Religious Beliefs in Aeschylus' Oresteia, Homer’s Iliad, and Sophocles’ Electra
The final and definitive defeat of the Persian army at the battle of Plataea represented the end of an age-long threat to Athens. But the victory was also a miracle, as all the odds were against the Athenians at the onset of the war. While Pericles took charge of Athens after the war and started the advance of democracy, religion also thrived. The rebuilding of the Acropolis and the construction of the Parthenon and its great statue of Athene under Pericles' rule signified the height of religious belief among Athenians. However, the shift in power from the aristocrats to the common men in the new democracy, and the Peloponnesian War and Great Plague that
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Something close to a Homeric view can be drawn from this, with the difference being that Gods and Goddesses always take the form of a mortal when interacting with other mortals in Homer’s epic poems, but the form that they appeared in was not addressed in The Eumenides.
In the very same scene, after Orestes, Hermes, and Apollo have exited, the ghost of Clytaemestra is seen trying to awaken the sleeping Furies so they can continue their pursuit of Orestes. The appearance of ghosts is nothing new, as it has been done before in Homer’s poems. What this shows, however, is that Aeschylus, likely a representative of Athenians during his time, had the same view that Homer did. In their eyes, not only do Gods and Goddesses walk among men, but even ghosts, something that should be considered on the opposite side of the spectrum, also appear in our world, as real as any men can be.
The second scene of The Eumenides begins with Orestes’ arrival at the Acropolis, as he takes a suppliant posture at the feet of the statue of Athene (Aeschylus, 143). Athene is said to have entered in full armor (Aeschylus, 148), answering Orestes’ call for justice, just as the Furies have caught up with him. What follows is a full-blown trial similar to those of the present days. At one point, “Athene re-enters [the scene], guiding twelve citizens chosen as jurors and attended by a herald” (Aeschylus, 154). The trial then proceeds with
In early fifth century BC Greece, the Greeks consistently suffered from the threat of being conquered by the Persian Empire. Between the years 500-479 BC, the Greeks and the Persians fought two wars. Although the Persian power vastly surpassed the Greeks, the Greeks unexpectedly triumphed. In this Goliath versus David scenario, the Greeks as the underdog, defeated the Persians due to their heroic action, divine support, and Greek unity. The threat of the Persian Empire's expansion into Greece and the imminent possibility that they would lose their freedom and become subservient to the Persians, so horrified the Greeks that they united together and risked their lives in order to preserve the one thing they all shared in common, their
The victory that sealed the deal for the Greeks was the Battle of Plataea. It took place the following spring after the Persian general Mardonius wintered in Thessaly with the Persian army. Hoplites from Athens and Pelopennesia combined to make the largest army in Greek history. A Spartan king, Pausanias, who routed the Persian army and killed their general, led them.
Throughout the Ancient Greek world, there have been many wars and standoffs. However, there has been only one which changed the course of Greek history forever; the Peloponnesian War. Caused by the growing tension between Athens and Sparta, it came and left, leaving only destruction in its wake. The defeat of Athens in the Peloponnesian War caused the downfall of Greece, and the end of the Classical Age.
During the fifth century bc, Athens had war with Persians, the result of this war had make establishment of democracy to Geek. Acropolis of Athens is an important
The Peloponnesian War brought disease, destruction, famine, widespread civil wars, and a huge loss of life. The war was a complete catastrophe for Athens, who never fully regained their empire back. Sparta won the war, but they didn’t become a great city and a new empire was never built. Sparta attempted to lead the Greeks, but soon fell short and new leaders were called forth.
