Justice and Revenge in The Oresteia
In Aeschylus’ The Oresteia, justice and revenge are a dominant theme throughout the three plays. When people think of the term justice they often think in relation to a justice system. While there are no judges, jurors, or a court system in The Oresteia, there is a different type of justice throughout the plays. In Agamemnon, Aeschylus focuses on revenge as a type of justice system. Historians say that Aeschylus lived during the establishment of democracy, a time in which society was changing for the best. As we read the different plays, we see the system of justice in a Greek society transforming and going from revenge to one based on democracy. However, it cannot go unnoticed that the type of justice
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In Agamemnon, Aeschylus portrays how revenge is sometimes spurred on by the loss of a loved one. Aeschylus gave Clytemnestra a justifiable motive to murder her husband. She kills her husband because “he sacrificed his own child …. the agony [she] labored into love” (1442). Agamemnon sacrifices their daughter to the God of Artemis in order for his men to conquer Troy. Once Agamemnon returns from war, Clytaemnestra greets him by saying “Victory, you have sped my way before, now speed me to the last” (840-841). Clytaemnestra later says, “give me the tributes of a man and not a god, a little earth to walk on, not this gorgeous work” (918-920) in the efforts of treating Agamemnon poorly because he is returning alive. The system of justice in a Greek society allows one to view Clytemnestra’s murder not as a ruthless murderer, rather as one that is following tradition. Clytemnestra herself believes that she has done what is right. She takes pride having stabbed Agamemnon with a sword, as she stands over his body. Clytaemnestra …show more content…
Athena’s establishment of the court is significant because it provides a place for the citizens to decide what moral elements will be upheld in their society. In the trial, the Furies invoke their rights as defenders of familial bonds, while Orestes and Apollo try to convince the jury that his actions were just. Apollo’s argument is presented as patriarchal primarily in his speech about the father being the only true parent, which leads to the idea that he believes women are less than men. After all he also believed that the bonds of a marriage were more sacred then the bonds of family by saying “marriage of fate man and wife is Fate itself” (Eumindes 215). At the time when Athena casts her vote she exonerates Orestes by saying “No mother gave me birth. / I honour the male … I cannot set more store by the woman’s death” (Euminides 750-754). While Athena is concerned for creating peace, it is evident that she supports the concept of male superiority. The Furies lose the trial and the killing of Clyteamenstra goes unpunished. Athena however phrases the verdict in such a way that persuades the Furies to still be included, but strips them from their bad powers. From Orestes trial two outcomes occur. First, Orestes is forced to protect the rights of the “citadel for ever,” which implies that there will be peace within a household (E 786-87). Athena’s
A twenty-first century reading of the Iliad and the Odyssey will highlight a seeming lack of justice: hundreds of men die because of an adulteress, the most honorable characters are killed, the cowards survive, and everyone eventually goes to hell. Due to the difference in the time period, culture, prominent religions and values, the modern idea of justice is much different than that of Greece around 750 B.C. The idea of justice in Virgil’s the Aeneid is easier for us to recognize. As in our own culture, “justice” in the epic is based on a system of punishment for wrongs and rewards for honorable acts. Time and time again, Virgil provides his readers with examples of justice in the lives of his characters. Interestingly, the meaning of justice in the Aeneid transforms when applied to Fate and the actions of the gods. Unlike our modern (American) idea of blind, immutable Justice, the meanings and effects of justice shift, depending on whether its subject is mortal or immortal.
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.
At first glance, the picture of justice found in the Oresteia appears very different from that found in Heraclitus. And indeed, at the surface level there are a number of things which are distinctly un-Heraclitean. However, I believe that a close reading reveals more similarities than differences; and that there is a deep undercurrent of the Heraclitean world view running throughout the trilogy. In order to demonstrate this, I will first describe those ways in which the views of justice in Aeschylus' Oresteia and in Heraclitus appear dissimilar. Then I will examine how these dissimilarities are problematized by other information in the Oresteia; information which expresses views of justice very akin to Heraclitus. Of course, how similar or dissimilar they are will depend not only on one's reading of the Oresteia, but also on how one interprets Heraclitus. Therefore, when I identify a way in which justice in the Oresteia seems different from that in Heraclitus, I will also identify the interpretation of Heraclitus with which I am contrasting it. Defending my interpretation of Heraclitean justice as such is beyond the scope of this essay. However I will always refer to the particular fragments on which I am basing my interpretation, and I think that the views I will attribute to him are fairly non-controversial. It will be my contention that, after a thorough examination of both the apparent discrepancies and the similarities, the nature of justice portrayed in the Oresteia will appear more deeply Heraclitean than otherwise. I will not argue, however, that there are therefore no differences at all between Aeschylus and Heraclitus on the issue of justice. Clearly there are some real ones and I will point out any differences which I feel remain despite the many deep similarities.
