DOCSLIB.ORG

Agamemnon / Libation Bearers / Eumenides • Prometheus Bound • May Have Been Composed by His Son Euphorion Aeschylus, Agamemnon

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Agamemnon / Libation Bearers / Eumenides • Prometheus Bound • May Have Been Composed by His Son Euphorion Aeschylus, Agamemnon The Dithyramb • First composed by Arion of Methymna (Hdt. i.23) • A song, sung by a chorus at the Dionysia to recount the stories of the life of Dionysus. • Choregia • Bands of performers who sang and danced at various festivals, most especially that of Dionysus. • In the city they sang the Dithyramb • In the country they sang the more raucous komodia (Comedy). The Dionysia • Instituted at Athens in 534 BC. • A celebration of the various stages of wine production • Four Dionysia at Athens: • Little (Rural) Dionysia – December, to celebrate the harvest (disputed) • Lenaea – January, to celebrate the pressing (theatrical presentations) • Anthesteria – February/ March, to open last years casks • Great Dionysia – March/ April, with the main procession and contests. • Celebrants dressed as Dionysus, Maenads or Satyrs • The Procession: • Women (drunk, of course) carried an Ithyphallic statue • Men (drunk as well) dressed as women followed Theatre Aeschylus • 525 – 465 BC • He claimed that it was Dionysus, appearing to him in a dream, who compelled him to write tragedy (Paus. i.21.2). • Credited as the father of modern theatre, but his first dramatic entry was in 499 BC – the city Dionysia was already well established. • Served at the Battle of Marathon in 490 • The only personal fact mentioned on his grave-stone. • Won his first Dionysia in 484. Title unknown. Aeschylus Only 7 of 70 plays extant • 472: The Persae • 469/8: Seven Against Thebes • 459: Suppliants • Victory at the Dionysia over Sophocles. • 458; (last production) Oresteia • Agamemnon / Libation Bearers / Eumenides • Prometheus Bound • may have been composed by his son Euphorion Aeschylus, Agamemnon • First play of the Oresteia, produced in 458 BC • Set at Mycenae, Clytemnestra awaits the return of Agamemnon from Troy • When he arrives, she lays out a purple carpet for him to walk from his chariot to the palace. Fatalism? • The Chorus: • “Zeus, who sets mortals on the path to understanding, Zeus, who has established as a fixed law that “wisdom comes by suffering.” • “Harsh, it seems to me, is the grace of gods enthroned upon their awful seats.” (Agamemnon 179 – 80) Hubris • [375] The penalty for reckless crime is ruin when men breathe a spirit of pride above just measure, because their mansions teem with more abundance than is good for them. But let there be such wealth as brings no distress, enough to satisfy [380] a sensible man. For riches do not protect the man who in wantonness has kicked the mighty altar of Justice into obscurity. Nemesis • As Agamemnon enters the palace, Clytemnestra and Aegisthus kill him • Punishment for the murder of Iphigenia • Punishment for the crime of Atreus • But is it just? Does murder requite murder? Piere-Narcisse Guerin 1817 The Death of Agamemnon Inherited Sin? • “…an old Hubris tends to bring forth [765] in evil men, sooner or later, at the fated hour of birth, a young Hubris and that irresistible, unconquerable, unholy spirit, Recklessness, [770] and for the household black Curses, which resemble their parents.” Agamemnon Aeschylus, Libation Bearers • Second play in the Oresteia • Orestes, son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra • Raised at Athens (or other places) • Returns 8 years later • Charged by Apollo to avenge his father • Kills Aegisthus and his own mother • Driven mad by the Furies Charles Auguste van den Berghe Aeschylus, Eumenides • Orestes seeks refuge at Delphi • Apollo purifies him but cannot stop the Furies • Apollo advises Orestes to find justice with Athena • Orestes is pursued to Athens • Seeks sanctuary on the Hill of Ares, the Areopagus Eumenides • The Trial: • Athena acts as judge • Appoints a jury of elders • The Furies prosecute… Apollo defends • Orestes acquitted • Athena: • Orders the Furies to become the Eumenides • The Areopagus to be a court of justice • Sophocles • Electra: The sister of Orestes • Ajax: Another revenge story • Euripides • Andromache: The captivity of the wife of Hector • Electra: The killing of Clytemnestra and Aegisthus • Hecuba: The wife of Priam – revenge again. • Helen: • Heraclidae: • Orestes: • Trojan Women: All about sins against women. Blood Feud • Family members obligated to avenge the death of kin. • Vendetta • Retribution came either by death or compensation • Blood money • Wergild • See ‘The Shield of Achilles’ Iliad 18. 