Rayan Itani
CLAS 1110.U12
Professor Timothy Hanford
May 12, 2016
In Aeschylus’ Libation Bearers, Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War and Aristophanes’ Lysistrata contained strong Leadership and commitment to their fellow citizens. Each one of these works had a different view on issues which affected them during that time. Common motifs, themes and events had occurred; however some differ within these works. Leadership was considered power and strength at that time, all three of these works present strong arguments by leaders who were trying to make a difference. Aeschylus’ Libation Bearers was the revenge of Orestes on Clytemnestra and Aegisthus. The chain of bloodshed continued when Orestes plotted to his avenge his father, by murdering his mother. However, everyone in the play wanted justice to be served, as well as the gods who ordered it to take place. Tisis in Greek defines as a play which was filled with revenge. Libation Bearers contains different themes and motifs, that weren't found in Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War and Aristophanes’ Lysistrata. Aeschylus discussed
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Apollo had warned him that he'll face the Furies. During his speech he explained that, “He said to kill the way they killed, and claim my birthright like a savage bull” (274-275). Orestes becomes crazed with taking his revenge on them both, "I have motives to my own that drive me: the god’s command, the great sorrow I feel for the father, and the burden of my stolen birthright” (299-301). Clytemnestra had sent Orestes to Strophes; she had been trying to get him out of the picture, so he wouldn't get a chance to take power. Her only goal was for her to take full power. Clytemnestra had a dream that she gave birth to a snake, and that the snake was going to kill her. This dream had foreshadowed her sad
The character of Orestes is somewhat down-played in The Eumenides and in fact his role is far less significant than that of Apollo. Our first sight of Orestes sees him in a contradictory stance at Delphi, "Orestes holds a suppliant's branch in one hand, wreathed with a shining, pious tuft of wool, but in the other hand a bloody sword - bloody from his mother's wounds or from Apollo's purges, or both, since purging contaminates the purger and Apollo's shrine is polluted either way." (Fagles, R., The Serpent and the Eagle, p. 73, Penguin Classics, 1977.) Orestes admits his guilt (with no small amount of rationalization) but also attempts to place the bulk of the blame on Apollo, "And Apollo shares the guilt - he spurred me on, he warned of the pains I'd feel unless I acted, brought the guilty down." (Aeschylus, The Eumenides, Robert Fagles Trans., lines 479 - 481, Penguin Classics, 1977.) Apollo is representative of the new gods and, more particularly, of Zeus. "In the rapid succession of scenes at Delphi the representatives of the male and female divine forces appear before our eyes in bitter enmity with each other. And, they are indeed only representatives. Apollo speaks with the voice of Zeus... and hence of the Olympian patriarchy..." (Harington, J.,...
The Oresteia trilogy follows a series of murders among the family of Orestes. In the first play, Agamemnon, the blood of Orestes’ father, Agamemnon, and his father’s war prize, Casandra, spills at the hands of Orestes’ mother, Clytamnestra. Following suit, Orestes avenges his father’s cold-blooded murder in the second play, The Libation Bearer, by killing his mother and her lover, Aegisthus. The acts of revenge by Orestes come to a climax in the third and final play of the trilogy, The Eumenides. With a monumental trial between Orestes and the Furies, a question of justification arises. Did Orestes have a justified reason to commit matricide? Or did his actions reveal a dark, unjustified moment of kin murder? Orestes’ murder of his mother, Clytamnestra, is justified because of the gods’ interference throughout the Oresteia trilogy.
The Peloponnesian War and the Decline of Leadership in Athens Thucydides set out to narrate the events of what he believed would be a great war—one requiring great power amassed on both sides and great states to carry out. Greatness, for Thucydides, was measured most fundamentally in capital and military strength, but his history delves into almost every aspect of the war, including, quite prominently, its leaders. In Athens especially, leadership was vital to the war effort because the city’s leaders were chosen by its people and thus, both shaped Athens and reflected its character during their lifetimes. The leaders themselves, however, are vastly different in their abilities and their effects on the city. Thucydides featured both Pericles and Alcibiades prominently in his history, and each had a distinct place in the evolution of Athenian empire and the war it sparked between Athens and Sparta.
When a person is accused of a crime they are either found innocent or guilty. This is the basic idea of justice and it is what many feel needs to happen if someone has done something controversial. In the play The Oresteia by Aeschylus, the story of Clytemnestra guilt or innocents is questioned. She does many things that people are not too happy with and those controversial actions throughout the story, mainly in the first part Agamemnon get her into the trouble. As we explore the case that builds against her innocents by exploring the killings of Agamemnon and Cassandra and the boastful expression about the killings.
Aeschylus' The Oresteia features two characters burdened by seemingly hopeless decisions. First is Agamemnon, king of Argos, whose army was thwarted by the goddess, Artemis. Agamemnon was faced with the decision to call off the army's sail to Troy, and thus admit defeat and embarrassment, or to sacrifice his daughter, Iphigenia, to satisfy Artemis whom had stopped the winds to delay Agamemnon's fleet. Second is Orestes, son of Agamemnon, who was given the choice by Apollo to avenge his father's murder, thus committing matricide, or face a series of torturous consequences. Although both Agamemnon and Orestes were faced with major dilemmas, their intentions and their characters are revealed through their actions to be markedly different.
