Suffer into Truth
Aeschylus, the subject of many posts in this blog, was the consummate good citizen. He fought at Marathon, cared for his city, and wrote beautiful plays that still pay reverence to the Mean (the middle road) that leads to democracy. His last work, The Oresteia, is the pinnacle of his life’s hopeful thought-work. The man understood that life is the setting of suffering into truth.
In its simplest form, the Oresteia is the story of the first trial-by-jury that results in the verdict of justifiable homicide. There are three parts; The Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and the Eumenides. They were performed in one sitting at theatrical competitions.
The nutshell of The Agamemnon is in my last post. The second play, The Libation Bearers, opens with Orestes grieving at his father Agamemnon’s grave. He hides when he hears his sister Electra and a group of women bringing libations to pour on Agamemnon’s grave at the behest of Queen Clytaemnestra. Electra feels weird about this because of her hatred for her mother and isn’t sure what to say as she pours the libations on her father’s grave. She notices a lock of hair on the grave and realizes Orestes has returned. They have a joyful reunion and hatch the plot to kill Clytaemnestra. Orestes goes to the royal house disguised as a traveler and kills the Queen and her lover Aegisthus. As soon as the Queen dies, Orestes is set upon by his mother’s Furies; old gods who tear the flesh and drink the blood of people who commit matricide. They are pretty creepy and legend holds that people fainted and women miscarried at the first showing because the Furies were so terrifying.
The Eumenides concludes this hot mess with a trial presided over by Athena at the Areopagus. The Furies arrive and threaten to bring blight to Athens if Orestes is found not guilty and allowed to go free. The jury vote is tied and Athena casts the deciding vote for the defendant essentially saying that when justice is equal one must show mercy, hence justifiable homicide. She then cajoles the Furies into becoming benefactors of the Athenians who will forevermore worship them. Everyone celebrates the way of the Mean and democracy and the play ends with the future looking brighter and more civilized than the past.
It’s too bad that in real life The Eumenides was made to celebrate the founding of the Argos League…that eventually leads to Sparta destroying Athens.
At least the part about suffering into truth is real…and the theme of hard-won transformation being possible in our lifetime as long as we accept the suffering that comes with it is usually true.
There is way too much in this piece of literature to end with this post. Will still be chewing on it tomorrow.
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