A Comparison of Civilization in The Oresteia and Milton's Paradise Lost

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Civilization in The Oresteia and Paradise Lost

The continual search for a perfect civilization marks the history of human progress. From Plato to Locke to Marx, man has sought to order society to provide justice for himself and his children. In this quest for paradise, myths of primitivity help describe how social institutions can direct humans away from their temptations toward higher goals. In Aeschylus' The Oresteia and John Milton's Paradise Lost, human civilization is viewed as an imperfect balance of opposites which helps combat man's tendencies toward barbarism and misogyny.

For Aeschylus, successful civilization defines itself not by complete devotion to Fate or the gods; instead, society forms "the ultimate product of conflict between opposing forces" in which violence and antisocial behavior are repressed through a "hierarchization of values" (Zeitlin 1). The social myth of The Oresteia is viewed not as a historical reality but as a useful symbol - a consideration of humans run amok as the social institutions of family and government give way to a cycle of destructive violence. The trilogy sets justice, family, and city against revenge and ambition in a test of whether any social institution can survive in the face of a threat to its supremacy.

In contrast, the strongly Puritan John Milton describes the structure of society as a least among evils; it forms the "scaffolding" which, "when the building is finished," is only a "troublesome disfigurement" to man's own ability for good (Milton The Reason of Church-government qtd. in Fish 534). The conflict in Paradise Lost juxtaposes man's submission and faith with his sensuousness and ignorance. The Coming of the Son promises the final solution to man's problems and an end to this "clash of values" (Fish 536). Yet until the Resurrection, the Fortunate Fall leaves lasting marks on human civilization that are dramatically portrayed as cracks in the veneered perfection of mythic Eden.

The gorgeous garden belies the theological chasm that separates man from his Creator. Humans cannot accept the command to "be lowly wise" (PL VIII.173). When Adam promises to avoid "obscure and subtle" (PL VIII.192) thought, he acknowledges that "apt the mind or fancy is to rove/Unchecked" (PL VIII.

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