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DemoCRAZY (I can't think of a good title) - Jamie Peters

    According to the website ancient.eu, the Furies, or Eumenides, were the entire justice system in the ancient world. Their jobs was to exact revenge on mainly murderers and oath-breakers, often goaded by the dying wishes of the dead. When Orestes committed matricide, the curse laid upon him by Clytemnestra was carried out by the Furies, who chased him endlessly to exact revenge. When Athena established that justice would now be carried out by mankind, the Furies are understandably shaken (Aeschylus line 721, 792-804). Athena then offers them a place of respect in Athens, never again to cause turmoil among its people, "... But as for the bird / that fights at home - my curse on civil war" (874-875). The Furies agree, and everyone lives happily ever after.

    Anyone outside of Athens who saw this play would be persuaded to think that the democracy (if we can call it that) established in Athens was great because the gods created it. However, both depictions of justice we see in The Eumenides has flaws. For instance, because Clytemnestra and Agamemnon were not blood related, the Furies saw no reason to bring about justice on her (611). In the new justice system Orestes goes free because of Athena's vote in his favor that his actions were justified. In today's court, even if the murder is justified, there must be substantial evidence that it was completely in self defense, NOT revenge. Therefore, with this evidence laid out detailing the holes in the ancient justice system, I will pose a question. Do you think that Aeschylus is writing about the justice system to praise it? Or, do you think this play is political satire for a failing democracy?


I commented on Haylee Lynd's and Ian's posts.

https://www.ancient.eu/Furies/ 

Comments

  1. Haylee LyndSeptember 18, 2020 at 7:47 PM

    I believe Aeschylus is doing a little a both. By showing the holes in the justice system, you show what needs to be improved, and satire is generally written so that change will be made. However, I don't think he is at all against the new justice system-emphasis on new as this play show the transition of the Greeks from a self-help justice system governed by vengeance to the administration of justice by trial, governed by reason. This transition means there will without a doubt be flaws, and those flaws need correcting. However, he writes Athena as a judge to this trial, showing support by the gods for this new justice system. Thus, he praises and satirizes.

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  2. Lily CaswellSeptember 22, 2020 at 6:44 AM

    I agree with Haylee on this, Jamie. I tend to watch a lot of crime shows like Law and Order and I like to pay attention to the court cases in each episode. I think that people will always tend to satirize governments in books and plays. (Take Animal Farm for example.) Plus, there are always holes in the system. Even in today’s pretty detailed structure of law, there are still loopholes that lawyers can jump through to either get a person released from a charge or to have them charged with a crime. I also think that because Aeschylus is both praising and satirizing, people who would watch this play would begin to think more and more about the justice system, ergo causing it to change over time as more and more people realize its faults.

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