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We are skilled in plotting, powerful in execution, and we remember evil deeds; we are revered and hard for mortals to appease, pursuing our allotted office which is without rights, without honor, separated from the gods in sunless light – our office that makes the path rough for seeing and dim-sighted alike.
Aeschylus, The Eumenides, lines 391-98; Herbert Weir Smyth translation
Introduction
The Eumenides, also called The Furies, is the third and final play of Aeschylus’ Oresteia.1 Orestes is relentlessly pursued by very ancient and hideous goddesses for murdering his mother. How will the cycle of retribution end with these powerful monsters perpetuating it?
For the first time, we get into a part of the story of Agamemnon’s murder and Orestes’ revenge that the Odyssey said nothing about: the aftermath of Orestes’ revenge and the trial that will determine his fate.
All quotes from The Eumenides are from the Herbert Weir Smyth translation which is in the public domain. This translation appeared in the Loeb Classical Library. I had to rely on the Robert Fagles translation for the line numbers, so they may not be 100% accurate.
As always, I encourage you to read The Eumenides for yourself. You can do it! Read the publicly available Smyth translation, which is somewhat easy to read (especially if you could follow along with the Butler translations of the Iliad and Odyssey)! You might have to look up a word here and there, but it’s not too bad. If you prefer a modern translation, Robert Fagles translated the Oresteia (I’m a fan of all of Fagles’ translations). Richmond Lattimore also translated and/or edited the plays of Aeschylus (and other Greek playwrights) and compiled them into multiple volumes. Lastly, I just recently discovered a modern translation that the translator Ian Johnston offers for free! He’s also translated other ancient Greek works like the Iliad and the Odyssey.
Summary
The Pythian Priestess of Apollo, while tending to her duties, runs startled out of Apollo’s temple. Orestes is inside seeking supplication and purification at the altar. Surrounding him, though, are a Chorus of sleeping Furies who have chased Orestes across great distances. The Furies are hideous and terrifying and ancient. Apollo appears and urges Orestes to seek supplication at Athena's temple in Athens and asks Hermes to guide his way. Orestes leaves and the ghost of Clytemnestra begins to cajole the Furies to wake up and chase after him. After the Furies wake up, Apollo drives them out of his temple and they angrily pursue Orestes.
Orestes arrives at the temple of Athena and makes supplication. The Furies are close behind and taunt Orestes, saying that he cannot be forgiven for his crime of matricide and that it's only a matter of time before he is theirs. Athena arrives after hearing Orestes' supplication and tries to make sense of the situation. After listening to both the Furies and Orestes, she decides that the matter is too great for any single individual to decide, even her, and must instead be settled by a jury. She leaves to gather up the best of Athens' citizens to serve as a jury. After Athena leaves, the Furies warn that if Orestes is found innocent, it would undermine justice and people would begin to believe they could get away with any crime.
Athena returns with a jury and begins the trial. Apollo appears in order to argue on behalf of Orestes while the Furies represent themselves. The Furies examine Orestes first. Orestes admits that he did indeed kill his own mother with his own hand, and that he was justified in doing so not only because he was avenging his father, but because he was compelled to by Apollo. When Orestes asks the Furies why they did not torment Clytemnestra the same way they are tormenting him, they declare that she was not related by blood to the man she killed.
Apollo then takes up the argument and confirms that Zeus, through Apollo in the form of a prophecy, commanded Orestes to avenge his father's murder. He argues that Agamemnon's murder is more deserving of revenge because of his noble lineage as well as his accomplishments as the commander of the Achaean army in the Trojan War. Apollo then turns the Furies' argument against them by declaring that a child is not related by blood to the mother. The mother only carries and nurses the child, but the father is the true blood relation. He cites Athena as proof that someone can have a father and no mother, as she was born solely from Zeus.
After Athena confirms that both sides have presented their cases, she instructs the jury to vote. While the citizens get up one-by-one to cast their ballot, Apollo and the Furies argue with each other in a last ditch effort to convince the jury to vote in their favor. When the last juror casts their ballot, Athena casts hers for Orestes since she sympathizes more with a man's death than a woman's. When the ballots are counted, it turns out to be a tie which means Orestes is acquitted. Apollo leaves and Orestes thanks Athena and vows that Mycenae and Athens will forever remain allies before leaving as well.
The Furies, angry at the verdict, vow to curse the land and people of Athens. Athena argues that it was Zeus' will for Orestes to take revenge, and gives a veiled threat by reminding the Furies she alone among all the gods was entrusted with access to Zeus' thunderbolts. However, she doesn't want it to come to that. After patiently calming down the Furies, Athena finally gets them to listen to her proposal: for the Furies to be given a place of honor in Athens, more honor than they'll ever have anywhere else. When the Furies inquire about this honor, Athena promises that no place in Athens would flourish without their blessing. The Furies are mollified by this and ask Athena what kind of blessings they should give to Athens. Athena desires that Athens be victorious against their enemies, prosperous and wealthy, and its citizens healthy.
