Justice And Revenge In The Oresteia Trilogy

In Aeschylus' trilogy, the Greeks' justice system went through a transformation from old to new ways. In the beginning of the trilogy, the characters settle their matters, both personal and professional, with vengeance. Vengeance is when someone is harmed or killed, and either the victim, or someone close to them takes revenge on the criminal. This matter is proven in the trilogy numerous times.

Do you think revenge is always misguided, or is it justified in some cases? In some cases I feel that revenge can be justified, but is usually caused by misguided care from the past. Although there are many instances where revenge is misguided, it can also be justified in some cases. The right or wrong opinion is always blind sides someone else’s side of the story which can sometime make it impossible to tell if the actions of revenge were justified or if they were a result of being misguided.

The word revenge is heard all over the news today. The news shows how people are trying to get revenge such as terrorist groups or individuals harming each other. However, even though the use of the word is frequent, not everyone has a clear understanding of what revenge clearly means. Revenge is defined as someone taking action to harm someone who has done something wrong to that certain person. Bryce Nelson the author of Revenge: Sweet, Universal and Self-Destructive: [Home Edition] stated: “As the victim contemplates revenge, he hopes desperately to overcome his feelings of impotence and to regain his former sense of self-worth” (Nelson 1). This article demonstrated how revenge was human nature by showing an example of someone getting revenge. The examples are demonstrated in definitions, characteristics, stories, and real-life events.

Have you ever acted out in retribution for something done to you? Some examples could be if you punched someone for intentionally kicking you, or if someone deliberately hurt the feelings of someone you love and you retaliated in kind. You probably thought the punishment you received for your actions was too harsh or lenient. Many factors went into the decision of what discipline you received for this act and some were fair while others probably were not. This is true for the actions of many people in Aeschylus’s Oresteia. In each of the three plays, someone is seeking vengeance for a wrong done unto them, someone they know/love, or both. For this paper, I will be focusing on the vengeance enacted by Clytemnestra, Orestes, and the Fates. The vengeance that each person enacted was deemed just or unjust depending on many factors including the people who were doing the judging. Vengeance in Aeschylus’s Oresteia is viewed through the social lens of the society that it was enacted in. This lens is made up of the popular values, beliefs, and social conventions of the period as well as the judge’s personal views and/or experiences. These factors (such as gender and relation to the victim, as well as the presence or absence of transgressions on the characters part) lead to different opinions about the guilt of the accused individual and the individual themselves. The view of vengeance in Aeschylus’s Oresteia is very subjective.

Revenge is the act of doing something to hurt someone because that person did something that hurt them. People have been getting revenge on others for thousands of years. People usually get revenge to regain power because when someone wrongs them they feel like power has been taken from them. Sometimes people like to go outside of the law to get revenge. This is because they feel like the law is not enough to give the person who wronged them the right amount of punishment for what they have done. “Daddy” by Sylvia Plath, “Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurston, and “Cask of the Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe all show the things they or their characters would do to get revenge on the person that wronged them and the different ways they did it.

In Aeschylus' tragic trilogy The Oresteia, Aeschylus writes about a fundamental question in philosophy. What is the nature of justice? In his plays, starting with Agamemnon, the Achaeans slowly emerge and evolve from an older, more primitive autocratic form of justice, to a new concept of justice devised by Athena. The trilogy culminates in hung jury trial, and eventually Orestes absolution. The jury trial at the end of The Furies implies that justice is arbitrary, must include deliberation, and is more than an eye for an eye.

Revenge is a kind of wild justice. Throughout many texts, the notion of justice has been debated on whether it is an act that vindicates those who have been wronged or an excuse to pursue revenge. Through Medea, Medea’s actions have been judged and criticised whether her murders are an act of justice that she deserves or simply the idea of inflicting pain on those she loathes.

The definition of justice differs for everyone. Some believe that justice is a form of revenge and is not always necessary, and other believe that it is needed in many situations. The idea of justice usually comes down to a person’s morals and ideals. In one instance in the short story “Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurston, the protagonist Delia finds justice against her husband after years of abuse. Comparatively, in “Barn Burning” by William Faulkner, the father Abner sees his outright jealously-filled revenge as justice. These two versions of justice are almost completely opposite, but in both character’s eyes their actions are justifiable.

Vengeance is punishment inflicted or retribution exacted for an injury or wrong. So is it ever really right, weather morally right or just all together right? Everyone has their reasons some no one understand. But in other cases we feel as if we were in that situation we would have done things the same way. In Beowulf I think Grendel’s mother was morally right in seeking vengeance.

Revenge is sometimes sweet but, it can also be very bitter. In The Help by Kathryn Stockett, revenge is shown often and in some cases it is sweet and in others it is bitter. In many cases revenge can make a person feel better, when they are the ones giving it. When receiving revenge, it could make a person more upset than what they were before. Revenge is either sweet or bitter depending on who is giving and who is receiving.

“If you want peace, work for justice.” – Pope Paul VI. The Oresteia trilogy, which contains the plays Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Furies, uses justice as its dominant theme. Aeschylus wrote these plays sometime after the end of the Persian wars, around 449 BC, when the star of Athens was on its superiority. It was the commencement of a new era, marked by the establishment of a new social and political order built on democracy and the rule of law. The rule of law designed the institutionalization of justice. Justice was not a personal responsibility to be handed out according to the rule of family dispute of blood for blood anymore. It was now a state responsibility representing the community as a whole that the law was set down. It was an advancement in the direction of realizing a more peaceful and orderly existence. Though, this institutionalization of justice was also an advancement in the

Some argue that vengeance educates people on what they shouldn’t do. In the play “The Tempest” written by William Shakespeare, he talks about Prospero trying to get revenge on everyone who did him wrong by the end

Revenge can be defined as “the act of retaliating for wrongs received”. William Shakespeare 's “Hamlet” is considered one of his greatest plays and the plot is centered on revenge. Euripides ' Medea also shares a theme of revenge. While both central characters have been betrayed, resulting in their impending revenge, there is more than one theme of revenge in Hamlet, and there are differences in the ways all decide to handle their betrayals and the outcomes of their actions.

The play termed the Oresteia is actually a trilogy that is built around the family of Agamemnon. Traditionally, one of the primary themes of the three plays is a movement from a traditional belief in revenge for wrongs to one of justice and the rule of law. The purpose of this paper is to discuss all three of the plays and look at how justice is conceived in each.

In Agamemnon, there is no difference between justice and revenge. For example when Agamemnon kills his daughter he did it for the greater good. However, Clytemnestra kills Agamemnon she sees it as justifiable because he had no right to kill their daughter. Some people can see that as justice and others see it as revenge it all depends on the point of view of the situation.