Sunday, 14 March 2021

The Furies (Eumenides) - Aeschylus

Argument

The priestess of Apollo discovers Orestes as a suppliant in the inner shrine of the god at Delphi, and fronting him the Erinyes of his mother, a band of fearsome creatures who, wearied with the pursuit of the fugitive, have fallen on sleep. Under promise of his support, Apollo bids Orestes flee to Athens, where he shall submit his case to judgment and be released from his sufferings. The ghost of Clytemnestra rises to upbraid the sleeping Erinyes because of their neglect, whereby she is dishonoured among the other dead. Awakened by her taunts, they revile Apollo for that he has given sanctuary to a polluted man whom they rightly pursue by reason of their office—to take vengeance on all who shed kindred blood.

The scene shifts to Athens, whither his pursuers have tracked their prey. Orestes, clasping the ancient image of Pallas, implores her protection on the plea that the blood upon his hands has long since been washed away by sacred rites and that his presence has worked harm to none who have given him shelter. The Erinyes chant a hymn to bind the soul of their victim with its maddening spell. In answer to Orestes’ call, the goddess appears and with the consent of the Erinyes undertakes to judge the case, not by herself alone but with the assistance of a chosen number of her best citizens who are to constitute the jury.

The trial opens with Apollo present as advocate of his suppliant and as representative of Zeus, whose commands he has merely to set forth in all his oracles. Orestes, he declares, slew his mother by his express behest. The accused confesses to the deed but urges in his defence that in killing her husband Clytemnestra killed his father and that his accusers should justly have taken vengeance upon her. On their rejecting this argument on the ground that the murderess was not blood-kin to him she murdered, Orestes denies blood-kinship with his mother; in which contention he is supported by Apollo, who asserts that the father alone is the proper parent of the child, the mother being only the nurse of the implanted seed.

Athena announces that the court, the first to try a case of homicide, is now established by her for all time to come. The jury cast their ballots; and the goddess, declaring that it is her duty to pronounce final judgment on the case, makes known that her vote is to count for Orestes, who is to win if the ballots are equally divided. Proclaimed victor by the tie, Orestes quits the scene; his antagonists threaten to bring ruin on the land that has denied the justice of their cause. It is the part of Athena by promises of enduring honours to assuage their anger; and now no longer Spirits of Wrath but Spirits of Blessing, they are escorted in solemn procession to their sanctuary beneath the Hill of Ares (Areopagus).


Dramatis Personae

The Pythia, high priestess of the Oracle at Delphi.
Apollo, god of the Sun, The Oracle at Delphi is dedicated to him.
Athena, goddess of Athens.
Ghost of Clytemnestra
Orestes, son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra 
Hermes, herald of the gods.
Chorus of the Erinyes (Furies, later known as the Eumenides)

Silent parts
Athenian Citizens, Women, and Girls

The principal Chorus are the Erinyes, the secondary are persons in the procession who escort the Erinyes to their shrine below the Acropolis during the Exodus.

Summary:

Prologue [Lines 1-142]


Enter The Pythia,  prophetess of the Apollo's temple at Delphi, 

It is morning, the Pythia has come to open the temple to pilgrims seeking consultation with the Oracle . She prays to and honours the very many gods and goddesses of the district. She outlines the traditional history of how the cult of Apollo came to Delphi from Delos, via Athens, and how the many roads leading to Delphi were built. 

She enters the temple to take her place on the tripod, but moments later, comes out again on all fours. describing the horrors she has seen inside:

A man by the Omphalos blood-stained and crouching in supplication. In his hands is a drawn sword dripping with blood. He is clutching a suppliants branch: an olive-branch wrapped with woollen fleece. Before this man was a throng of hideous women, worse looking than Gorgons, propped up against the benches asleep. 

Pythia: The creatures in there has no wings, they are dark dank and digusting. Their fould stench and hideous breath forced me back and their eyes seep a repulsive, putrid pus. They are wrapped in black dismal rags, un fit for human sight. A place of holy idols should not suffer such an evil apparation. ... Apollo, as master of this house, must decide what to do with them. He is the healer, the prophet, and has the power to purify the pollution.

Exit Pythia stage right.

Enter Orestes and Apollo via the central door. The sleeping Furies are visible in the back.

(Line 64) Apollo tells Orestes he will always be there to protect Orestes no matter where he is. He tells him that he has put the "disgusting virgins" to sleep, "these wizened ancient children, repugnant to the gods, the progeny of evil spewed from the bowels of hell, abhorred by men, despised by the Olympian gods".