478 – 608. • No system of state prosecution or state sanctioned punishment Heraclidae • 80 years after Troy (ca. 1104 BC) • Sons of Heracles seek sanctuary at Marathon • Pursued by officers of Eurystheus • Demophon, son of Theseus, protects the Heraclidae • Eurystheus captured and executed Heracles Polynices 4 generations 4 generations Arsitodemus = Argeia • Aristodemus was one of the Heraclidae who fought Eurystheus at Marathon Arsitodemus = Argeia Eurysthenes Procles • The two royal families of Sparta are descendants of the two houses of Eurysthenes and Procles. The Heraclidae Agiad: Eurypontid: • Eurysthenes • Procles • 3 kings • 12 kings • Eunomus – Lycurgus • Leon [590- 560] • 8 kings? • Anaxandrides [560-520] • Ariston [550 – 515] • Cleomenes [520 – 490] • Demaratus [515 – 491].
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Heracles : Myth Becoming
    Natibnal Library Bibhotheque naticmale I* of Canada du Canada Canadian Theses Service Services des theses canadiennes Ottawa, Canada K1 A ON4 CANADIAN THESES THESES CANADIENNES NOTICE The quality of this microfiche is heavily dependent upon the La qualite de cette microfiche depend grandement de la qualite quality of the original thesis submitted fcr microfilming. Every de la these soumise au microfilmage. Nous avons tout fail pour effort has been made to ensure the highest quality of reproduc- assurer uoe qualit6 superieure de reproduction. tion possible. D If pages are missing, contact the university which granted the S'il 'manque des pages, veuillez communiquer avec I'univer- degree. Some pages may have indistinct print especially if the original certatnes pages peut laisser A pages were typed with a poor typewriter ribbon or if the univer-- ont 6t6 dactylographi6es sity sent us an inferior photocopy. a I'aide d'un ruban us6 ou si Imuniversit6nous a fa;t parvenir une photocopie de qualit6 inf6rieure. Previously copyrighted materials (journal articles, published cuments qui font d6jA I'objet d'un droit d'auteur (articles tests, etc.) are not filmed. ue, examens publi&, etc.) ne sont pas microfilmes. Reproduction in full or in part of this film is governed by the La reproduction, mGme partielle, de ce microfilm est soumke Canadian Copyright Act, R.S.C. 1970, c. C-30. A la Loi canadienne sur le droit d'auteur, SRC 1970, c. C-30. THIS DI~ERTATION LA THESE A ETE HAS BEEN iICROFILMED M~CROFILMEETELLE QUE EXACTLY AS RECEIVED NOUS L'AVONS REGUE THE HERACLES: MYTH BECOMING MAN.
    [Show full text]
  • Ancient History Sourcebook: 11Th Brittanica: Sparta SPARTA an Ancient City in Greece, the Capital of Laconia and the Most Powerful State of the Peloponnese
    Ancient History Sourcebook: 11th Brittanica: Sparta SPARTA AN ancient city in Greece, the capital of Laconia and the most powerful state of the Peloponnese. The city lay at the northern end of the central Laconian plain, on the right bank of the river Eurotas, a little south of the point where it is joined by its largest tributary, the Oenus (mount Kelefina). The site is admirably fitted by nature to guard the only routes by which an army can penetrate Laconia from the land side, the Oenus and Eurotas valleys leading from Arcadia, its northern neighbour, and the Langada Pass over Mt Taygetus connecting Laconia and Messenia. At the same time its distance from the sea-Sparta is 27 m. from its seaport, Gythium, made it invulnerable to a maritime attack. I.-HISTORY Prehistoric Period.-Tradition relates that Sparta was founded by Lacedaemon, son of Zeus and Taygete, who called the city after the name of his wife, the daughter of Eurotas. But Amyclae and Therapne (Therapnae) seem to have been in early times of greater importance than Sparta, the former a Minyan foundation a few miles to the south of Sparta, the latter probably the Achaean capital of Laconia and the seat of Menelaus, Agamemnon's younger brother. Eighty years after the Trojan War, according to the traditional chronology, the Dorian migration took place. A band of Dorians united with a body of Aetolians to cross the Corinthian Gulf and invade the Peloponnese from the northwest. The Aetolians settled in Elis, the Dorians pushed up to the headwaters of the Alpheus, where they divided into two forces, one of which under Cresphontes invaded and later subdued Messenia, while the other, led by Aristodemus or, according to another version, by his twin sons Eurysthenes and Procles, made its way down the Eurotas were new settlements were formed and gained Sparta, which became the Dorian capital of Laconia.
