The Eumenides, 3

Athena starts the trial, and Apollo enters for the defense.  The Furies question Orestes, and he admits killing his mother, but under the instructions of Apollo.  He claims justification also because Clytemnestra had killed Agamemnon without suffering from the gods for it.  The trial turns on the question of whether the closeness between son and mother makes the killing automatically a ghastly crime, regardless of circumstances.

Apollo argues to the jury.  He claims his instructions came from Zeus, in part because of the greatness of Agamemnon who was struck down.  He further claims that the child is closer to his father than his mother, who is merely a caretaker even during pregnancy.  As proof, he points to Athena, who was not born of a mother but sprung whole from Zeus.  As fathers are necessary, but mothers are contingent, the weight of the argument is in Orestes' favor.

Athena calls for the jury's verdict.  As the votes come in, trash-talking between the Furies and Apollo.  Athena announces her tie-breaking vote, and it indeed comes down to that: Orestes is acquitted.  Apollo exits, and Orestes praises Athena, pledging devotion to her and to her city of Athens for the remainder of his life.

The Furies are pissed.  Athena tries to calm them down, pointing out that they did well if the verdict came out tied, but they won't hear it.  Athena keeps at it, eventually promising a promotion for them into the keepers and apportioners of justice for the people of Athens [I think].  The Furies, now called the Eumenides, are overjoyed at their new station, and eventually parade out in peace.

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This was not how I expected this to end at all.  I was sure the verdict was going the other way.  And upon first reading, I couldn't follow the final conversation between Athena and the Furies.  But the second reading opened it up a bit.

First of all, Athena is heaping much praise on the people of Athens, and their traditions of doing justice to each other and to the gods.  It reads like a whole lot of flattery Aeschylus is heaping on his fellow-citizens.  Perhaps this is how the playwrights won the drama prizes?

But Athena is doing more here when she promotes the Furies.  She is allowing them to dole out punishment, but also to dole out positive justice.  That has been missing from the Furies actions throughout the play-- they chased Orestes to inflict divine retribution, and could not be satisfied until the task was finished.  But as it turns out, that is a very one-sided view of justice.  In fact, that may be the crux of the failure of justice through the entire trilogy.  Each character was seeking revenge, seeking to do violence as the only way to achieve satisfaction.  True justice requires the possibility of other kinds of responses.

Update, 20 minutes later:  Looked up some interpretations.  Nailed it.

The Eumenides, 2

Months later, Orestes enters the temple for Athena at the Acropolis.  He claims to have done penance, and is asking for final cleansing and exoneration from Athena.  The Furies follow him in, and have been dogging him ever since he left Apollo's.  They see him cornered, and are eager to get their final satisfaction.

Orestes makes his final plea, then falls silent.  The Furies tell him his just punishment has arrived, and await a response.  Not getting one, they gleefully sing and boast over their success.  They renew their argument for the justice of their cause, and the importance of the role they play.  They rue their position in the world, their ugliness and ostracization from both humans and gods, but are confident in their righteousness.

Athena arrives to hear the case.  The Furies make their accusation of matricide, and call it an open-and-shut case.  Athena insists on hearing the other side, for only by following proper procedures can justice truly be done.  Orestes makes his usual claims: he has already paid his penance (as witnessed by his now un-bloodstained clothes); he did the deed out of a sense of duty to his father (the great Agamemnon-- you remember him, right Athena?); and he was pressed by Apollo to do so.  Athena sees the merits of both sides, and so calls for a full trial.  Arraignment over.

The Furies are now in a panic over the possibility of losing their case, which they had thought was airtight.  They know it's not just about Orestes himself.  If he gets away with matricide, it opens the door to killings by any agrieved party, against any available victim-- all they'd need is a plausible excuse!  Moreover, if the fear of punishment is taken away, there is nothing holding back the savage nature of man.  But in the end, the Furies re-convince themselves of the strength of their case.  Surely any jury will see the long-lasting consequences of an innocent verdict, and the just punishment will indeed be discharged as they demand.

The Eumenides, 1

At Delphi, the Pythia (oracle) emerges to give her morning blessing.  She pays homage to the pantheon of gods, and especially to Apollo, to whom the temple is dedicated.  Turning to go inside the temple, she is horrified by the sight: a distraught man (Orestes) in blood-stained clothes; and in the corner, asleep, the hideous Furies.  But then she sees Apollo himself, and departs.

Apollo pledges his continued protection to Orestes, who is beseeching him under high anxiety over his fate.  He has been wandering, and chased by the Furies, since the murder of Clytemnestra.  Apollo assures him that he was only doing the express will of the god-- Apollo himself shoulders the murder.  They leave.

The ghost of Clytemnestra arises from Hades, where she's been having a hell of a bad time.  All there look down on her for her own act of murder, none give her sympathy for her son's.  She scolds the Furies for not devoting themselves to the job, and after all the sacrifices she has sent their way [also during her life?].  But she can't even awaken them, as hard as she screams...

Finally the Furies (now the Chorus) awake, and bemoan that they must continue their pursuit of Orestes.  They hate their job.  They can't get it done while he is under the protection of Apollo-- he, a performer of matricide!  But they are avowed to continue.

Apollo confronts the Furies face-to-face, with neither party backing down.  Apollo tries to kick them out of his temple, and makes fun of their grotesque appearance.  All claim righteousness for the part they play: the Furies, for chasing a matricide, blaming Apollo for allowing it to happen; Apollo, for instigating the murder as retribution for Clytemnestra's murder of her husband.  And how come the Furies aren't upset over that, if they chase down the murderers of family blood?  Argument over the familial status of spouses, Apollo claiming that a denial of such is an insult even to Zeus and Hera themselves, and to Aphrodite, and to all that is holy.  They mean to take this disagreement before Athena to be judged.

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We have here a huge problem of multiplied duties interfering with one another.  Is this a grand critique of the Greeks' religious system, or will it be resolved properly in the end?  It seems that the rigid system of duties performed out of honor can't help but lead to tighter and tighter contradictions, and even the gods cannot escape the illogic of it all.

The Oresteia (Aeschylus)

I thought it important to read some Greek drama before getting to Plato's Republic, at least to have a feel for the Greek culture at the time or to catch any popular references.  I had a couple collections on the shelf-- probably from Freshman Seminar-- but decided to round it out a bit.  After some research, selections from Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes (in that order) would seem to cover it.

This particular copy I purchased at Half Price Books in Palatine-- on my first trip there in late 2010.  Nothing special about the translation, as far as I know.  I knew I had some Sophocles, and they had a matching pair of a different Sophocles and this Aeschylus, both translated by Paul Roche.

I honestly have no idea what to expect out of this.  It would seem that reading Homer was a good idea, though.  I already know who Orestes is!