Greek Tragey

Miles Walsh

Representing the World

Paper Topic #1

Greek Tragedy

In this essay titled "The Theodicy of Aeschylus: Justice and Tyranny in the Oresteia" by David Cohen he talks about how his portrayal of Zeus is different than how many other people view Zeus and the justice of Zeus. What he does in this article is dispute two traditional views of Zeus and the justice of Zeus. One of which is how the Justice of Zeus is portrayed to be moral and fair, but he argues the justice of Zeus isn't always just or moral and that the guiltless do get punished. The second is that the perception that Agamemnon is the dark side of the trilogy and Eumenides and Choephoroi are meant to be a change from darkness to light and the moral issues of Agamemnon to a newer and higher morality of the polis. Cohen explains how there really is no change and in all three plays the justice of Zeus doesn't seem justified. What he says is "I will first discuss the main traditional views concerning Aeschylus' presentation of what is commonly called the Justice of Zeus, and then try to demonstrate that, in reality, Aeschylus portrays a cosmic and political order which is neither moral nor just, but rather tyrannical, in the sense that its ultimate foundations are fear and force."( pg. 45)

Cohen first explains one traditional view of the justice of Zeus. It is said that Zeus is just and that "if they challenge Zeus' ordinances, they can be punished" and that "Zeus does not punish the innocentÐ'...he only destroys a family when its members have been guilty of some grave crime"(pg. 46). It is said that Zeus punishes only the guilty and not the innocent. If Zeus' rule is just, then the carrying out of his justice cannot punish people who are innocent, which means whoever is punished in the trilogy must be guilty of a crime. He disputes this by explaining instances where people who were guiltless were punished and also shows how many of the judgments of Zeus are neither moral nor fair.

Another way some perceive the story is that some may be hurt along the way, but it is all for a progressive movement that will bring a new and better order. "Though there may be some victims along the way, the justice of Zeus is manifested in a progressive movement which finds culmination in the resolution of the trial as Athena's clear, persuasive reason brings about the establishment of a new and better order"(pg. 46-47). What he does to argue this is he gives examples and explains how through the three plays there isn't a real change, that the same problems still exists, and that a shift from the darkness of Agamemnon to light isn't really shown.

Cohen's argument in Agamemnon is that if Zeus doesn't punish the innocent then what is the reason for the sacrifice of Iphigeneia and the harm done to the young and innocent in Troy. When Agamemnon was destroying Troy the goddess who protects the young and helpless, Artemis, felt bad for the victims that are going to come so she demands Agamemnon to sacrifice one of his offspring if he wants to continue because she thinks will turn him back. But Agamemnon wants to continue to destroy Troy so he sacrifices his daughter. Because of the ruling of Zeus an innocent woman was punished along with the innocent people at Troy. (pg. 48).

Cohen also shows how Apollo, the Greek god of light and reason, was responsible for the killing of Orestes' mother because his oracle commanded him to do so. He does this because it shows how the justice of Zeus was responsible for the death of an innocent woman, and that Apollo was the reason that Orestes committed the horrible crime of killing his mother. Apollo tries to justify this by saying he did not tell Orestes to kill his mother but in fact just told him to avenge his father and did not say whom to kill. But later Apollo admits that he is actually responsible for the matricide, and also it's showed that Apollo lied and instigated the killing of Orestes mother and had threatened him with the horrors of the Erinyes if he didn't. Orestes believes that he is guiltless because he was told and threatened by Apollo to commit the crime and if he is told my an agent of Zeus then his actions must be just. As the trial continues Apollo ends up admitting he is responsible for the actions of Orestes. Apollo then explains that "since all his oracles are ordained by Zeus they are therefore necessarily just (pg. 52 and 53). Which means Zeus