    [Show full text]
  • Citations in Classics and Ancient History
    Citations in Classics and Ancient History The most common style in use in the field of Classical Studies is the author-date style, also known as Chicago 2, but MLA is also quite common and perfectly acceptable. Quick guides for each of MLA and Chicago 2 are readily available as PDF downloads. The Chicago Manual of Style Online offers a guide on their web-page: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html The Modern Language Association (MLA) does not, but many educational institutions post an MLA guide for free access. While a specific citation style should be followed carefully, none take into account the specific practices of Classical Studies. They are all (Chicago, MLA and others) perfectly suitable for citing most resources, but should not be followed for citing ancient Greek and Latin primary source material, including primary sources in translation. Citing Primary Sources: Every ancient text has its own unique system for locating content by numbers. For example, Homer's Iliad is divided into 24 Books (what we might now call chapters) and the lines of each Book are numbered from line 1. Herodotus' Histories is divided into nine Books and each of these Books is divided into Chapters and each chapter into line numbers. The purpose of such a system is that the Iliad, or any primary source, can be cited in any language and from any publication and always refer to the same passage. That is why we do not cite Herodotus page 66. Page 66 in what publication, in what edition? Very early in your textbook, Apodexis Historia, a passage from Herodotus is reproduced.
    [Show full text]
  • Separating Fact from Fiction in the Aiolian Migration
    hesperia yy (2008) SEPARATING FACT Pages399-430 FROM FICTION IN THE AIOLIAN MIGRATION ABSTRACT Iron Age settlementsin the northeastAegean are usuallyattributed to Aioliancolonists who journeyed across the Aegean from mainland Greece. This articlereviews the literary accounts of the migration and presentsthe relevantarchaeological evidence, with a focuson newmaterial from Troy. No onearea played a dominantrole in colonizing Aiolis, nor is sucha widespread colonizationsupported by the archaeologicalrecord. But the aggressive promotionof migrationaccounts after the PersianWars provedmutually beneficialto bothsides of theAegean and justified the composition of the Delian League. Scholarlyassessments of habitation in thenortheast Aegean during the EarlyIron Age are remarkably consistent: most settlements are attributed toAiolian colonists who had journeyed across the Aegean from Thessaly, Boiotia,Akhaia, or a combinationof all three.1There is no uniformityin theancient sources that deal with the migration, although Orestes and his descendantsare named as theleaders in mostaccounts, and are credited withfounding colonies over a broadgeographic area, including Lesbos, Tenedos,the western and southerncoasts of theTroad, and theregion betweenthe bays of Adramyttion and Smyrna(Fig. 1). In otherwords, mainlandGreece has repeatedly been viewed as theagent responsible for 1. TroyIV, pp. 147-148,248-249; appendixgradually developed into a Mountjoy,Holt Parker,Gabe Pizzorno, Berard1959; Cook 1962,pp. 25-29; magisterialstudy that is includedhere Allison Sterrett,John Wallrodt, Mal- 1973,pp. 360-363;Vanschoonwinkel as a companionarticle (Parker 2008). colm Wiener, and the anonymous 1991,pp. 405-421; Tenger 1999, It is our hope that readersinterested in reviewersfor Hesperia. Most of trie pp. 121-126;Boardman 1999, pp. 23- the Aiolian migrationwill read both articlewas writtenin the Burnham 33; Fisher2000, pp.
