Orestes has fled from the Furies and has taken refuge at the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi. He is now at
the center of a conflict between two groups of divinities, the daughters of Night, for whom relationship by
blood overrides all other considerations, and the Olympian deities, whose social organization parallels
that of the polis in that it is based on a hierarchy of power. Only the goddess Athena (who is herself one
of the Olympian deities) can resolve the issue, and Orestes, Apollo, and the Furies all travel to Athens, of
which Athena is the patron goddess. In a strikingly original departure from the traditional version of the
myth, Aeschylus represents Athena as empanelling a jury of Athenian citizens to decide the matter. We
will recall that there was another mythical occasion on which the gods relied upon a mortal decision to
resolve a conflict among them, namely the judgment of Paris (see p. xviii). But that was merely a beauty
contest and the judge, who allowed his decision to be influenced by bribery, met with disaster himself and
brought about the total destruction of his own city. The issue in The Eumenides, however, is decided in an
incorruptible court of law, which Athena establishes for the purpose of determining Orestes’ guilt or
innocence. This court, the court of the Areopagus, was located on a hill in Athens, only 500 meters, as the
owl flies, from the theater in which Aeschylus’ play was performed. Three years before the production of
The Oresteia, the court of the Areopagus had been at the center of a further round of democratic reforms
involving the Athenian judicial system. By constructing his drama as he has done, Aeschylus has bridged
the distance between the mythical and the contemporary: He has provided his Athenian audience with
mythical and divine sanction for their newly enacted reforms, and he has projected into the mythical past a
resolution to a legendary conflict that could only have been brought about by the institutions created in
democratic Athens.

Zetemata: Questions for Discussion

Given   that    all Spartan citizens    were    guaranteed  equal   rights  and equal   landholdings,   why do  we  not

consider    Spartan society to  be  “democratic”?

Why is  it  that,   throughout  history,    land-based  military    powers  have    tended  to  be  more    conservative,

while   naval   powers  have    tended  to  be  more    progressive in  outlook?

Why is  it  that    Cleisthenes’    division    of  Athens’ population  into    10  new tribes  and thirty  new trittyes    is

seen    as  a   “democratic”    reform?

What    connection, if  any,    is  there   between Athens’ newly   created democratic  government  and the

Athenians’  interest    in  expanding   their   political   and military    power   over    other   Greek   poleis?

In  what    ways    can performances    of  Attic   tragedy be  seen    as  expressions of  Athens’ democratic  way of

life?

Recommended for Further Reading

Csapo, E. and Slater, W. J. The Context of Ancient Drama (Ann Arbor 1995): a very full compilation of
the available evidence, both textual and visual, for the texts, performance, and setting of ancient Greek
and Roman drama.

Fisher, N. R. E. Slavery in Classical Greece (London 1993): a sound and succinct (120 pages)
introduction to the complex issues surrounding slavery in Classical Greece.

Grene, D. and Lattimore, R. (eds.) The Complete Greek Tragedies: Aeschylus I and II, 3rd edition
(Chicago 2013): excellent translations of all of Aeschylus’ surviving plays, including Richmond