The “House of Atreus”: The Everlasting Cycle of Death In the “House of Atreus”, there is a cycle of death that is eventually broken. The ill-fated house contains a progressive series of sins that is set in action by the primary character Tantalus. The central message of the story is that human actions driven by human passions lead to an everlasting cycle of destruction, evil, and death; only with human reason and a sense of responsibility that comes from guilt can that cycle be broken. The theme
generations before Orestes ' time, beginning with Pelops. The significance of the family curse for the context of the Orestia however starts with two of Pelops ' sons, Atreus and Thyestes. Atreus and Thyestes ' impact on the curse arises when Thyestes seduces his brother 's wife Aerope while deciding which brother should take the throne. Atreus, who ultimately wins the throne, is angered by the act of adultery committed by his brother and devises a plan to exact his revenge
sacrifice of Iphigenia to the gods, in order for the fleet to set sail for Troy. Aegisthus, the new husband of the Queen Clytemnestra, and partner in the conspiracy to murder the war hero, had reasons, which stemmed from the dispute between the Houses of Atreus and Thyestes. Was the murder justified retribution for a callous and dispassionate murder of an innocent girl, as well as the fate demanded by the family curse? Or was the death of Agamemnon an unjust action by the traitorous woman Clytemnestra and
Seneca in his play Thyestes and William Shakespeare in his play Titus Andronicus both use their central characters Atreus and Titus respectively to show how power can morally debase humans. Atreus and Titus both regard power as an excuse for murder and other horrible acts as a means to destroy as they please for their benefit. This is shown by how Atreus disgraces Thyestes by killing his sons in order to fulfill a revenge plot that goes against the god Fury. This is also shown by Titus when he sacrifices
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
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
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
Thyestes is a gruesome tragedy written by the Roman playwright, Seneca. In this tale, two brothers have a quarrel over the kingdom, which comes to a head with Atreus’ gruesome plan of revenge. Atreus decides to kill Thyestes’ children, and serve the children to Thyestes as a feast that is presented as a celebration of peace between the two brothers. While themes of revenge, gore, and overwhelming passion are all present in this text, a production can use certain devices to emphasize one specific
automatically trusted Atreus. With his characterisation, we feel like we identify with Thyestes who only wanted the best for both of his sons. This makes the tragic murder even worse as we understand Thyestes must blame himself for putting his sons in a terrible position. The portrayal of Thyestes as a wise stoic also makes us have a warped admiration for Atreus, who managed to trick someone as clever as Thyestes. This adds to the impact of the plot because the cunning of Atreus makes us worry about
is Oculo pro oculo or an eye for an eye. According to the plays introduction by Richmond Lattimore, the history behind this blood feud of vengeance begins with Atreus and Thyestes. Atreus tricks his brother Thyestes into partaking of his own children (another possible Hannibal sequel). It is then that Agamemnon, next generation to Atreus and Aegisthus, only surviving son of Thyestes opens up this series of misfortunate events as seen in the trilogy. The series of events takes on a heightened role
Agamemnon, son of Atreus, is the commander in chief of the Greek forces, and also the leader of the contingent from Argos and Mycenae in the Trojan war. The war is documented by Homer in the Iliad and showcases the character of the leaders within both the Trojan ranks and the Greek ranks. As the commander in chief of the Greeks, Agamemnon’s actions are constantly under the scrutiny of other people’s opinions as he makes decisions that impact the lives of the soldiers that fight against the Trojans
revenge, sacrifice, and murder conveyed through visible references to Aeschylus' House of Atreus. O'Neill alludes to The House of Atreus in order to ground the play; attaching the plot to well-known aspects of history. As well, it brings a certain significance that otherwise would be neglected if their underlying manifestations went unnoticed. The most prominent of these allusions is that to Aeschylus' House of Atreus. O'Neill specifically modeled Mourning around Aeschylus' work, modernizing it, applying
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. Plato begins his argument in The Republic
B. Stanford, “Introduction: The Serpent and the Eagle” 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
Agamemnon at the war's end and brought back to Mycenae as a slave. The fates of Cassandra and the House of Atreus collide with Agamemnon's return to Mycenae, where his wife Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus plot his murder. Aegisthus and Clytemnestra both seek revenge: Clytemnestra for her daughter's sacrifice and Aegisthus for the overthrow of his father and the sins of Agamemnon's father Atreus, of which Aegisthus was the only survivor. While Heaney probably drew from many classical sources for
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
Other than revenge by death, throughout Oresteia, one sees revenge by a curse. In Agamamnon, Clytemnestra talks about the curse of the house of Atreus. This curse was brought about because Tantalus was punished for testing the gods; it was passed down throughout the family. “So now your thoughts are stated correctly, you call upon the triple gorged spirit that plagued this family, the one that lusts
Helen, Agamemnon's brother's wife, stolen treacherously by the Trojan Prince, Paris. (The events of the Trojan War are recounted in Homer's Iliad.) The play's tragic events occur as a result of the crimes committed by Agamemnon's family. His father, Atreus, murdered and cooked the children of his own brother, Thyestes, and served them to him; Clytemnestra's lover, Aegisthus (Thyestes's only surviving son), seeks revenge for that crime. Meanwhile, Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia to gain a
The Oresteia, the Akhaians evolve from an older, more primitive autocratic form of justice, to a new concept of civil justice devised by Athena. He confronts the contrast between the old and new orders, the lives of the members of the House of Atreus, and the serious moral questions that Orestes' crime presents. The case against Orestes is strong. The son admits to striking down his mother, in violation of the sacred tenant of kinship. "But I came back, my years of exile weathered—killed
overview of its former owners: "Hephaistus gave it to Zeus the king, the son of Kronos, and Zeus in turn gave it to the courier Argeiphontes, and lord Hermes gave it to Pelops, driver of horses, and Pelops again gave it to Atreus, the shepherd of the people. Atreus dying left it Thyestes of the rich flocks, and Thyestes left it in turn to Agamemnon to carry and to be lord of many islands over all Argos. (II, 102-109)" In naming Hephaistus, Zeus, Hermes, and the kings of Mycenae, Homer