“He who learns must suffer” is one of many famous lines from Aeschylus’s “Oresteia,” the only surviving trilogy of Ancient Greek tragedies. A tale of murder, revenge, and resolution, the trilogy raises lasting questions about justice and its importance.
Aeschylus: Warrior and Tragedian
Born in Eleusis, near Athens, Aeschylus (circa 525–455 B.C.) belonged to the Greek property-owning aristocracy. He grew up working in a vineyard. Legend has it that Aeschylus once saw the god Dionysus in a dream. Dionysus ordered him to quit his job and become a playwright. As soon as he woke up, Aeschylus began writing tragic plays. He eventually became one of the most acclaimed tragedians of the ancient world.Sadly, only seven of his 80 or so tragedies survive. The “Persians” narrates the demise of Xerxes, the Persian king who sought to colonize the entire Greek peninsula. “Prometheus Bound” focuses on the fate of Prometheus, the Titan who stole fire from the gods and gifted humans language, math, and artistry. The “Suppliants” follows a group of maidens who find refuge in the Greek city-state of Argos after fleeing Egypt to avoid forced marriages. And the “Seven Against Thebes” tells of two brothers’ bloody struggle for power.
A scene from the play “The Seven Against Thebes” by Aeschylus: Capaneus scales the city walls to overthrow King Creon, who looks down from the battlements. Campanian red-figure on a neck-amphora, circa 340 B.C.; J. Paul Getty Museum. Xenophon/CC BY-SA 3.0
As good as he was at writing plays, Aeschylus was also a formidable soldier. In 490 B.C., he fought at the land battle of Marathon against King Darius I of Persia, father of Xerxes. Ten years later, he fought again at the naval battle of Salamis against Xerxes himself, whose devastating defeat precipitated the Persians’ final retreat from Greece.
Aeschylus’ military feats won him fame and respect. The epitaph on his tomb suggests he wanted to be known mainly for his courage: “This tomb in grain-bearing Gela covers an Athenian, Aeschylus son of Euphorion, who died here. The famous grove of Marathon could tell of his courage and the longhaired Persian knew it well.”
"Battle of Salamis," 1868, by Wilhelm von Kaulbach. Oil on canvas, Munich. Public Domain
Tragedy in Athens
Ancient Greek tragedians presented their plays at the Greater Dionysia in Athens. The annual festival honored Dionysus, god of wine, music, theater, and fertility. Around our March, three playwrights competed to entertain tens of thousands of people in a stone theater beneath the Acropolis.The audience was predominantly male and included foreigners from neighboring cities. Women, slaves, and foreign-born Athenian residents occasionally attended, though in much smaller numbers.
Every year, the plays changed. The festival, however, stayed the same. It began with a procession outside the city. Heralds carried a statue of Dionysus all the way into the theater. Choruses sang passionate songs and wore sexual props in honor of the eccentric god.
The next day, war orphans paraded through Athens in honor of their fathers, who gave their lives in battle. They were given front-row seats, a privilege that concluded their passage into adulthood. This final procession was followed by theatrical performances.
On each of three days, a different playwright presented four plays: three tragedies and one comic “satyr play,” meant to diffuse the intense emotions produced by the tragedies. The three playwrights were selected by Athens’ chief magistrate, who vetted their plays months in advance. The stakes were high: the plays were judged according to content, staging, and the audience’s reactions. On the fourth and final day, the winner was announced.
The ‘Oresteia’
Aeschylus’s “Oresteia” won first prize. The trilogy chronicles the tragic fall and redemption of the legendary House of Atreus. In the first of three plays, king Agamemnon returns victorious from Troy, only to be murdered by his wife, Clytemnestra, for sacrificing their daughter to the gods.Their son, Orestes, returns home in the second play. Urged by the sun-god Apollo, Orestes avenges his father by killing Clytemnestra. The matricide drives him mad. Bloodthirsty “Furies” enter the scene. Daughters of Night, these ancient spirits of vengeance represent an old generation of gods who have gradually been replaced by Apollo, Athena, and other new deities like them. The Furies chase Orestes and drive him out of his native Argos, where both murders took place.
