Aeschlus "Orestia"

Aeschylus’ "Oresteia"

In analysing any play, it is difficult for the observer to know what the intentions of the playwright are, without being informed by the playwright himself. However, while we cannot know Aeschylus’ purpose in the writing of the Oresteia, we can weigh up the evidence to make an informed decision. Certainly, the Oresteia contains all of the aforementioned aspects вЂ" psychological analysis of the characters, narration of the story, relevance to theodicy and the political climate that Aeschylus was living in. It is our job as the modern observer to decide which was Aeschylus’ prime intention.

Primarily, the main basis of a play is its story line, around which all other themes and implications are woven. In the Oresteia, Aeschylus uses the Agamemnon myth to convey his messages; however, whether his purpose was to tell the story is doubtful. One might argue that the story of Agamemnon’s return to Orestes’ insanity is quite a well detailed account, including all the important aspects of the tale such as Clytemnestra’s infidelity, the murder of Agamemnon and the murder of Clytemnestra and Aeigisthus. The deaths are very closely described in the вЂ?messenger’ speeches of Agamemnon and The Libation Bearers, in fact conducted by the murderers themselves. In Agamemnon, Clytemnestra describes the death of her husband: “…I coil him round and round in the wealth, the robes of doom, and then I strike him once, twice, and at each strike he cries in agony вЂ" he buckles at the knees and crashes here!”(Pg. 161, lines 1404 вЂ" 1406) It is understandable that these events would not actually be seen by the audience due to the Greek staging convention that death and violence should not be shown onstage, however, other factors negate this argument.

First of all, the story of the House of Atreus is not only of one generation, but in fact includes the terrible happenings between Atreus and his brother Thyestes, and then the abduction of Helen from Menelaus; these things are implied by Aeschylus in a very circumspect manner but not actually mentioned вЂ" although they are an integral part of the Atreus curse, they are not necessary to the plot and therefore not included. Aeschylus gets away with this because his play is not original material as such, it is based on a myth widely known throughout his culture, he can safely assume that everyone watching the play will already know the tale and will therefore вЂ?fill in the gaps’ themselves. This is, of course, a major point; would Aeschylus tell a story for its own merits if he knew that his projected audience was already aware of the outcome of the tale? Ancient Greeks went to the theatre not to see a new story unfold for them, rather they went in order to see how the playwright would tell the tale, meaning that Aeschylus’ other influences are far more important to the average Greek theatre-goer than the content of the story itself. To reinforce this, the ending of the last play of the Oresteia, The Eumenides, deals in a very cursory way with Orestes and the consequences of the actions of the members of his household, rather it becomes about the Furies and their lessening of power in Athens. More will be said on this political reference later.

Having established that the story itself is not the main factor in the Oresteia, the idea that the theology and politics of the play are the motivating force should be considered. To begin with, just how important is the idea of god justice in the trilogy? The will of the gods is apparent throughout the trilogy, beginning with the perpetuation of the curse. This is noted by Hammond: “Agamemnon had no choice when he was faced with the demand for the sacrifice of his daughter at Aulis; and even if he had had a choice he could not have exercised it, because his power of judgement was taken away by Zeus.” This sacrifice by Agamemnon, apparently at the removal of his free will, becomes the catalyst for Clytemnestra’s murderous intent, and all resulting tragedies. In fact, the god Apollo takes an even larger hand; he convinces Orestes with threats to spill his mother’s blood, a crime sure to arouse the anger of the Furies: “I can still hear the god… вЂ?Gore them like a bull!’ he called вЂ?or pay their debt with your own life, one long career of grief’ ”1 The influence of the gods is never more evident than in The Eumenides, for not only Apollo but also Hermes and Athena make an appearance. Lending new meaning to the term вЂ?god justice’, their main influence is in the court scene, where Apollo argues for Orestes, and Athena has the casting vote, thereby truly distributing justice. She is the perfect candidate for the casting vote, for she was born as an adult from her fathers head, therefore having little concept of the parent/child relationship to bias her view, and she represents both the male and female aspects in her incarnations as the goddess of wisdom and the goddess of war.

In fact, it could be argued that even the stronger characters of the trilogy, for example Clytemnestra, have very little control over their actions despite their evident belief that they are in some way in control of their lives; “ Here I stand and here I struck and here my work is done. I did it all. I don’t deny it, no.” Despite Clytemnestra’s delight in her deed, it seems it was always fated to happen and in fact Clytemnestra was only the tool in the resolution of justice for the members of the house of Atreus. However, it can be said that there is some indication of free will within the characterisation in the Oresteia; for instance, Agamemnon’s treading the red carpet does not seem to be a decision made by the gods but prompted by his own pride inflamed by Clytemnestra’s words comparing him to Zeus.

In his own life, Aeschylus was a democrat and a follower of politics and this shows itself in his work. On a very basic level, a parallel can be drawn between the background war in the plays against Troy (as the вЂ?Eastern barbarians’) and the war Athens fought against the Persians, circa 490-480 BC, in fact a war Aeschylus himself may have fought in. But the politics inherent in the Oresteia go much deeper than this; for a start Aeschylus seems to be promoting the idea of alliances in the Oresteia, from the alliance between Electra and Orestes to trick Clytemnestra into taking her exiled son back into her home, to the alliance Orestes promises with Athens in The Eumenides: “I