The Oresteia

458 B.C.Aeschylus

The Oresteia

Explores competing and often contradictory social, political, and religious forces in fifth-century Athens

Soldier and playwrightCame of age during the twilight of the

ancient tribal waysPolis (city-state) demanded a new system of

lawReforms toward democracyConflict surrounding the Areopagus

Aeschylus, C. 525-456 B.C.E.

House of Atreus

Darkness to light

War => peace and a new harmonyPrimitive ritual, vendetta => new order, lawSavagery => civilizationMoral struggle => enlightenment and truthPainful recognition => self-awarenessSuffering => regeneration

Progression and Duality

• Masculine vs. the feminine • Apollonian vs. Dionysian• Oikos vs. polis• Physis vs. nomos• Themis vs. dike• War vs. peace• Light vs. dark• One vs. many

Central Oppositions

Man’s capacity for sufferingMan’s courage to endure hereditary guilt and

ethical conflictsMan’s battle for freedom in the teeth of fateMan’s collaboration with the gods to create a

better world

Progression through struggle, pain as a stimulus and a gift

Celebration

Tragic HeroAspiration, overconfidenceErrors (hamartia, hubris)Reversal of expectation (peripeteia)Improved awareness (anagnorisis)Defeat (not necessarily death)

Tragic choice of evilsAgent/victim of violence

Agamemnon

Light and fireYoke, trap, net, snareZeus associated with ironHelen associated with hell, lion cub, blood

weddingSea storm

Images

Consider the following concepts in The Oresteia:

Fate (Moira)JusticeSufferingRevengeGuilt / blood guiltHubris (excessive

pride)Host / guest

relationship

The deities and their powers and demands

Old order to newMoral ambiguityReligionOaths

John Collier, Clytemnestra

Baron Pierre-Narcisse Guérin, Clytemnestra hesitates before killing the sleeping Agamemnon