Journal Entry

Peitho in Eumenides: Theory Lenses that Work?

For your journal entries, I'd like you to ponder the question of whether any of our theory lenses from the "Theory 1" readings (Dahl, Ober, Scholtz) shed any light on the Eumenides, and especially on persuasion (peithō) therein.

That may entail a little review of those readings. No matter, you're going to need to revisit some of that anyway for your papers.

Perhaps (very likely?) no single one of those readings is the single, unique key to all issues of peithō in the play. But it could be that one or more of those perspectives offers a way to see some those issues in a new light.

Think of this as the sort of thing Paper 1 is about — a chance to experiment with that, if you like. I'll see what we can do about making the preceding question central to in-class discussion.

Background

General

For background to the Oresteia trilogy as a whole, click here.

Conflict and Parties Thereto in Eumenides

It is important to know that the play pits two sets of gods against each other:

Olympians: Sky gods oriented toward the male principal - the younger generation of deities
- Zeus
- Athena
- Apollo
Earth deities: Highly resentful of the Olympians, they are the older generation and allied with the female principal
- Furies

We have then approximately parallel conflicts:

Orestes-Apollo versus Furies.
Olympians versus earth gods.
Male versus female.
Justice of "self-help" (vendetta) versus institutionalized justice of process (jury trials).

Opening scene . . .

Orestes has carried out the terrible sentence of death against Clytemnestra and her lover, Aegisthus. But in so doing, he has incurred blood-guilt, for he has spilled the blood of kin, his mother. He is thus pursued by the ghastly Erinues, or Furies, dread goddesses of vengeance.

The play opens at Delphi, Apollo's renowned place of prophecy. There, Apollo's priestess and mouthpiece, the Pythia, discovers Orestes as a suppliant (worshipper seeking the god's aid) in the inner shrine of Apollo's temple. Orestes, covered with the gore of his crime, is surrounded by sleeping Furies. The Pythia flees in terror.

Speaking to Orestes, Apollo promises not to abandon him. Orestes is to go to Athens as a suppliant of the goddess Athena. In Athens, Orestes will seek to be freed from the Furies through a judgment rendered by a jury of citizens there. The ghost of Clytemnestra then appears; she rouses the sleeping Furies to a frenzied lust to seize and punish Orestes.

The high-point of the play is the trial scene: a face-off between Orestes and the Furies.

Special Discussion/Lecture Topics

MAGIC. I refer here to Apollo's and Orestes' strategizing for the latter's upcoming homicide trial, especially the part where Apollo, referring to the case Orestes is to present, says, ". . . with a magic spell — / with words — we will devise the master stroke / that sets you free. . ." (p. 234, Greek lines 81 ff.). What's that about??

MORE MAGIC. I.e., the peitho of incantation, which is to say, the "Binding Song" sung and danced to by the Furies (pp. 245 ff., Greek lines 307 ff.) — ditto. . . .

AGŌN. I.e., debate scene, in this case, the trial scene (pp. 255 ff., Greek lines 566 ff.). The peitho of arguments going back and during the jury trial, in particular, Apollo's quite fascinating take on genetics and conception. Hmmmm. . . .

MORE AGŌN. In this case, between Athena and the Furies. How does Athena get buy-in from the Dread Goddeses? How does Athena persuade them not to blight Athens but to join its "Department of Justice" (one might say)? How does she feel about her success with that? How do you feel?

IS PEITHŌ IN THE ORESTEIA AT ALL FLAWED? DOES IT GET A "PASS"?

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