    [Show full text]
  • Sage Is , Based Pressure E Final Out- Rned by , : Hearts, Could Persuade
    Xerxes' War 137 136 Herodotus Book 7 a match for three Greeks. The same is true of my fellow Spartans. fallen to the naval power of the invader. So the Spartans would have They are the equal of any men when they fight alone; fighting to­ stood alone, and in their lone stand they would have performed gether, they surpass all other men. For they are free, but not entirely mighty deeds and died nobly. Either that or, seeing the other Greeks free: They obey a master called Law, and they fear this master much going over to the Persians, they would have come to terms with more than your men fear you. They do whatever it commands them Xerxes. Thus, in either case, Greece would have been subjugated by the Persians, for I cannot see what possible use it would have been to to do, and its commands are always the same: Not to retreat from the fortify the Isthmus if the king had had mastery over the sea. battlefield even when badly outnumbered; to stay in formation and either conquer or die. So if anyone were to say that the Athenians were saviors of "If this talk seems like nonsense to you, then let me stay silent Greece, he would not be far off the truth. For it was the Athenians who held the scales in balance; whichever side they espoused would henceforth; I spoke only under compulsion as it is. In any case, sire, I be sure to prevail. It was they who, choosing to maintain the freedom hope all turns out as you wish." of Greece, roused the rest of the Greeks who had not submitted, and [7.105] That was Demaratus' response.
    [Show full text]
  • Corinth, 1985: East of the Theater
    CORINTH, 1985: EAST OF THE THEATER (PLATES 25-37) T HE 1985 EXCAVATIONS of the American School of Classical Studies at Ancient Corinth were a direct continuation of work done east of the Theater by the School between1983 and 1984.1 Excavation focused on three contiguous buildings which line the east side of East Theater Street (P1. 25). The work revealedthe many similarities that exist between the northernmosttwo of these structures, Buildings 1 and 3. The ground floor in both buildings appears to have been devoted to the preparation of foods, perhaps in large part for the delectation of theater crowds. The southernmoststructure of the three on the east side of the street, now called Building 5, is of a completely different plan, as yet not completely excavated and thus remaining unidentified in function. Some work also was done between the street and the Theater along the west side of East Theater Streetwhere, in places, the earliest Roman levels of Corinth were reached. Only under the northwest and west rooms of Building 5 were pre-Roman levels explored. Under the former, pure Geo- metric material was found in a pit, while slightly west of that pit a line of five thrones of pre- Roman period were found cut into bedrock. 'C. K. Williams, II and Orestes H. Zervos, Hesperia 53, 1984, pp. 1-47, pls. 1-12; eidem, Hesperia 54, 1985, pp. 55-96, pls. 6-18. Again in 1985 excavation in Ancient Corinth by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens was made possible thanks to the Greek ArchaeologicalService and its Director, I.
    [Show full text]
  • Copyrighted Material
    9781405129992_6_ind.qxd 16/06/2009 12:11 Page 203 Index Acanthus, 130 Aetolian League, 162, 163, 166, Acarnanians, 137 178, 179 Achaea/Achaean(s), 31–2, 79, 123, Agamemnon, 51 160, 177 Agasicles (king of Sparta), 95 Achaean League: Agis IV and, agathoergoi, 174 166; as ally of Rome, 178–9; Age grades: see names of individual Cleomenes III and, 175; invasion grades of Laconia by, 177; Nabis and, Agesilaus (ephor), 166 178; as protector of perioecic Agesilaus II (king of Sparta), cities, 179; Sparta’s membership 135–47; at battle of Mantinea in, 15, 111, 179, 181–2 (362 B.C.E.), 146; campaign of, in Achaean War, 182 Asia Minor, 132–3, 136; capture acropolis, 130, 187–8, 192, 193, of Phlius by, 138; citizen training 194; see also Athena Chalcioecus, system and, 135; conspiracies sanctuary of after