A Justified Murder?
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.
Two deities significantly impact the events
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of Orestes’ conflict: Apollo and Athena. Apollo commands Orestes to exact revenge on Clytamnestra and eventually serves as Orestes’ advocate in the trial against the Furies. Meanwhile, Athena realizes the magnitude of the situation and establishes the first trial by jury. Furthermore, she takes justice into her own hands and decides the fate of Orestes after a split vote by the jury. On the other side of the conflict, the deities of vengeance, known as the Furies, pursue Orestes in order to avenge Clytamnestra’s murder. Divine intervention in the Oresteia trilogy displays questions to whether Orestes has the reason to achieve justice. Once the deities intervene with Orestes, he can clearly see that reason would call him to obey Apollo’s command and trust that Apollo and Athena would protect him from the aftermath of his actions. Apollo, the first deity to influence Orestes’ actions, sets the chain of events into motion as he appears to Orestes and orders him to carry out the murder of Clytamnestra. In Aeschylus’ The Libation Bearers, Orestes proclaims Apollo’s command, stating: “I can still hear the god- a high voice ringing with winters of disaster, piercing the heart within me, warm and strong, unless I hunt my father’s murderers, cut them down in their own style – they destroyed my birthright. ‘Gore them like a bull!’ he called, ‘or pay their debt with your own life, one long career of grief.’” (Lib. 275-281) Apollo gives Orestes two choices; either avenge his father, Agamemnon’s death by killing his disloyal mother and her lover, or let his father’s murderers live and suffer for the rest of his life. A list of percussions that Apollos warns Orestes would occur if he fails to avenge his father’s death include leprous boils, cancerous skin, and the pursuit of the infamous Furies (Lib. 285-289). Undoubtedly, the combination of bringing justice to his kin and avoiding unpleasant consequences ignites a fire under Orestes to use reason in a way that will bring justice to his father’s name. After Orestes accomplishes the oracle’s deed, Apollo defends Orestes by accepting him as a suppliant and serving as his witness in the trial.
Both Orestes and Apollo publicly state that Orestes’ motivation primarily came from Apollo. For Apollo confesses in the Eumenides, “I share responsibility for his mother’s execution.” (Eum. 585-86). Apollo takes partial blame for the murder of Clytamenstra, for it was Orestes’ fear of Apollo that drove him to commit matricide. While testifying to the jury, Apollo attempts to show that the murder of Clytamnestra and the murder of Agamemnon are completely inequivalent (Hall 260). Agamemnon, the champion of the Trojan War, came home victoriously from a ten-year campaign just to suffer a humiliating death at the hands of his wife. This same woman kills Argo’s king, yet doesn’t receive any punishment for her actions. Since Clytamnestra killed his father Agamemnon, Orestes has another reason to justify his actions. Apollo’s intervention as a witness give Orestes authority over what he says, since Apollo can never tell a lie (Eum.
622-625). The second deity to intervene in the Oresteia is Athena, who forms the trial between Orestes and the Furies after realizing the crisis of justice among the two parties. Orestes and the Furies both have reasons to justify their actions; therefore, Athena calls together “the finest men of Athens” to decide the matter fairly and discover which party is declared justified by the people (Eum. 500-505). According to Hawk, Athena establishes a new system of justice based on the endorsement of wisdom (Hawk 84). Being the goddess of wisdom, Athena knows that the Furies would tear apart Orestes if she doesn’t get involved in the matter. At the same time, the Furies would unleash their terror on everyone if they didn’t get their way. Thus, Athena’s establishment of a new judicial system allows Orestes to plead his case before senselessly getting mauled by the Furies. The split vote by the jury shows how Orestes’ violence toward his mother may have affected some of the jury members’ votes. For a son to murder his mother could have seemed harsh to the Athenians of the day; however, the son’s reasoning behind the murder makes for a respectable argument. Menke suggests that violence through revenge has a relation to justice, exclaiming: “The sentence of revenge says: According to the rule of like with like, the murderer of the husband must suffer from the same violation as she has committed. That is why also the son, who passes the sentence of revenge and avenges his father’s death, must himself suffer the same violation he has committed against his mother.” (Menke 3) Indeed, Orestes’ killing of his mother seemed brutal yet Orestes was merely following on the common practice of vengeance to the ancient Greek culture. The cycle of vengeance solely within the family of Atreus is evident: Agamemnon sacrifices his daughter Iphigenia, Clytamnestra ruthlessly murders Agamemnon, and Orestes kills Clytamnestra. Menke continues by saying that the law is able to overcome the violence of revenge because it differentiates both sides. Athena realizes this and takes the case of Orestes to a tribunal where people are “bound to their oaths” and “spirits are bent on justice” (Eum. 505). Even though half the jury charges Orestes with the death penalty and half spares Orestes with mercy, Athena has the final and deciding vote. Athena casts her lot for Orestes, although not because Apollo commanded him to avenge his father’s death or because Orestes used reason to obey. Instead, Athena sides with Orestes because she never had a mother. Athena explains in the Eumenides that “with all my heart I am my Father’s child. I