Justice is generally thought to be part of one system; equally affecting all involved. We define justice as being fair or reasonable. The complications fall into the mix when an act of heroism occurs or morals are written or when fear becomes to great a force. These complications lead to the division of justice onto levels. In Aeschylus’ Oresteia and Plato’s Republic and Apology, both Plato and Aeschylus examine the views of justice and the morality of the justice system on two levels: in the city-state and the individual. However, Plato examines the justice system from the perfect society and Aeschylus starts at the curse on the House of Atreus and the blood spilled within the family of Agamemnon.
In ancient Greece, retributive justice served as both a strict societal code and an expectation of the cosmos. In The Eumenides by Aeschylus, the Furies serve as the defenders of this justice, which is explored in depth during the Furies’ monologue as they pursue Orestes for his matricide. In order to fully understand this passage, the reader must first grasp the Furies’ sense of justice. The Furies require Orestes’ retribution for his matricide. Unlike the contemporary view of justice, their perception dictates strict punishment for the act without consideration of both sides of the argument. Throughout the Furies’ monologue, the beings disclose both their interpretation of justice and the drive they feel to protect that view.
The deeds enacted by Agamemnon and Orestes were the same by definition, but different by motive. Agamemnon's motives were impure in his decision between his daughter and his war. He chose to conquer Troy at Iphigenia's expense. For such a ruthless act, consequences are inevitable, and Agamemnon met his punishment at the hands of his vengeful wife, Clytemnestra. Orestes was able to escape such a fate due in part to his faith in the gods, his reluctant desire to kill, and one goddess' (Athena's) mercy. The matricide committed by Orestes was padded by vengeance, and validated by retributive justice. Athena identified with Orestes during his trial on the basis that neither she nor Orestes had a true mother, and thus cast the final stone in favor of Orestes.
Orestes's return is to show that the house is not yet cleansed of the curse..
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 Achaeans are more concerned with personal glory and achievement rather than the well-being of the city. Two Characters who definitely display this characteristic are Agamemnon and Achilles. Agamemnon is selfish and is only concerned with his own honor. This is seen almost immediately in the poem. In book one, during the tenth year of battle, Chryses visits Agamemnon and offers ransom for his daughter, Chryseis who was taken as plunder early in the war. Although the ransom is attractive, Agamemnon refuses the money because the girl represents power and glory and that is far more important than wealth. Plunder represents victory; therefore, the more women Agamemnon possesses, the more glorified and powerful he feels. Eventually, Agamemnon returns the girl to her father; however, he insists that someone give him a female to compensate for his loss and restore his honor. He views the situation as a challenge to his authority and complains, "I alone of the Argives go without my honor. That would be a disgrace" (1.139-40). Agamemnon demands, the "Argives will give me a prize, a match for my desires, equal to what I have lost, well and good. But if they give me nothing I will take a p...
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.
Euripides'version is much more dramatic. The play begins with Electra's marriage to a peasant. Aegisthus had tried to kill Electra. but Clytemnestra convinced him to allow her to live. He decided to marry her to a peasant so her children will be humbly born and pose no threat to his throne. Orestes and Pylades arrive. Orestes says that he has come to Apollo's shrine to pledge himself to avenge his father's. murder. Orestes, concealing his identity, talks with Electra about the recent happenings in Mycenae. She admits that she is sad that her brother had been taken away at such a young age and the only person that would recognize him to be her father's old servant. She also discusses her scorn of Aegisthus desecrating the monument over. Agamemnon's grave and his ridicule of Orestes. When the old servant. arrives, after being summoned by Electra, he recognizes and identifies.
The cyclic thread of vengeance runs like wild fire through the three plays in Aeschylus’s Oresteia. This thread, with its complexity of contemporary and universal implications lends itself quite well to – in fact, almost necessitates – deeply interested study. While a brief summary of the Oresteia will inevitably disregard some if not much of the trilogy’s essence and intent, on the positive side it will establish a platform of characters, events, and motives with which this paper is primarily concerned. As such, I begin with a short overview of the Oresteia and the relevant history that immediately precedes it.
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.
In the story of Agamemnon, the general understanding of natural order is questioned by the impious acts played by the characters involved. In the conflicting stories told by Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, it is difficult to say who is justified in their actions. Clytemnestra, has been consumed by resentment after the sacrifice of her daughter Iphigenia, she seeks revenge by killing her husband with the help of her lover Aegisthus. Agamemnon is torn between helping his brother or honoring family ties. He choices to sacrifice his daughter to gain favorable winds on his way to Troy.
His wife, Clytemnestra, and mother to the daughter he sacrificed, will never forgive him for this. Although Agamemnon is cautious of his wife's intentions, he is neither afraid of her or shows any loyalty to her by bringing home Cassandra, his war "prize". He just brings her in with him to the palace for celebrations. He is so arrogant, he walks right into his own death. He must have known Clytemnestra was ticked off about their daughter and now about Cassandra, but didn't see it as a threat to his own safety.