In Agamemnon, Aegisthus did not physically commit the act of killing Agamemnon or Cassandra, but he recognizes that death may well be a punishment he will face, "death you said and death will be; let us take the word of fate” (1653). Aegisthus is aware that his actions could close the circle and lead to his death, but he justifies that this had to be done to justify the mistakes made by Agamemnon's father Bearers of libations, Orestes states that Apollo “said that otherwise I should myself pay the penalty with my life, and suffer a very sad punishment” (276-277) if he failed to avenge his father's death This implies that if Orestes had not completed the murders, the curse would continue on the next generation and Orestes himself would become a victim of the curse in worse conditions than he currently is. Orestes explicitly tells Clytemnestra when he confronts her: "how can I escape my father's curse, what if I fail here?" (925). Orestes knows that he will be tormented by the curse if he does not follow Apollo's instructions. In the same play, the chorus also believes that with the killing of Clytemnestra and Aegisthus the curse will end as they say, "the bloody tips of the knives that rend human flesh are moving to work will mean total and final ruin imposed on the house of Agamemnon" (859-863). Chorus of The Libation Bearers is