He tells Orestes to run from these creatures, to go to Athens, to be her suppliant. Orestes is told he will find judges there to consider his case and that the gods will find a way to realese him from this ordeal. Apollo admits it was he who persuaded Orestes to murder his mother.

Orestes tells Apollo that he has the power to save him.

Apollo tells Orestes no to be overcome with fear. He instructs Hermes to protect Orestes and to be his guide. Zeus is guardian for the outcast, they are sacred.

Exit Orestes stage left, Apollo leave through the central door.

Enter Ghost of Clytemnestra [from the central door]. She appears as a dream for the Erinyes who can be seen asleep inside the temple through the door.

She speaks to the Erinyes. She asks them of what use are they asleep, that because of them even she is dishonoured by the dead who accuse her of the killings. The dead resent her. She has no angry god to avenge her, slaughtered by the matricides [Orestes and Electra]. Despite all the libations and prayers to the Erinyes they have all been a waste of time. She tells them to listen to her, the Ghost of Clytemnestra, in their dreams. 

After groaning several times the Chorus of Erinyes begin to wake.

Chorus: Hunt! Hunt! Hunt! Hunt! Hunt him!

The Ghost of Clytemnestra pleads with them really to wake up. They are only chasing for Orestes in their dreams. They must stir up their consciences really to hunt him down and waste him away.

Chorus: Awake! Awake! All awake! Seek out the truth of the dream.

The Ghost of Clytemnestra exits through the doors of the temple/

Parodos [Lines 143 - 178]:

The Chorus of Erinyes enters one by one from the doors of the temple into the orchestra.


They denounce Orestes and the new gods of Olympus who have done them wrong. They complain that Apollo has stolen the rightful prey, the matricide, who belongs to them.  

Enter Apollo tells the Erinyes to get out of his shrine.  Wielding an arrow, he threatens to stab one of the Erinyes with it.


First Episode (179–234): Apollo tells the Erinyes they have no right to be in his temple. He tells the Erinyes to go where heads are severed and eyes are gouged out; where Justice and bloody slaughter are the same; where young men are castrated and their glories butchered; where men are executed by heavy stones pressing on their chests; where their limbs are maimed; where their torsos are stuck on spikes.

The Chorus tell Apollo that it is he who must listen to them. They tell him he is the guilty one: that he commanded Orestes to kill his mother and to avenge his father. 

Apollo tells them they are not fit to be in his temple. 

The Chorus say that they have their mission and authority to drive matricides from their houses.

Apollo tells them that what they do is contrary to the sacred bonds of marriage. Apollo asserts that the murder of a husband justifies the murder of the mother. That what they a doing by their manhunt is unjust. He tells them to go to Athens to put their case before Athena who will judge this matter.

The Chorus argue that 
murder of a blood relative is worse than the murder of a spouse and say that they will never cease to hound Orestes for it.


Apollo says he will defend his suppliant.

The Erinyes exit in pursuit of Orestes.

Second Episode [Lines 235 - 320]: The Setting changes to the Acropolis in Athens

Enter Orestes and Hermes


Orestes is clasping at the knees of the statue of the goddess Pallas Athena and as a supplicant is kneeling before her altar. He has come to come to seek justice from her as a suppliant and as an innocent. Apollo advised him to do this. He has travelled widely and for long time. His guilt has been blunted. He says he shall keep vigil here and await the outcome of his judgement. (Line 244) The Chorus of Erinyes have followed him in hot pursuit. They enter.


They have found him at last. They have pursued him far and wide, and over the ocean too.  They have followed the scent of the blood trail, like a hound follows a wounded deer. And now they have found him at last.

They shout "Don't let the matricide escape!". They mockingly say " Look, he's clasping the statue of the goddess. He wants to undergo a trial for his guilt! That's not possible! The guilt of spilling of a mother's blood must be repaid to them with his own blood. He must pay the penalty for matricide." When they have withered him they will lead him off to Hades.

Orestes appeals once more to Athena. He says the guilt of matricide has been washed away from him by the ritual of cleansing he undertook at Apollo's temple in Delphi shortly after the murder where he sacrificed some piglets, and also by his long years of wandering and suffering. He tells the goddess that if  he is saved and becomes free of this guilt,  he and Argos will be eternally grateful and become the true and ever-faithful allies of Athens.

Chorus of Erinyes: Neither Apollo, not Athena can help you. Even while you are living you will become our feast. You won't even be sacrificed, not even slaughtered on an altar. The spell of our chant will bind you.