The Furies accept Athena's invitation and begin to bless the city of Athens while Athena thanks them for their blessing. From that point forward, the Furies become the Kindly Ones (Eumenides). The play ends with Athena leading the Kindly Ones to their new dwelling place beneath the earth where the Athenians can go to sacrifice and worship them.
For a list of the major characters, click here
Which is it, Apollo?
As I mentioned in a footnote in my post on The Libation Bearers, when I read through The Eumenides I got confused about Apollo’s role in Orestes’ revenge. When I read through The Libation Bearers, I got the sense that Apollo was warning Orestes that if he didn’t try and get revenge, the avenging spirits that arose from his father’s murder would torment him. In other words, Orestes had no choice but to get revenge because the law of retribution demanded it.
Here’s the passage in question again:
Surely he will not abandon me, the mighty oracle of Loxias [Apollo], who urged me to brave this peril to the end and loudly proclaims calamities that chill the warmth of my heart, if I do not take vengeance on my father’s murderers. He said that, enraged by the loss of my possessions, I should kill them in requital just as they killed. And he declared that otherwise I should pay the debt myself with my own life, after many grievous sufferings. For he spoke revealing to mortals the wrath of malignant powers from underneath the earth, and telling of plagues: leprous ulcers that mount with fierce fangs on the flesh… And he spoke of other assaults of the Furies that are destined to be brought to pass from paternal blood.
Aeschylus, The Libation Bearers, lines 273-89; Herbert Weir Smyth translation
Apollo isn’t saying he, or Zeus, will punish Orestes. He’s not even implying he’ll sic the avenging spirits on Orestes. To me, he’s saying quite clearly: “I’m warning you these Furies will torment you if you don’t get revenge for your father’s murder.”
However, when I read through The Eumenides, both Orestes and Apollo were saying outright that Apollo commanded Orestes to get revenge and therefore Apollo shares in the responsibility of Orestes murdering his mother.
Here’s the opening and closing lines of Apollo’s introductory monologue to Orestes:
No! I will not abandon you. Your guardian to the end, close by your side or far removed, I will not be gentle to your enemies… we shall find means to release you completely for your labors. For I persuaded you to take your mother’s life.
Aeschylus, The Eumenides, lines 67-69, 85-87; Herbert Weir Smyth translation
Apollo is bearing responsibility for Orestes’ current situation even though all he did was warn Orestes of what would happen if he defied the law of retribution. Why?
Later on, during the trial, Orestes says to Athena about killing his mother:
Together with me Loxias is responsible for this deed, because he threatened me with pains, a goad for my heart, if I should fail to do this deed to those who were responsible.(lines 479-81)
Aeschylus, The Eumenides, lines 479-81; Herbert Weir Smyth translation
Threatened Orestes? Where in that passage in The Libation Bearers does it sound like Apollo is threatening Orestes with torment? It sounded more like a warning that powers outside of Apollo’s control would torment Orestes.
Later on in the trial, Apollo tells Athena outright:
I am responsible for the murder of his mother.
Aeschylus, The Eumenides, lines 585-86; Herbert Weir Smyth translation
So, which is it? Was Apollo warning Orestes that he had to carry out the revenge or else face torment? Or, did he threaten Orestes to take revenge or suffer the consequences of disobeying a god?
I have multiple thoughts about the issue:
1) It could be that, during the trial, both Orestes and Apollo were exaggerating their claims in order to garner sympathy from Athena and the jury. Orestes says, “I killed by my mother because Apollo didn’t give me much of a choice,” and then Apollo corroborates Orestes’ testimony. Who would dare say that a mortal should defy the commands of a god? Plus, Apollo claims to speak for Zeus when he issues oracles. So, Orestes would not only have been defying Apollo, he would have been defying Zeus, the king of the gods. Who would be stupid enough to do that?
2) It could be that Apollo was both warning, and commanding, Orestes to carry out the revenge. Both can be true. In other words, Apollo was simply looking out for Orestes.
3) I have a theory—an unfounded one, so take it with a grain of salt—that Apollo lied to Orestes in his oracle. He said that the Furies, the avenging spirits, would come after Orestes for Agamemnon’s murder if he didn’t get revenge. However, in The Eumenides, the Furies say outright in the trial that they couldn’t care less that Clytemnestra murdered her husband:
[Orestes]: But why did you not drive her into exile?
[Chorus (of Furies)]: She was not related by blood to the man she killed.
Aeschylus, The Eumenides, lines 610-11; Herbert Weir Smyth translation
That means Orestes wouldn’t have been pursued by them because they only care about blood relations murdering blood relations. And Clytemnestra and Agamemnon were not blood related. You could argue that maybe there are other types of Furies, but that would make the conclusion of the play meaningless. The trial and the innocent verdict for Orestes was meant to put an end to the law of retribution once and for all. If there are other Furies, other avenging spirits, out there, then only the Furies that manifest from blood relatives murdering blood relatives have been pacified. Furies for other types of murders are still out there and will still act. The law of retribution would not be completely nullified.