Orestes’ revenge is the first important example of the gods’ revenge in the poem. In Book 1, Hermes told Aegisthus, “’Don’t murder the man,’ he said, ‘don’t court his wife. Beware, revenge will come from Orestes…” (Homer 260). King Nestor delivers the story of Orestes’ revenge to Odysseus’ son Telemachus, while Telemachus is visiting Nestor to discover answers about his fathers’ whereabouts. In Book 3 of The Odyssey, King Nestor tells this of Agamemnon, “…Aegisthus hatched the kings’ horrendous death” (Homer, 285). King Nestor continues on telling of the revenge Agamemnon’s son Orestes has on Aegisthus, “Orestes took revenge, he killed that cunning, murderous Aegisthus…”(Homer, 285). This example of Orestes’ revenge shows that the gods should be listened to or they will give horrific revenges to those who disobey.
The bloody revenge of the suitors, not all of who deserved their gruesome deaths, is only justifiable because Odysseus is portrayed as such an remarkable epic hero who has slaughtered many men in his lifetime, and now that he is at his lowest point, he has to prove to his family, the suitors, Athena, and himself that he is still godlike in combat. Prior to killing the suitors, Odysseus calls himself very weak and incapable of killing the suitors, followed by saying he would rather be killed now than have to face them. Queen Penelope decides that she will choose a husband based on who...
The death of Pericles was a significant event in the course of the Peloponnesian War; however, even without Pericles' leadership the Athenian Assembly had countless opportunities to prevent their loss and chose not to take them. The fickleness and inefficiency of democracy ('the mob') allowed the Athenians to be easily influenced and therefore electing populists such as Cleon, Lysicles and Hyperbolus into dominant leadership roles. Election, via democratic means, of such populists, meant that the Athenians would take a much more aggressive approach to the war and therefore abandon the policies that Pericles had previously established. So in turn, democracy the institution for which the Athenians fought tirelessly to protect, rather than the death of Pericles, ironically became the dominant factor influencing the final outcome of this Ancient Greek civil war.
Thucydides, Dent, J. M., & Dutton, E. P. (1910). The Peloponnesian War. London & New
Killing the person responsible for one of your family member's deaths is Athenian justice. This type of lethal justice is executed by Orestes and Electra. Before proceeding to the house of Aegisthus and Clytemnestra, they plot the murder of their father's murderers. They decide Orestes will murder his mother, and Electra will dispose of Aegisthus. Orestes is the most focused of the two; but Electra, although timid in the beginning, is the most masculine. Both of these personality traits are key to their plan coming to fruition. Once her brother devises the plan, Electra verbally encourages him to follow through with it. After thrusting his blade into Clytemnestra only once, Electra cries that "[i]f thou beest a man, [s]trike twice!" (Sophocles 5...
Pylades arrives bearing the sad news of Orestes death. He tells Clytemnestra that Orestes was killed in a chariot race at the Delphian games; his body was cremated and his ashes were sent to. Mycenae. Concealing his identity, Orestes arrives with the help of Electra and Pylades, plots the murder of his mother and his mother's. lover. Orestes enters the palace, kills his mother and returns to Electra. When Aegisthus arrives, Orestes kills him as well. his destiny.
There has been much debate on who is the greatest hero of the ancient world. There has also been much dispute on which is the greatest epic poem of the ancient world. However, comparing The Aeneid to The Odyssey is entirely a difficult task itself. Odysseus' journeys, both physical and emotional, are essential in the overall work because it defines The Odyssey as an epic poem. Aeneas also shares a similar experience as Odysseus as well. Both stories are similar in countless ways because they both undergo comparable experiences on their travels and their life journeys. With that being said, they both demonstrated leadership in their own way. However, it is difficult to determine who the best leader actually is. Both men exhibit great leadership skills; therefore, causing a challenge for some in determining which the greater epic is. After analyzing both texts, it is possible to conclude that Aeneas is the better leader, but The Odyssey is the greater epic.
The peloponnesian war was a difficult time for the people of Athens. Along with the general discomforts of war, the Athenians also experienced famine, disease, and political unrest. These factors influenced Aristophanes during his productions of Lysistrata and Acharnians. When performed Aristophanes made sure to include some political agenda lines as well as some comedy so as to keep it light. This form was used to undermine the support of democracy in Athens by showing the audience the folly of the current system and in places propose how it could be different.
Aristophanes may depict these four elements in unusual ways throughout the play, however, when everyone comes to peace once again, the elements can be seen quite easily. Many of the Greek ideologies have been passed on to the world we know today. The idea of gender roles plays a major part in Lysistrata and in life as we know it. Men and women are still, in the 20th century, not treated completely equally to men, and Aristophanes critiques this throughout his writing in Lysistrata. On top of this, generals from each country come into conflict regularly, causing various wars. These major themes which Aristophanes discusses are everywhere and from his writing people can learn about these issues, connecting them with concepts from the present. Lysistrata is quite an amazing piece of work and represents numerous critiques for people to learn from. But, it’s all Greek to
What is leadership, and how do we attain the best and most effective leaders? These are questions that are as old as civilization itself. Bass (1974) wrote that, “from its infancy, the study of history has been the study of leaders” (as cited in Wren, 1995, p. 50). Since the study of history in the West is commonly held to begin with Herodotus of ancient Athens, it is not surprising that we should examine the historical views of leadership through the eyes of two titans of Greek thought: Plato and Aristotle.