battle of Leuctra and, 144–5, Acrotatus (king of Sparta), 163, 158; conspiracy of Cinadon 164 and, 135–6; death of, 147; Acrotatus, 161 Epaminondas and, 142–3; Actium, battle of, 184 execution of women by, 168; Aegaleus, Mount, 65 foreign policy of, 132, 139–40, Aegiae (Laconian), 91 146–7; gift of, 101; helots and, Aegimius, 22 84; in Boeotia, 141; in Thessaly, Aegina (island)/Aeginetans: Delian 136; influence of, at Sparta, 142; League and,COPYRIGHTED 117; Lysander and, lameness MATERIAL of, 135; lance of, 189; 127, 129; pro-Persian party on, Life of, by Plutarch, 17; Lysander 59, 60; refugees from, 89 and, 12, 132–3; as mercenary, Aegospotami, battle of, 128, 130 146, 147; Phoebidas affair and, Aeimnestos, 69 102, 139; Spartan politics and, Aeolians,
    [Show full text]
  • Pausanias' Description of Greece
    BONN'S CLASSICAL LIBRARY. PAUSANIAS' DESCRIPTION OF GREECE. PAUSANIAS' TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH \VITTI NOTES AXD IXDEX BY ARTHUR RICHARD SHILLETO, M.A., Soiiii'tinie Scholar of Trinity L'olltge, Cambridge. VOLUME IT. " ni <le Fnusnnias cst un homme (jui ne mnnquo ni de bon sens inoins a st-s tlioux." hnniie t'oi. inais i}iii rn>it ou au voudrait croire ( 'HAMTAiiNT. : ftEOROE BELL AND SONS. YOUK STIIKKT. COVKNT (iAKDKX. 188t). CHISWICK PRESS \ C. WHITTINGHAM AND CO., TOOKS COURT, CHANCEKV LANE. fA LC >. iV \Q V.2- CONTEXTS. PAGE Book VII. ACHAIA 1 VIII. ARCADIA .61 IX. BtEOTIA 151 -'19 X. PHOCIS . ERRATA. " " " Volume I. Page 8, line 37, for Atte read Attes." As vii. 17. 2<i. (Catullus' Aft is.) ' " Page 150, line '22, for Auxesias" read Anxesia." A.-> ii. 32. " " Page 165, lines 12, 17, 24, for Philhammon read " Philanimon.'' " " '' Page 191, line 4, for Tamagra read Tanagra." " " Pa ire 215, linu 35, for Ye now enter" read Enter ye now." ' " li I'aijf -J27, line 5, for the Little Iliad read The Little Iliad.'- " " " Page ^S9, line 18, for the Babylonians read Babylon.'' " 7 ' Volume II. Page 61, last line, for earth' read Earth." " Page 1)5, line 9, tor "Can-lira'" read Camirus." ' ; " " v 1'age 1 69, line 1 , for and read for. line 2, for "other kinds of flutes "read "other thites.'' ;< " " Page 201, line 9. for Lacenian read Laeonian." " " " line 10, for Chilon read Cliilo." As iii. 1H. Pago 264, " " ' Page 2G8, Note, for I iad read Iliad." PAUSANIAS. BOOK VII. ACIIAIA.
    [Show full text]
  • Reviews of Books
    1887 153 Downloaded from Reviews of Books Dt Lycurgo in facultaU litterarwn Parisimri ad doctoris gradum pro- http://ehr.oxfordjournals.org/ motiu diueruit H. BAZIN. (Paris: Ernest Leronx, 1885.) IT is almost superfluous to say that this dissertation adds nothing to our knowledge of the history of Lycurgus. The veil in which that legislator is shrouded will probably never be lifted. Bazin's treatise is an attempt to reconcile the conflicting accounts which we possess as to Lycnrgus' date and legislation; but bis arguments rest on little more than conjec- ture, and some of his conjectures are inconsistent. A writer on Lycnrgos is confronted on the very threshold of his in- at The University of British Colombia Library on June 16, 2015 vestigation with the question, ' Did Lycuxgus ever exist ? ' Two modern students of history, Gilbert1 and Gelzer,1 writing about the same time, have each independently and on various grounds dpnifi his personality. We are told by Strabo* that Hellanicus entirely ignored Lycurgus (Avmipyav firjSaftov fUfirfjaBat) and attributed the Spartan constitution to Eurysthenes and Procles; and we can hardly believe that Hellanicus could, have suppressed so great a name either wilfully or from ignorance. The extraordinary variety of dates assigned to his life and legislation— they range from 1100 to 620—and the apparently symbolical meaning of many tumma connected with rimi in the legends, have been cited as additional reasons for doubting bis existence. It cannot be said that Bazin has met these difficulties. The sole argument which he adduces is that the singularity of the Spartan institutions can only be explained on the supposition that they were founded by one man.
