The Cycle of Vengeance in Aeschylus’s Oresteia
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.
The house of Atreus is cursed, it would seem, with the perpetual cycle of vengeance, the law of an eye for an eye. The curse originated with Tantalus, who angered the gods by feasting them on the flesh of his own son, Pelops. Pelops was restored by the gods and effected the birth of two sons, Thyestes and Atreus. Thyestes angered his brother by seducing his wife and challenging his claim to the throne. Consequently, Thyestes was banished from the kingdom, only to be summoned back by Atreus in false friendliness. Atreus, in the mode of his grandfather, feasted the unknowing Thyestes on small bits of Thyestes’ own children. Upon discovery of his doing, the distraught Thyestes fled into exile with his only remaining son, Aegisthus.
The Agamemnon picks up with Agamemnon and Menelaus, sons to Atreus, who joined together in the war of Troy after Paris, son of Priam, seduced Helen, wife to Menelaus. Angered by his ruthless man-sacrifices in the war, Artemis required that Agamemnon take the life of his daughter Iphigeneia in order to save the army and fleet o...
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...y nature one who questions, one who hesitates, one who considers his own actions from a variety of perspectives. This, by far, appears to be both the simplest and most sound argument. As Oedipus’s persistent pursuit of truth and constantly questioning nature made him a hero in Sophocles’ Oedipus, so did the similar nature of Orestes in the Oresteia.
Works Cited
Aeschylus. “The Oresteia.” Aeschylus: The Oresteia. Tran. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin Books, 1979. 99-277.
Aristotle. Poetics. Tran. Gerald F. Else. Ann Arbor: Ann Arbor Paperbacks, 1986.
Finley, John H. Jr. Pindar and Aeschylus. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1955.
---. Four Stages of Greek Thought. Stanford: Stanford UP, 1966.
Pollitt, J. J. Art and Experience in Classical Greece. London: Cambridge UP, 1979.
Taplin, Oliver. Greek Tragedy in Action. London: Routledge, 1993.
Menelaos' brother, Agamemnon, does not have a healthy family relationship. His family is held up to everyone as what a family should not be. It is ironic that the marriages of two brothers, Agamemnon and Menelaos, to two sisters, Helen and Clytemnestra, should be such exact opposite in their outcome. During his absence during the Trojan War, Agamemnon's wife, Clytemnestra, took a lover, Aigisthos. Upon Agamemnon's return, Clytemnestra kills him and his slave-mistress, Cassandra.
Virgil. “The Aeneid, Book IV”. The Norton Anthology of Western Literature. 8th ed. Vol. 1. New York: W.W. Norton, 2006. 974-95. Print.
Both families attempt to consume themselves. A desire for revenge, to enforce a personal code of justice, carries the family curse from generation to generation. The house of Agamemnon is virtually born out of cannibalism. Tantalus, the founder of the house, is tormented eternally in Hades for feeding the gods the flesh of his sons Pelops. Much later, Agamemnon himself is held accountable for his father's cannibalism by Aegisthus. Aegisthus' desire for revenge is overshadowed only by Clytemnestra's thirst for her husband's blood. She speaks of his corpse as a sacrificial animal and likens his blood to wine. Compelled by Apollo, Orestes also carries the curse. He was fed by his mother's milk as a child but now he will only be satisfied with his mother's flesh. Only Orestes and Electra survive.
Aeschylus' use of darkness and light as a consistent image in the Oresteia depicts a progression from evil to good, disorder to order. In the Oresteia, there exists a situation among mortals that has gotten out of control; a cycle of death has arisen in the house of Atreus. There also exists a divine disorder within the story which, as the situation of the mortals, must be brought to resolution: the Furies, an older generation of gods, are in conflict with the younger Olympian gods because they have been refused their ancient right to avenge murders between members of the same family. The Oresteia presents two parallel conflicts, both of which must be resolved if harmony is ever to be desired again. As one can expect, these conflicts eventually do find their resolutions, and the images of darkness and light accompany this progression, thereby emphasizing the movement from evil to good.
Expectations were high for the young player, who drew numerous comparisons to Gretzky. By the end of his first season , Crosby had become the youngest NHL player to score at least 100 points (goals plus assists) in a single season. Sidney Crosby has done many great things for Canada, One of the most memorable one was “The Golden Goal” at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, when he won the gold medal game in overtime for Canada.
