Greek Justice in the Oresteia:
In a more literary view, justice is always a big topic for the Greeks. Having already discussed the most important reforms in the Athenian judicial system, it may also be interesting to analyze what the "revenge justice" was like. In his trilogy The Oresteia, Aeschylus, a Greek playwrite from the VIth century BCE, presents the horrors of the house of Atreus and the conscequences on his descendants, simultaneously showing the effects of a godly curse and of murder of a family member.
The Oresteia mainly focusses on the background to the tale of Orestes, but to understand this it, is it important to know the tale of the house of Atreus. Atreus, an ancient king and ancestor of King Agamemnon, is cursed by the gods for feeding his brother's children to him. Not only is Atreus cursed, but his entire lineage is tainted with the blood of their family. This is the primary cause of the trouble we see throughout the Oresteia. |
In the trilogy's first play, the Agamemnon, Agamemnon is murdered by his wife Clytaemnestra for having sacrificed their daughter Iphigenia in order to appease the gods to allow him to leave for the Trojan War. Clytaemnestra's principal reason for murdering Agamemnon seems to be out of hatred for that deed, and to avenge herself against the man who killed her daughter. In the second play, called the Libation Bearers, Agamemnon's son Orestes returns to avenge his father's murder. Though he knows he will be cursed for it, Orestes kills his mother.
This series of murders within a family are an example of the personal vengeance which served as the basis for justice in Aeschylus' time, before Socrates' reforms. We clearly see that revenge is the primary cause of the characters taking action, and only serves to create more violence because of the need for more vengeance. However, the parricidal nature of the murders in question adds a level of depth to these actions. Even back in when the Greek Judicial system was ruled by personal vengeance, the murder of a blood relative was one of the highest offenses one could commit, and the stain it would leave could never be removed. As ancient sayings went, "the only thing that can wipe away the stains of blood is more blood, which will in turn need to be washed away," showing that murder within a family will never end as it will always need to be avenged, yet this vengeance will in turn be subject to revenge. Through these two plays, Aeschylus shows the early days of Greek justice, before the courts were invented, in which disputes were settled through vengeance, and parricide would never end.
In the third and final play from the trilogy, the Eumenides, Orestes has fled to the Aeropagus, persued by the Furies, spirits of vengeance who torture those who have committed parricide. The goddess Athena, patron of Athens, appears to diffuse the situation, and forms a court to judge whether Orestes should be punished for his mother's murder or not. In the end, after the jury's vote comes up as a tie, Athena casts the deciding vote and proclaims Orestes as innocent, while deciding the court shall remain active to judge similar cases.
This play shows the origins, as it was believed, of the Court of Blood in Athens, which from then on dealt with cases of murder and counter-murder in a judicial way, where revenge was replaces by legal discussions and a final democratic vote. The trilogy's ending is therefore a transition between the more barbaric system of justice to the establishment of the first real court of law in Ancient Greece. The Oresteia can therefore be seen as a plea for a democratic Government instead of the violence that results from a lack of one.
This series of murders within a family are an example of the personal vengeance which served as the basis for justice in Aeschylus' time, before Socrates' reforms. We clearly see that revenge is the primary cause of the characters taking action, and only serves to create more violence because of the need for more vengeance. However, the parricidal nature of the murders in question adds a level of depth to these actions. Even back in when the Greek Judicial system was ruled by personal vengeance, the murder of a blood relative was one of the highest offenses one could commit, and the stain it would leave could never be removed. As ancient sayings went, "the only thing that can wipe away the stains of blood is more blood, which will in turn need to be washed away," showing that murder within a family will never end as it will always need to be avenged, yet this vengeance will in turn be subject to revenge. Through these two plays, Aeschylus shows the early days of Greek justice, before the courts were invented, in which disputes were settled through vengeance, and parricide would never end.
In the third and final play from the trilogy, the Eumenides, Orestes has fled to the Aeropagus, persued by the Furies, spirits of vengeance who torture those who have committed parricide. The goddess Athena, patron of Athens, appears to diffuse the situation, and forms a court to judge whether Orestes should be punished for his mother's murder or not. In the end, after the jury's vote comes up as a tie, Athena casts the deciding vote and proclaims Orestes as innocent, while deciding the court shall remain active to judge similar cases.
This play shows the origins, as it was believed, of the Court of Blood in Athens, which from then on dealt with cases of murder and counter-murder in a judicial way, where revenge was replaces by legal discussions and a final democratic vote. The trilogy's ending is therefore a transition between the more barbaric system of justice to the establishment of the first real court of law in Ancient Greece. The Oresteia can therefore be seen as a plea for a democratic Government instead of the violence that results from a lack of one.