to a snake, which immediately turns and bites her. This snake represents Orestes, who is coming back to kill her as punishment for her murder of her husband and Orestes's father, Agamemnon. This imagery is typical of Greek prophecy, and it is used to powerful effect here.
The Furies
The Furies, relentlessly hounding Orestes after he kills Clytemnestra and Aegisthus, are a visual representation of the hounding of one's own guilt. The potent image of frenzied, screaming chthonic deities in pursuit of the killer is a strangely apt one as a representation of the consequences of one's actions, however well-intentioned.
The Red Carpet
When Agamemnon returns home from the war, Clytemnestra insists on rolling a crimson carpet out for him to walk across during his grand return. This imagery, depicting Agamemnon as a divinely powerful king, is foreshadowing of what is to come - Clytemnestra believes this image is only a façade, and she builds it up in order to tear it down. It also has the added side effect of making Agamemnon commit mild blasphemy against the gods.