"Orestes Pursued by the Furies," 1862, by William-Adolphe Bouguereau. Oil on canvas; 83 1/3 inches by 109 2/5 inches. Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va. Public Domain
In the third play, the Furies continue their chase. They want to avenge Clytemnestra and kill Orestes. The setting is now Athens, which is protected by Athena, goddess of wisdom and justice. Athena establishes a court of law to end the cycle of blood revenge once and for all. She selects jurors from the best Athenians, and Orestes is tried. Apollo and the Furies are the two litigants. After a tense trial, Orestes is acquitted and his life is spared. His acquittal symbolizes the birth of a new era where legal justice supersedes bloody revenge.
Sacrifice, Revenge, and Prosperity
A few years before the “Oresteia” was performed in 458 B.C., the Athenian democratic reformer Ephialtes convinced Athens’s general assembly to limit the aristocracy’s political power to religious rituals. The aristocracy had been establishing self-serving laws through a conservative, anti-democratic council. Ephialtes was assassinated shortly after the reforms went into effect. Tensions intensified between those who didn’t want the masses to have power and those who thought direct democracy was necessary.
Aeschylus was an Athenian warrior and playwright. His provocative works were performed at the Dionysia, a theater-themed festival in Athens. FlickreviewR 2/CC BY-SA 2.0
The trial at the end of the third play alludes to this political instability. The Furies symbolize the revenge-ridden justice of aristocratic bloodlines that often took legal matters into their own hands. An “eye for an eye” mentality prevailed in the people Ephialtes tried to undermine.
In “Oresteia,” once the trial ends, Athena invites the Furies to join in the creation of a better city. She tries to persuade them to end their wrath, but they refuse time and again. They think Orestes should be punished for killing his mother, and they see Athena’s acquittal as a direct attack against their authority.
Athena keeps promising them survival, safety, and copious gifts from Athenian citizens, and the Furies eventually yield. They turn from bloodthirsty spirits into “Gracious Ones” who bless Athens with happiness, peace, and fertility for all. Athena ultimately decrees that all disputes must be settled in court rather than between individuals. The trilogy ends with a procession similar to the parade dedicated to Dionysus at the beginning of the festival. Athena and the Furies sing in unison: “Now raise a cry of triumph to crown our song!”
A True Resolution?
Most Athenians probably would have found the play’s conclusion satisfactory. The play’s trial took place in Athens, a symbol of justice and democracy across the Greek peninsula. Athenians were especially proud of their city’s world-shaping customs. The Great Dionysia was a great place to show foreigners why those customs mattered–why courtrooms are better than swords to settle disputes.
The Athenian Theater of Dionysus was the central locale for the Dionysia, a yearly celebration that attracted thousands of visitors. Berthold Werner/CC BY-SA 3.0
Modern readers might feel differently. Orestes killed his mother. He was avenging his father, whom she killed without facing the consequences. But is that enough to justify matricide? Is Orestes’s acquittal really justice? Even if his fate was decided by a court of law, why does he go unpunished for such a heinous crime? What matters most when judging a past wrongdoing?
Whether or not the play’s conclusion is convincing, it does show reconciliation, despite all the blood spilled. The Furies forgive Orestes, and Athena forgives their rage. The violent cycle ends, and everyone seems better for it.
Aeschylus Today
In 2007, playwright Yael Farber set an adaptation of the “Oresteia” during the hearings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 1996, where victims and perpetrators of human rights violations shared testimonies about their experiences during South Africa’s apartheid.Farber is one of many contemporary artists who recognize that the “Oresteia” deals with universal themes: family, trust, love, hatred, revenge, and redemption. Most importantly, it asks readers and spectators to think carefully about justice, and whether retaliation ever has a place in it.
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