Justice And Forgiveness In The Oresteia

In the Greek tragedy, The Oresteia, justice, revenge, and forgiveness unfold throughout Agamemnon, Libation Bearers, and Eudmenides. The use of justice, revenge, and forgiveness developed throughout the play seems to portray human nature, human endeavor and morality. As well, whether or not the quest for revenge and the concept of justice is disentangled, comes into question for the chorus and the characters. In the first play of the trilogy, Agamemnon, it is aware overall in the literal and figurative themes depicted in the context that the central concept is justice, or other words justice as revenge. For example, we find a clear notion of justice from the murders of Agamemnon and Cassandra, as well as Cassandra’s prophesy believing Clytemnestra

would be killed due to her actions. Furthermore, acts of justice are presented in Agamemnon’s murder for his own and his father’s wrong doings, Cassandra being killed for her disloyalty to Apollo, and Clytemnestra and her lover Agisthus being killed for killing Cassandra and Agamemnon. Therefore, justice will be done, those who transgress will suffer, and those who carry out that justice by taking vengeance will transgress in their turn, concluding that they will as well suffer (be revenged). The justice that occurs in Agamemnon then progresses and begins to lead towards the genre of revenge in the Libation Bearers. Revenge is sought out by Clymenstra’s son Orestes's, for the killing of his father. He decides to take vengeance through the killing of Aegisthus and Clytemnestra. Though, after it is carried out, Orestes goes mentally insane, depicting that revenge is not the right way to go. This leaves the door open for use of courts of law to deal out justice in the last part of the trilogy, Eumenides. In this play forgiveness is asked for and shown throughout, in addition, struggles oppose between Zeus and the Eumenides, the justice of forgiveness to the justice of unrelenting vengeance.