This begs the question, then: Why would Apollo lie to Orestes? Why would he make Orestes think he would be tormented by the Furies if he didn’t get revenge for his father’s murder?
The Divine Conspiracy: Out With the Old, In With the New
Throughout my writings on the Iliad, I talked about a theory that all the gods were conspiring together to cause the Trojan War to happen—even if it appeared that they were at odds and picked different sides in the war. The gods didn’t separate from one another during the war, but just bickered. Then, when the gods finally had the opportunity to fight each other, it amounted to nothing but a farce. On the one hand, it was comic relief. On the other hand, it was an insult to the mortals whom the gods were driving on to fight and kill each other for ten years.
I called it a divine conspiracy.2
Well, I’m beginning to suspect there’s another divine conspiracy going on, and it goes something like: the gods want to undo (or overthrow) an older system of justice and replace it with a new one—and they’re using Orestes to do that.
In other words: Zeus, working with Apollo and Athena, sought to replace the law of retribution, an ancient law held up by ancient goddesses, with a new law, upheld by himself, that will now decide innocence or guilt by jury trial. One more step in Zeus’ assertion of his rule over the universe.
Anyway, it just so happens that Orestes’ circumstances were the perfect catalyst to make this change come about. So, Zeus has Apollo tell Orestes to get revenge for his father’s murder, knowing full well that the Furies don’t care about whether a wife murders her husband but care very much about a son murdering his mother. When Orestes carries out his revenge, Apollo protects him and advises him to go visit Athena who will help settle the matter. He also scorns the Furies and drives them out of his temple. Athena, being the clever and crafty goddess that she is, treats the Furies respectfully and earns their consent to settle the matter. She then implements the first trial by jury and makes sure Orestes is cleared of his guilt.
Basically, Apollo and Athena play “Bad Cop, Good Cop” on the Furies.
In order to pacify the Furies, Athena, the “good cop,” gives them a place of honor and brand new, more flattering names: Kindly Ones. The Kindly Ones, not knowing how to carry out their duties, is then advised by Athena about the best ways to bless Athens, which they do. Then, they are given a place where they could be worshiped and honored… underneath the earth. Hidden away. All the people have to do is pay lip service to them to keep them happy.
The Furies may be Kindly Ones now, but they are still very ancient, and very hideous, children of Night.
I could be completely wrong about all of this—and I’m more just having fun at this point. However, the evidence is compelling to me, plus it fits with the gods’ behavior from previous works.
The Embryo in the Room
Perhaps the most infamous passage in the Oresteia comes from The Eumenides. As I mentioned above, during the trial the Furies tell Orestes they only care about blood relations killing blood relations. When Apollo cross examines the Furies, he hits them with a “gotcha”:
The mother of what is called her child is not the parent, but the nurse of the newly-sown embryo. The one who mounts is the parent, whereas she, as a stranger for a stranger, preserves the young plant, if the god does not harm it.
Aeschylus, The Eumenides, lines 666-71; Herbert Weir Smyth translation
As proof, he points to Athena’s birth. You have to look to outside sources to find the full story of Athena’s birth. Basically, Athena was born out of Zeus’ head. As a result, she has no mother and is more fond of men than women even though she’s one of the virgin goddesses.3 It certainly explains why, in the Odyssey, she was really involved in helping Odysseus and Telemachus, but was more distant with Penelope.
In conclusion, since Orestes didn’t kill a blood relation—his father is his blood relation, not his mother—by the Furies’ logic, they shouldn’t have cared that Orestes killed his mother.
Yep, that’s 5th BC Greek science for you. We can cut them some slack though: that women had eggs was not a dominant theory until 2000 years later in the late 17th century. And no one actually saw a human egg until the 19th century.
As I’ve mentioned in other posts, I really like the passages in these old works that give us a glimpse into the worldview of the people at the time. It’s even more exciting when we are shown some bit of knowledge or understanding that was taken for granted and therefore would not have normally been stated in a work.
That's all for The Eumenides.
May your days be filled with grace.
-Andronikos
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Thumbnail: Orestes Seized by the Furies After the Murder of Clytemnestra, David Scott, 1838. Public domain.
1Technically, there was a fourth play, Proteus, which was a satyr play, but it did not survive. Satyr plays were meant to be humorous and bring levity after a tragic play. In the future, I’ll be covering the only complete satyr play to have survived—The Cyclops by Euripides—starring none other than Odysseus. Basically: instead of his crew, Odysseus needs the help of a group of satyrs to blind Polyphemus the Cyclops and escape his cave. Hilarity ensues.
2I got the phrase from the title of a Christian theology book: The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God by Dallas Willard.
3In Hesiod’s Theogony, Zeus impregnated a river goddess named Metis. On the advice of Heaven and Earth (Ouranos and Gaea), he swallowed up Metis out of fear the child would be stronger than his lightning bolt. Metis ended up birthing the child through Zeus’ head. In other traditions, Zeus complains of a headache, and when he has his head cracked open, Athena sprang out. It may be in those traditions that Zeus is Athena’s only parent.