Oresteia Essay

All three plays in the Oresteia, Agamemnon, Libation Bearers, and Eumenides, revolve around a central theme of justice. This theme reflects the socio-historical context in which Aeschylus wrote his plays; the beginning of a new age in Athens following its war with Persia marked the political shift to a society built on democracy and morality-governing laws. Now justice was institutionalized— a major shift from the personalized, blood-to-blood form of exacting justice that preceded it. Aeschylus depicts

The Oresteia is a trilogy written by the Greek author Aeschylus which comprises of three plays; Agamemnon, the libation bearers, and the Eumenides. The central theme of this book is justice. This book was written at a time when the star of Athens was in decline. It was a time that marked the establishment of a new socio- political order, a democracy if you may adjudicated by the rule of law. This rule of law meant the institutionalization of justice (i.e. having a justice system), where cases are

Oresteia - The Issue of Justice in Aeschylus' Eumenides The concept of justice is manifested through the three plays of Aeschylus' Oresteia. The old tradition of justice, the private blood feud, caused an ungoverned succession of violent acts that spiralled uncontrollably. Aegisthus, Clytemnestra's lover, is introduced in Agamemnon; he desires vengeance for the plot contrived by Agamemnon's father (Ag: 1605-1611).1 Neither Agamemnon nor Aegisthus took part in this "plot" and yet as the chorus

The Importance of Gender in Aeschylus' Oresteia          Gender is made explicit as a theme throughout the Oresteia through a series of male-female conflicts and incorrectly gendered characters dominated by the figure of Clytemnestra, a woman out of place. This opposition of gender then engenders all the other oppositions of the trilogy; conflicts of oikos and polis, chthonic and Olympian, old and young can be assigned to female and male spheres respectively.  In this essay I will look at how

in Aeschylus' The Oresteia Trilogy and Sophocles' Electra   The act of revenge in classical Greek plays and society is a complex issue with unavoidable consequences. In certain instances, it is a more paramount concern than familial ties. When a family member is murdered another family member is expected to seek out and administer revenge. If all parties involved are of the same blood, the revenge is eventually going to wipe out the family. Both Aeschylus, through "The Oresteia Trilogy," and Sophocles

becoming compatible in mind, body, and spirit. However, as unbridled anger breeds distrust and deceit, this steadfast romance can easily distort into dismal apathy. These contrasting representations of marriage in Homer’s The Odyssey, and Aeschylus’ Oresteia govern the works’ narratives, setting the scene for the climatic events and highlighting various themes presented throughout the

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

Eugene Gladstone O'Neill is one of the greatest American playwrights, he is known for plays such as “Long Day's Journey into Night” ,”Beyond the Horizon” (1920), “Anna Christie” (1922), “Strange Interlude” (1928), “Mourning Becomes Electra”(1931)and The Iceman Cometh (1946). His plays probe the American Dream, race relations, class conflicts, sexuality, human aspirations and psychoanalysis. He often became immersed in the modernist movements of his time as he primarily sought to create “modern

There have always existed unanswerable questions. Long before the advent of science people developed deep and rich mythologies to explain the unexplainable. While scientific discoveries may have since provided explanations for these phenomena, these beliefs remain so ingrained in people’s thoughts that they shape the very nature of the cultures that hold them. Since different cultures often hold contradicting beliefs, disconnects may occur. In his TED talk “East vs. West - The Myths that Mystify”

6-7). The trial of Orestes is used as the explanation for the formation for the court system. “I establish this tribunal. It shall be untouched by money making, grave but quick to wrath, watchful to protect those who sleep a sentry on the land.” Oresteia: (Eumenides, 704-706). Athena establishes the system of court trials after its success in resolving Orestes case. Just as the religion brings the rise of civilisations, so has it brought the fall of many. By introducing a new religion in to the