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Idea of justice throughout Aeschylus's The Oresteia
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Justice and Social Order in The Oresteia
Democracy, emerging in the city-state of Athens, allowed unprecedented power to her citizens. Among these new powers was the ability to legislate. Yet, legislation was not without its problems. First the citizens must agree upon what is just and unjust, and then enforce the law by bringing the unjust to reconcile their guilt with the public through trial, and finally dispense the appropriate penalty. This evolution was not without concern. The Greeks were attempting to establish a governmental system which would span the middle ground between anarchy and despotism. By the crimes played out in Aeschylus' tragic trilogy The Oresteia, Aeschylus demonstrates the contrast between anarchy and despotism, and judges them both guilty. Indeed he shows, by the end of the play, that the only way man can be absolved of guilt is by joining leagues with the gods in a united effort to promote justice. His premise is supported by sequentially following the criminal legacy of the house of Atreus, and showing that the curse of continued injustice can only be ended by the cooperative effort of man and god.
Aeschylus draws his contrast between anarchy and despotism through the main characters in the play. First Atreus, the father of Agamemnon, though never appearing himself in the trilogy is a central figure and the vehicle by which the curse is introduced. His crime is that of anarchy. Second, Agamemnon returns from Troy with the blood guilt of despotism. Next, Clytemnestra, Agamemnon's queen, represents a mixture of the two evils in that she portrays a self-serving ruler. Finally Orestes, son of Agamemnon, is introduced as a pious man who allows his fate to be determined by the gods in conjuncti...
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... of the trilogy it was demonstrated the power that democracy wielded. It was able to eliminate anarchy and despotism by the middle ground. Although this had previously been the role of the Erinyes (Eu., ln.526-30), they had through the play proven themselves unsuccessful. Thus at the end of the Eumenides, Aeschylus has the Furies relinquish governance of the city to the citizens, and bestow honor on the people (Eu., ln.1016-20).
Therefore Aeschylus demonstrated that democracy allowed for the union between man and gods that neither anarchy or despotism could achieve. Moreover, it was only through this union that justice could be served and the ancient laws and ways could be overturned. With this new social order, man celebrated unprecedented equality, honor and prosperity
Works Cited:
Aeschylus. Oresteia. Trans. Peter Meineck. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1998.
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.
On which they would scratch the name of the person that represented a threat.”(Doc E)This demonstrates why Athens was a democratic society since not only did civilians get to decide on who is in office and who is not. Furthermore, because democracy means rule by the people, and male citizens of ancient Athens voted laws and officials into place.(doc c) This exemplifies how salient the majority's opinion was instead of opinions of just a few rich men .In addition, Athens “....constitution favors many instead of few.”(doc a) Also Athenians had the freedom to do whatever they desire a long as they did not disrupt any other citizen or violate a law. “The freedom which we enjoy in our governments also to our ordinary life…...we do not feel called upon to be angry with our neighbor for doing what he likes. But all this ease in our private life does not make us lawless as citizens.”(doc A) Therefore, this exhibits that this is a democratic government because this is a characteristic that can be seen in democratic governments today. To summarize why Athens was a democracy.Citizens were free to do what makes them jubilant as long as it did not interfere with the laws or fellow citizens. Male citizens could vote and elect the rulers and vote laws into place. These aspects all demonstrate why Athens
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.
giving him the welcome of a god, "give me the tributes of a man, / and
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. Plato begins his argument in The Republic
Antigone is a play about the tension caused when two individuals have conflicting claims regarding law. In this case, the moral superiority of the laws of the city, represented by Creon, and the laws of the gods, represented bt Antigone. In contrast, Oedipus The King is driven by the tensions within Oedipus himself. That play both begins and concludes within the public domain, the plot being driven by the plague that troubles the city, and which is so graphically brought to life by the Priest. In both Antigone (ll179-82) and Oedipus The King (ll29-31) the city is likened to a storm tossed ship, and it cannot be merely coincidence that Oedipus The King was written at the beginning of the Peloponnesian War, a time when Athens itself was suffering the effects of plague. Oedipus The King reaches its climax with a now blinded Oedipus daring to show himself to the people of Thebes, forgetting that he is no longer the leader of the state. In Antigone, it is Creons abuse of absolute power that leads to his tragic downfall. Whilst Oedipus determinedly tried to get to the root of his peoples ills, ultimately discovering that he was in fact the cause of them, Creon morphs from a supposedly caring leader into a tyrannical despot, eager to take the law into his own hands. It is the actions of Antigone that helps to bring about Creons fall from grace, as her steadfast refusal to accept th...