Oresteia is a script whose story goes on by recalling Orestes’ lost memories. The main idea which is prevalent throughout this story is about finding the truth hidden in the acts of revenge, lies, and fates which are intricately intertwined. However, as the truth does not always give us hope and pleasant, in this story, the characters are suffered by the truth and the way to find it.
Alzheimer’s is a disease that many people have heard of, but few really know much about. Imagine not being able to remember your loved ones and friends or even how to do simple tasks like dressing yourself and brushing your hair. Now imagine having to dress your mother, who rarely remembers you anymore. This is the reality of life for millions of older people afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease and the families that care for them. Alzheimer’s causes cognitive function to decrease gradually overtime. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia - affecting around 5 million Americans (alz.org). It is the most fatal disease affecting older people and needs to be taken seriously.
It is inevitable that eventually each of us will grow old and begin to face more and more health problems as our age rises. Elderly people are challenged by many illnesses and diseases that unfortunately, are incurable. One disease that becomes more common as people age is Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s a common cause and a form of dementia and can severely damage a patient’s cognitive functions and can ultimately cause death. Living with Alzheimer’s disease can be saddening for both the sufferer and the family. Family and friends will find it very hard to cope when a loved one begins slipping away and losing memory of who they are.
It’s February 24th 1982 and you are standing in the stadium watching the Edmonton Oilers take on the Buffalo Sabers. The score is 5-3 for Edmonton. Player number 99 has control of the puck and is headed straight for the opposing teams net. Everybody in the stands is on the edge of their seat because they know what is going to happen next. Then everyone goes wild. “AND HE SCORES”. Wayne Gretzky has just beat the all-time record for goals scored in a single season (77), previously held by Phil Esposito (76) (The Great One 1). Gretzky has done it again, he has amazed everyone in the hockey world with his amazing abilities.
SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on The Oedipus Plays.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2002. Web. 5 Mar. 2014.
In Aeschylus’ The Agamemnon, the vendetta is the central idea of the play that is replaced by law due to the destruction it was causing to the House of Atreus. The blood feud is replaced by law through the character, Orestes, due to its detrimental effect on society. Aeschylus contrasts Clytemnestra and Orestes’ personalities. It was necessary for Orestes to end the blood feud because it resulted in the deaths of this family. Due to Clytemnestra’s hubris, she believes that she is ending the blood feud by murdering her husband; however, she is entering herself into the vendetta. Aeschylus hints at the idea of law replacing the vendetta to foreshadow the later coming of Orestes.
Philosopher and author Francis Bacon once said that knowledge is power. However, that is not always the case. While many believe this saying, the negative effects of knowledge can be exemplified in Oedipus, specifically his self-destruction and his damaging of relationships.
Since Sophocles and Euripides’s tragedies Electra and Orestes got so much success, name and received great critical acclaim they have been extensively approached and discussed in terms of characterization, themes, symbols, plot, incestuous love, demolition, betrayal and especially lamentation. For instance, Vengeance is the soul of the both plays and it is largely discussed as major themes of the play. But its connection with the tragedy of characters is far away better to be discussed. It arises towards dramatic conflict and it brings out the real sight of the characters and becomes the reason behind of tragedy in these two masterpieces of Ancient Greek drama. So vengeance is the core of these plays because of its major role in the action of the plays. Sophocles has narrated in one of the lines of his play “Electra” and they clearly show relationship between vengeance and dramatic conflict and also they give the clue that vengeance will take the play towards tragedy.
Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disease. It is chronic, progressive, degenerative neurological disease of the brain. This will lead to deterioration in cognitive and decline in the ability to function physically. The number of patients will be greatly increased as people live into their 80s and 90s. Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most common forms of dementia. The cause of Alzheimer disease is unknown, but inherited is possible. People with Alzheimer’s disease have a higher concentration of aluminum in the brain than normal person, but the effect is unknown. The life expectancy of a senior who has Alzheimer’s is reduced 30% to 60%.
Alzheimer’s Disease is a brain disease in which damaged and dying brain cells cause mental deterioration over a period of time. The disease affects approximately 4.5 million people in the United States (“Alzheimer’s Disease”-1). This disease is overlooked by many.