There was a myth that at the beginning of the existence of the city of Athens both gods offered gifts to the people of Athens, in order to sway them in deciding their patron god. Athena offered peace and prosperity while Poseidon offered naval power. The Athenians accepted Athena’s gift. Athens overall culture continued to reflect this decision, the city, in addition to being a center for architecture and mathematics, also played an important role in the progress of government, theology and philosophy. This myth could also give an explanation of why Athenian people may have felt superiority to other city states such as Sparta. The mythological significance it had was much greater than with another city-state such as Thebes, although it was related to the story of Hercules, and
Throughout the Iliad of Homer there can be seen many features of the Greek religion. The
Moreover, in the Battle of Thermopylae, Persian forces led by Xerxes outnumbered the Greeks yet again. However, the militant Spartans took up arms and were able to defeat the large Persian army. Thermopylae allowed the Greek forces to come up with various tactics and strategies in order to defeat Persia. Next, the Battle of Salamis was a naval battle between several Greek city-states and Persia. This battle forms the turning point of the Greco-Persian Wars since it ultimately “saved Greece from being absorbed into the Persian Empire and ensured the emergence of Western civilization as a major force in the world.” The ending of the Battle of Salamis left the Persian army trapped in Greece, which paves the way for the final battle of the war, the Battle of Platea. In the battle, the “Greek army came and defeated the weakened Persians, the Persian Wars were over”. The mark of the ending of the Greco-Persian wars gave way to Athens arising from the ashes as the dominant and central city-state of Greece, which then provides political and cultural advancements during its golden age.
First of all, it is feasible to say that one of the most important reasons for the Athenian defeat was due to
There has long been a fashion among critics and historians, including Sir James Frazier and Graham Hancock, to insist upon taking the account of Odysseus' voyage to Hades in Book XI of the Odyssey at near face-value as a description of people and places familiar to a Greek audience of Homer's day. Both linguistics and comparative history have been employed to discover exactly how accurately this originally oral epic conveys this gritty realism. Something, however, is not right with this purely empiric approach. What is missing is an examination through the lens of ancient religious practices. Surely a literary work so teeming with deities-wise Athena, spiteful Poseidon, impish
They declare that it is a law laid down by Zeus "that we must suffer,
Justice is essential, for with a lack of justice, chaos would be brought about in society. In The Eumenides, the Furies value justice without truly being just. Throughout the play, the Furies, protectors of the law, pursue Orestes because of the crime he has committed. They yearn to "trace him by his
The Temple of Athena Nike exemplifies the early Greek belief that the gods, specifically Athena, held divine providence over government and victory in war. It was built as part of the same project as the Parthenon, one of the greatest achievements of Mycenaean Greece. Lasting from 1300-1000 B.C.E, Mycenaean Greece bordered Epirus, Macedonia, Phrace, Phryapa, Mysia, Caria, and Lydia. Encompassing this time span, Ancient Greece lasted from 8000 to 50 B.C.E. The achievements of Athens in this time include the Pythagorean Theorem and the Socratic dialogues. The epic Trojan War was said to have occurred in Mycenaean times as well. So were the Ionic Greeks who built this ancient temple. (Ancient-Greece.org)(about ancient history.com)
The whole war started because Athens supported the Ionian Greeks when they were rebelling in Anatolia against the Persians. That made the Persian king Xerxes mad, so he led two major campaigns against the Athenians, and the Athenians enlisted the help of all the other Greek city-states. In the wake of their shared victory, the city-states began to see themselves as Greeks, rather than Spartans, or Athenians. Leading into the Golden Age, Athens emerged as the de facto capital of Greece. The defeat of the Persians in 479 BC left a long-standing self-importance on the Greek society and its civilization. With the Athens domination of Greece in every way, it 's not surprising that the Athenian influence is plain to see in art. Many great things happened during the Golden Age, including the Parthenon, the Parthenon was a temple that became a church, then a mosque, and then an armory before finally settling into a ruin.
Described by Thucydides as “the foremost Athenian and most able in speech or action [at the time of the Peloponnesian War,]” Pericles ushered in what was widely known as the “Golden Age of Athens” (31). He often exercised great prudence in his decision making and was widely admired by the Greek people. The man stressed justice, the worth of the Empire, and cleaving one’s personal interests to those of the city. Through his eloquent speeches and definitive actions he captured both the hearts of the Athenians and territory as a premier military commander. The people readily accepted his authority, and became accustomed to it. This would only lead to problems down the road, however, as other rulers took up the mantle of Athens. They would only be but a gilded echo of Pericles, unable and unwilling to follow his path. Therefore, though Pericles did not intentionally set Athens up to fail, because of the oratorical skill, leadership style, and character he possessed, success could only be truly achieved by and through him.