Introduction to the Ancient World: Greece

Aeschylus' Oresteia, contd.

I. Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, and the carpet scene (905ff.)

II. Dominant images and themes

A. Helen and Troy (685ff.: helenaus, helandros, helepolis; 1158ff, 1485ff.; Troy: 335ff., 515ff., 546ff.)           
B. Iphigenia's sacrifice (200ff., 864ff., 14442ff., 1582ff.)
C. Persuasion (115, 385ff., carpet scene; LB 714; Eum. 839, 981)
D. Irony and tragic irony (513, 595ff., 1045, 225, 355; LB 695f. ); cf. male vs. female (352ff., 1425, 1705ff.; LB 876; Eum. 665ff.)
E. Pollution and healing; entanglement and nets

III. The moral:  pathei mathos ("wisdom through suffering"); cf. LB 1014-17

IV. The Libation Bearers

A. Progress and Sameness of Plot and Themes
B."Apollo made me do it": 394-465; 883ff.
C. Sane humanity: The Nurse (722ff.)
D. Justice? 871, 915-17,925, 982; conclusion (1064ff.)

V. The Eumenides ("Kindly Ones")

A. old gods (chthonic) vs. new gods (Olympian); purpose of Furies (325ff., 558ff.)
B. arguments in court (600ff.)
C. Athena and the transformation of the Furies (692 to end)

VI. Is the Oresteia "tragic"?

Lecture 15 Images