    [Show full text]
  • Athens V. Sparta DBQ
    Athens v. Sparta DBQ Directions The task below is based on documents A through Q. This task is designed to test your ability to work with the information provided by various types of documents. Look at each document and answer the question or questions after each document. Use your answers to the questions to help you write your essay. Background Ancient Greece was a somewhat isolated set of civilizations. Two city-states that developed were Sparta and Athens. Though the two occasionally worked together, they were completely different from one another. Task For Part A, read each document carefully and answer the question or questions after each document. Then read the directions for Part B and write your essay. You may use the chart at the end of the documents to help you organize your thoughts. For Part B, use your answers from Part A, information from the documents, and your knowledge of social studies to write a well-organized essay. What are the differences between Athens and Sparta? DOCUMENT A [from Strabo’s (A Greek Historian) history, Book VIII.5.4] …although all the people in the towns around Sparta were technically subjects of the Spartans, they were given the same legal rights as the Spartans at first. Then Agis the son of Eurysthenes took away their equality and had them pay tribute [special taxes] to Sparta. Most submitted – but the Heleians, who occupied Helos and were called “helots,” rose in revolt. A war was fought and the Spartans beat the helots, who were forced from that point on to be slaves to the Spartans with no chance of being set free.
    [Show full text]
  • First Printing: January 2009 Copyright © 2009 By
    First printing: January 2009 Copyright © 2009 by Larry and Marion Pierce. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or re- produced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles and reviews. For information write: Master Books®, P.O. Box 726, Green Forest, AR 72638. ISBN-13: 978-0-89051-556-3 ISBN-10: 0-89051-556-5 Library of Congress Number: 2008940813 Cover by Diana Bogardus Printed in the United States of America Please visit our website for other great titles: www.masterbooks.net For information regarding author interviews, please contact the publicity department at (870) 438-5288. The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended. Prefixed by A Short Chronicle from the Earliest History of Europe, to the Conquest of Persia by Alexander the Great. By Sir Isaac Newton. London: Printed for J. Tonson in the Strand, and J. Osborn and T. Longman in Pater-noster Row. MDCCXXVIII. Revised Edition by Larry and Marion Pierce, 2008. ® Table of Contents Preface to the Queen .....................................................................................................................................5 Notice to the Reader .....................................................................................................................................7 Introduction to the Short Chronology ........................................................................................................11 A Short Chronology from Earliest European History to Alexander the
    [Show full text]
  • University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan LINDA JANE PIPER 1967
    This dissertation has been microfilmed exactly as received 66-15,122 PIPER, Linda Jane, 1935- A HISTORY OF SPARTA: 323-146 B.C. The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1966 History, ancient University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan LINDA JANE PIPER 1967 All Rights Reserved A HISTORY OF SPARTA: 323-1^6 B.C. DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Linda Jane Piper, A.B., M.A. The Ohio State University 1966 Approved by Adviser Department of History PREFACE The history of Sparta from the death of Alexander in 323 B.C; to the destruction of Corinth in 1^6 B.C. is the history of social revolution and Sparta's second rise to military promi­ nence in the Peloponnesus; the history of kings and tyrants; the history of Sparta's struggle to remain autonomous in a period of amalgamation. It is also a period in Sparta's history too often neglected by historians both past and present. There is no monograph directly concerned with Hellenistic Sparta. For the most part, this period is briefly and only inci­ dentally covered in works dealing either with the whole history of ancient Sparta, or simply as a part of Hellenic or Hellenistic 1 2 history in toto. Both Pierre Roussel and Eug&ne Cavaignac, in their respective surveys of Spartan history, have written clear and concise chapters on the Hellenistic period. Because of the scope of their subject, however, they were forced to limit them­ selves to only the most important events and people of this time, and great gaps are left in between.
    [Show full text]