cannot set more store by the woman’s death – she killed her husband, guardian of their house.” (Eum. 753-55). Since Clytamnestra murdered Agamemnon, Athena rooted for Orestes to avenge his kin’s murder and justify his actions. Thus, leaving Orestes without a father and in an ideal position to achieve justice through revenge. Hawk compares the divine wisdom that Athena displays in the Oresteia with the divine wisdom that King Solomon embodies in the Old Testament. The same way that Athena establishes an order of justice on top of the Crag of Ares, Solomon eventually builds the Temple that sits on top of the city of Jerusalem (Hawk 86). Athena’s first test to prove her justified wisdom to the people of Athens involved none other than Orestes’ fate with the Furies. If the goddess failed to enforce justice in this first trial, her system would fail. In the second chapter of 1 Kings, Solomon faces a similar crisis between different factions among the kingdom (New Living Translation Holy Bible, 1 Kings 2.13-46). Adonijah, the older brother of Solomon, who ought to be king, and his supporters make up one faction. Meanwhile, the supporters of Solomon whom have no blood ties make up the other faction. Solomon establishes his rule by executing Adonijah and a few other officials due to their rebellion against King David and himself; thus, marking the beginning of Solomon’s system of justice (Hawk 85). For without these two cases of divine wisdom, justice would never have been served in the cities of Athens or Jerusalem. Specifically, Orestes wouldn’t have received the justice that he deserved. While some people believe that Orestes’ act of matricide is justified because of divine interference and reason, others claim that Orestes deserved to die for his actions. The group of deities pitted against Orestes were the feared Furies. As defendants of the deceased Clytamnestra, the Furies hound Orestes during the trial, arguing that Clytamnestra gave him life. How could a son murder his own mother, who provided nourishment throughout his life? At the end of the Libation Bearers, many of the arguments that the Furies build on are first spoken by Clytamnestra herself. Clytamnestra pleas with Orestes, “Ai – you are the snake I bore – I gave life to you!” right before her son ends her life (Lib. 914). According to Hirshfield, “It is the Furies' role to preserve horror at such an act, both within the community and within the self; their role not to allow the unforgivable to go unnoticed, let alone be forgiven. Orestes himself has played the role of a Fury against his mother, as powerless not to act against her for having killed his father as the Furies are powerless not to act against him. The insolubility of human grief before injustice stands at the center.” (Hirshfield 131) In addition, Orestes finds a flaw in the Furies’ argument. Why didn’t the Furies take revenge on Clytamnestra after she slaughtered her husband in a bathtub? They reply by stating, “The blood of the man she killed was not her own.” There was blatantly an evil crime committed by Clytamnestra, but the Furies ignored it since kinship laws didn’t apply for the marriage of Agamemnon and Clytamnestra. The Furies’ were more focused on seeking vengeance for their victim, not necessarily seeking the “usual” form of justice. In other words, the Furies’ form of justice was the satisfaction of seeing their victim’s murderer suffer and die a terrible death. Over the events of the Oresteia, a family is thrown into chaos. Family members murder other family members, a trial revolves around the argument of justified revenge, and deities constantly intervene and affect the course of the play. Therefore, the question that stands out the most reads: “Is justice served in the trial between Orestes and the Furies?” Since Orestes uses reason to determine that obeying Apollo’s command is the best choice of action, Orestes avenges his father’s murder by killing the murderer, Clytamnestra. Although the Furies and half of the Athenian jury charge Orestes with death, the Furies were merely doing their job to punish Orestes for killing their “client” Clytamnestra. Once the Furies are subdued, Athena establishes a new system of justice on the Aeropagus similarly to the way that Solomon reigns with divine justice after building the Temple at Jerusalem. In the end, Orestes’ actions are justified because of the deities’ aid and Orestes’ reasoning.
In this essay I will examine the war-of the-sexes taking place in The Eumenides, the final play of The Oresteia. The plot of The Eumenides pits Orestes and Apollo (representing the male gods and, to a certain extent, male values in general) against the ghost of Clytemnestra and the Furies (equally representative of female values.) Of more vital importance, however, is whether Athene sides with the males or females throughout the play.
It is without fail that throughout Aeschylus’ trilogy, The Oresteia, the presence of light and dark can be found in the characters, the plot and the themes. The trilogy follows the House of Atreus its emergence from darkness into the light. However, the light and darkness are often presented symbolically throughout the trilogy and often appear as pairs, which are constantly at odds with each other like Clytaemnestra versus Orestes and Apollo verses the Furies. Light and dark are not defined, nor strictly categorized, as good against evil, rather they move towards the primal versus civilized nature of the culture, and the two merging, and moving into a new era of Greek civilization. The dark is not pure evil, the light is not pure good; they are a coming together of two different times, and because of that transition, from primitive to civilized, tension builds and breaks, which causes the tragic events of The Oresteia throughout the three plays: Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Eumenides.