...ders are unable to adequately rule their people. It is evident to me that a tyrant need not be a particularly evil or dangerous leader, but merely one who cares more about his own power and honor than the people he leads, who lets his pride and greed overwhelm his responsibilities to the city or society he has been entrusted with. Agamemnon never tortured or killed his own men, but his judgment in protecting his men was compromised by his desire to gain honor in the sight of others. Tyranny can be overwhelming or subtle, but the very hint of its existence is sure to cause disharmony in the government, leading to the unjust, and thus unhappy society that Plato described.
Nathanial Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts in the summer of 1804 to a family with a rich history in New England. After the death of his father in 1808, he spent his adolescent years in Maine on his uncle’s farm and was raised by his mother. At the age of seventeen, Hawthorne’s uncle insisted that he attend college. Hawthorne was not keen on the idea, but eventually gave in and attended Bowdoin College, located in Maine from 1821 to 1824 and was considered an average student. Hawthorne was an avid reader and began writing short stories and novels during his time in college. He published Young Goodman Brown in 1835.
The act of revenge in classical Greek plays and society is a complex issue with unavoidable consequences. In certain instances, it is a more paramount concern than familial ties. When a family member is murdered another family member is expected to seek out and administer revenge. If all parties involved are of the same blood, the revenge is eventually going to wipe out the family. Both Aeschylus, through "The Oresteia Trilogy," and Sophocles, through "Electra," attempt to show the Athenians that revenge is a just act that at times must have no limits on its reach. Orestes and his sister Electra, the children of the slain Agamemnon, struggle on how to avenge their father's death. Although unsure what course of action they must take, both brother and sister are in agreement that revenge must occur. Revenge is a crucial part of Greek plays that gives the characters a sense of honor and their actions a sense of justice.
We have now examined Thucydides' strongest arguments for Athenian rule. It is clear that Athens had a stronger claim to rule than the Melians had to remain sovereign. We also know that Athens' claims hold up when we examine them for validity. Thucydides beliefs in Athens' claims were therefore well founded.
In Plato’s The Republic, we, the readers, are presented with two characters that have opposing views on a simple, yet elusive question: what is justice? In this paper, I will explain Thrasymachus’ definition of justice, as well as Socrates’s rebuttals and differences in opinion. In addition, I will comment on the different arguments made by both Socrates and Thrasymachus, and offer critical commentary and examples to illustrate my agreement or disagreement with the particular argument at hand.
Born on July 4, 1804, in Salem, Massachusetts, Nathaniel Hawthorne was the son of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Manning Hathorne (Pennell 1). Finding the harshness of his strict Puritan ancestors to be unsettling, Hawthorne later decided to add the “w” to his name to separate him from his predecessors (Leone 11, 12). In 1808, Hawthorne’s father dies of yellow fever while at sea (Pennell 1). Eventually, Hawthorne enrolled into Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, in 1821 and graduated in 1825 (Leone 13, 14). In 1828, Hawthorne published his first novel Fanshawe, but the book received unfortunate reviews. Thinking he had failed miserably, Hawthorne sought to destroy all copies he could find. Starting in 1830, Hawthorne began having several short stories and sketches published in magazines and periodicals (Pennell 3). In the future, during the spring of 1838, Hawthorne met Sophia Peabody. Similar to Hawthorne, Sophia suffered from her fair share of illnesses and possessed enthusiastic artistic abilities and interests. Towards the end of that year, they were privately betrothed (Leone 16). Hawthorne found a job as a salt and coal measurer at the Boston Custom House in 1839. For the
With his father dead, his upbringing was left to his mother. Hawthorne was not interested in a higher education, and enrolled at Bowdoin College in 1821, a choice which he protested greatly upon. And at seventeen quoted as already knowing his vocation, “I do not want to be a doctor and live by men’s diseases, nor a minister to live by their sins, nor a lawyer and live by their quarrels. So I don’t see that there is anything left for me to be an author.” Being an avid reader and writer he didn’t care much for schooling. He was an average student, graduating in 1825 (Nathaniel Hawthorne - Biography, 1).
Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts on July 4, 1804. His father named Nathaniel Hawthorne, Sr. who died in the shipwreck and his mother, Elizabeth Manning Hawthorne, who remained a widow. In 1825, Hawthorne graduated from Bowdoin College and began his career as a writer. He published some volumes of short stories and children’s literature at the Brook Farn community for the next 10 years. On July 9, 1842, he married Sophia Peabody and moved to Old Manse in Concord, Massachusetts where they lived for approximately four years (Werlock).
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.