Class notes catch-up
Some class notes from November 4th...Some notes on The Oresteia from class:
-Furies
-belong to nether region, shadow world; represent destructive aspect of Mother Nature. Apollo is the opposite of
this
-Apollo suggests an independent 3rd party overseer for the trial of Orestes, thereby instituting the modern
justice system and courts
-Orestes goes to Acropolis; clutches idol of Athena and begs for mercy
-Orestes: "I hae suffered into truth"
-Furies see his footprint; quote, pg. 245: "Come, Furies, dance! - link arms for the dancing hand-to-hand..."
-Alternate names for the Furies: Maends, Bacchae
-The Furies are a sisterhood of demonic females; one of the Maends decapitated her own son (Roman myth/tale of
Bacchus)
-Athena:
-Born from Zeus's head (gave him a headache); story of hte formation of Athens from the "seed" of Ephestus...)
-comes to the Acropolis, argues with furies, creates "courts" and acts as judge
-Engages the Furies in conversation of "Pietho" (translation: persuasion, the Greek way)
-Aeschylus suggests that this is the miracle of Greece: Blood revenge is replaced by persuasion
-The Oresteia is a large ideology - founding of legal system
-Beginning: Tantalus serves son Pelops in stew to the Gods
-Setting of the Oresteia changes from the Acropolis to Areopagus (hill of Aries) on page 255.
-pg. 255-256: famous court-room scene (forefather of "Law and Order" and the like...)
-What is worse, killing the father (patricide) or killing the mother (matricide)?
-One must shift into mythic mode of thought to understand what is going on
Vocab: "Sticomythia" - a rapid exchange of one-liners, very fast-paced, seen in the Oresteia
-Pg. 258: Although Clytaemnestra killed Agammemnon, this isn't a "blood murder," so the furies can't pursue her
-Speech giving justification for a Patriarchal legal system is still used today (Apollo, end of pg. 260)
-"Chips are stacked" against the Furies
-ends up in a tie; Athena casts the deciding vote in favor of Orestes
-The Furies' speech is repeated on pg. 266-267
-The Furies are changed to Eumenides on pg. 274
An interesting question from class:
-Why wasn't Agamemnon hounded by the Furies for the "blood-crime" of sacrificing Iphigenia?
-Are the Furies a negative aspect of "the archetypal female?"
posted by Bryan Kelly @ 1:04 AM
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