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.
The thesis of the Oresteia proves to be the sacrifice of Iphigenia, for it is with the death of a woman that the tables of the curse on the house of Atreus start to unfold. The sacrifice of Iphigenia becomes the start of the continued curse within this particular generation of the house of Atreus. Agamemnon, a misogynist, did not value the life of his innocent daughter over the spoils of men. It is significant that an innocent woman, ready for marriage, an act that brings together two households, was not married but instead murdered. Her sacrifice shows a separation between men and women along with failure within the household.
Finally, human nature must also be carefully understood so as to protect it from being manipulated and to understand its place in society. In ancient Greece, Aeschylus sought to define for the people of Athens the part of human nature that necessitates justice and power. At the end of his series of plays in the Oresteia, Aeschylus tells the story of Orestes and the progression of justice. The final play, The Eumenides, ends with a struggle between different definitions of justice. Orestes is a youth charged with matricide, which is punishable by death according to the Furies and the traditional method of restoring equity.
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.
However, Aegisthus had been warned: 'we ourselves had sent Hermes, the keen-eyed Giant-slayer, to warn him neither to kill the man nor to court his wife'; (pg. 4). Aegisthus ignored the warning, killing Agamemnon and courting his wife. Orestes, Agamemnon's son, killed Aegisthus to avenge his father's death. The gods saw this as swift, fair, and powerful justice: ' And now Aegisthus has paid the final price for all his sins'; (pg. 4).
...ther and being unable to know what that means, Athena proclaims that "[m]ine is the final vote, [a]nd I award it to Orestes' cause" (Aeschylus 140). He was simply following the unspoken law that you kill the person responsible for your family member's death. No matter what action he took, he would of be looked down upon with disdainment.
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.
Despite the male dominant society of Ancient Greece, the women in Sophocles’ play Antigone all express capabilities of powerful influence and each individually possess unique characteristics, showing both similarities and contrasts. The women in the play are a pivotal aspect that keeps the plot moving and ultimately leads to the catharsis of this tragedy. Beginning from the argument between Antigone and Ismene to Eurydice’s suicide, a male takes his own life and another loses everything he had all as a result of the acts these women part take in. The women all put their own family members above all else, but the way they go about showing that cherishment separates them amongst many other things.
Throughout Oresteia, Aeschlyus uses blood to symbolize revenge by death. There are multiple instances of death in Oresteia. In the play The furies, Orestes, Clytemnestra’s son, was discussing with Apollo a plot to kill his mother. Orestes wanted
When he is getting ready to kill Aegisthus, Orestes has a talk with Aegisthus. At this point Aegisthus does not know who he is really talking to until a line is said “That although you’re alive, you’ve been matching words with the dead?”(1475-76). When Aegisthus figures out that the man standing in front of him is Orestes. When he finds out that Orestes is not dead and that he is back to avenge his father’s death, Aegisthus knows that he is doomed for death, and wants to know why Orestes is not going to kill him where they were standing. Orestes tells Aegisthus that he is going to kill him where he killed his father, so they can die in the same place.
Historically speaking, in most cultures, women were seen as inferior in some respect and were not given the same rights and status as their male counterparts. The play The Eumenides demonstrates the cultural divide between men and women in ancient Greece. In the story, Orestes is considered not guilty for crimes of matricide because only the male has parental status; in other words, mothers are not related to their children by blood (women are only incubators of embryos, according to the general Greek scientific consensus), so therefore he did not technically kill a family member. Clytemnestra (his mother) was punished for murdering out of revenge, but Orestes was set free for a similar crime, just because he murdered a woman and not a man. During the French Revolution in 1791, Marie Gouze wrote The Declaration of Rights of Woman, which advocated for “natural, inalienable, and sacred” rights for women.
In Aeschylus’ The Agamemnon, Agamemnon and Clytemnestra have to make tough decisions throughout the play, decisions they believe are justified. The actions of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra are not justified because they are caused by their blinding hubris and desire for power. Agamemnon makes the choice to kill his daughter just so he could lead his troops to Troy. Clytemnestra kills her husband, not just for revenge, but for his position and power as king of Mycenae. They make selfish choices and do not believe they will be punished for them. By exposing their true motives, Aeschylus makes it clear they are not justified in their actions.
Agamemnon is the first part of the trilogy known as the Oresteia. Agamemnon is a story where the main character sacrifices his own daughter to a God, Artemis to win a battle and then his wife revenge him for the sacrifice. The concept of fate plays an important role in the tilogy Agamemnon which led to the tragic endings of the play. According to the meaning of fate it means the development of events outside a person’s control, regarded as predetermined by a super natural power. Fate is what send Agamemnon to the war with Menelaus to fight against Paris, fate is what predetermined Agamemnon to sacrifice his own blood for the sake of his ship and companions and fate is what determined Cassandra his wife to plot to kill him and to revenge him for her daughter.