Agamemnon in Oresteia
Oresteia, a play written by Aeschylus, is centered around the move from justice by blood vengeance to a civil, reformed Athenian judicial system that’s more democratic. Agamemnon murders his daughter, Iphigenia as a sacrifice to save the Greek army from a storm. His wife, Clytemnestra along with her lover, Aegisthus, murders Agamemnon as revenge for her daughter. Her other children, Orestes and Electra, plan to murder her as revenge for their father. When Clytemnestra and Aegusthus die, the Furies are after Orestes for killing his mother. This chain of “blood vengeance” ends when Orestes goes to Athena and gets judged by the Athenian Court. They rule in favor of Orestes, grant him mercy, and Athena insists that the Furies work as guardians of this new kind of justice (Revenge vs. Justice).
When it comes to Agamemnon, his character can be interpreted in different ways depending on one’s perspective. He can be seen as a “villain”, like how Clytemnestra sees him, or he can be seen as a paragon, like how Electra and Orestes view him. One can easily argue for either side, there’s no “correct” viewpoint. Electra and Orestes believe he’s a hero for sacrificing his daughter to save others, while Clytemnestra believes he’s evil for doing so because that’s his own child (Oresteia). Focusing on one aspect portrays Agamemnon as a villain, but focusing on another portrays him as a paragon.
All the characters arguing on whether or not Agamemnon was “good” or “bad” and whether or not he deserved to die demonstrates why the new justice system that was established at the end was needed. With the new system put into place, no one can be seen as entirely good or entirely bad, since their actions will be objectively judged by a jury.
“Classics Summarized: The Oresteia.” YouTube, uploaded by Overly Sarcastic Productions, 19 July 2017, https://youtu.be/9kpGhivh05k.
“Oresteia by Aeschylus.” Greek Mythology, www.greekmythology.com/Plays/Aeschylus/Oresteia/oresteia.html.
“Revenge vs. Justice Theme Analysis.” LitCharts, www.litcharts.com/lit/the-eumenides/themes/revenge-vs-justice.