First Stasimon [Lines 321–396]:

The Chorus of Erinyes deliver their chant of binding on Orestes

Like the hags that they are the Erinyes chant and dance a spell of “binding”. It is designed to cripple Orestes both physically and mentally. This is a magical ode which to "bind" his mind. This, they insist, is just as Orestes is a man stained with guilt. They call upon their mother, the spirit of Night, to witness how Apollo attempted to block them in the execution of their duty. That this has been their function as given to them at the very beginning of time, and they have never relented in carrying it out. This role was allotted to them by Fate, and the gods have no authority or power to interfere in this matter. If they did not have this power men would not fear them. They bind mankind to the Law of  Retaliation.


Third Episode [Lines 397–489]:

Enter the goddess Athena from the side.

Athena says she has been in Troy. She heard a cry summoning her. She was there taking possession of land which the Greek victors of the Trojan War had allocated to her from their spoils. She has come back to Athens as fast as she can.


She sees the Erinyes. She is not frightened by them. She sees Orestes clinging to her statue. She questions both parties about their claims.


The Erinyes declare who they are. Athena says she knows them. The Erinyes describe their prerogatives: driving murderers from their homes. Orestes has murdered his mother. The Erinyes agree to a trial and will accept Athena's judgement.


Athena then turns to Orestes asking for him to explain his side of the case, Orestes says he is not really a suppliant, that he has been fully cleansed, that there is a custom where a man who has murdered can be cleared of the sin by the slaughter of a suckling beast [like a piglet] by a man who has been trained at purging pollution. This can cleanse the blood which has been shed by the blood of the sacrifice. This procedure absolves him. Furthermore, he has long ago also been washed of his sin in the halls of others in cleansing spring waters. As for pollution he tells Athena she can put it right out of her mind.


Orestes to Athena: This is my case. Decide if it be right or wrong. I am in your hands. Where my fate falls, I shall accept.

Athena to Orestes: This case, one may think, might be too big for any mortal man to judge.  Even I do not have the right to judge cases of murder where passion is involved. The rites of cleansing have removed the pollution. As a cleansed suppliant you bring no harm to my city. I will respect your right.

Athena turns to the Erinyes. She says that they have their work to do which cannot be brushed off. If they fail to win their cause the venom of their resolution will spread like a plague across her city's land, blighting it. As it stands there is a crisis either way.


She tells both of the litigants to make ready their cases with witnesses and proofs evidenced under bond to keep this case pure. She will summon a group of specially chosen Athenian citizens, the best there are, to judge this case. They will be sworn in under oath to make no judgement which is not just, and to make clear where the truth lies.

She will found a tribunal here for all time.

Exit Athena.



Second Stasimon [Lines 490–565]:

In their ode The Erinyes insist on the necessity of preserving the ancient customs and traditions of punishment in order to preserve order and lawfulness.

They mention the following:-

If this claim by the matricide is upheld we are all lost. Parents everywhere shall await the stroke of death at the hands of their children.

We are the Angry Ones, but we will no longer watch over the affairs of men. We will let loose indiscriminate death. Nevermore will be heard from parents: "O Justice! O Erinyes, Help!" when the House of Justice has fallen.

There is a place for terror which is good, when it keeps watch by means of fear over the minds of men. Were there no terror would man and city revere Justice still? 

Refuse a life of anarchy. Refuse rule by one man. Keep to the mean in everything. God oversees all in different ways. 

Bow before the altar of right and Justice. You shall not eye profit and heave it over with foot of force. Put first the honour and reverence due to parents  and respect the hospitality due to guests in your house. Give them all their rights.

The man who does right by his free will will not fail to prosper, nor will he be destroyed.  But the transgressor who gains goods wrongfully and by violence under the tempest will have to strike the sail of his wrecked ship.

He will call out for help, but none will hear him. His prosperity will be dashed to pieces upon the rocks of Justice.

Fourth Episode [Lines 566–1031]:

The Setting of the play has now moved to the Court of the Areopagus. Here Athena has established the tribunal to adjudicate murder cases.

Athena enters in procession together with a herald and a group of ten [or 12] citizens of Athens appointed as a jury [dikasts (δικαστής)/heliasts (ἡλιασταί)] to hear the case. They set up two voting urns [kados κάδος /kethis κηθίς/κηθάριον: one representing the urn of acquittal, the other the urn of condemnation. A kemos [κημός] a wicker funnel-shaped muzzle is fitted to each of the mouths of the urns to hide the dikast's vote. Each heliast received two voting "ballots", one indicating "not guilty" and the other "guilty". At the start of the trial each heliast received two voting "ballots", one indicating "not guilty" and the other "guilty". The herald (κήρυξ) would, first, ask the heliasts if they wanted to submit any objections against the witnesses and, then, he would call them to cast their votes in two different urns, one made of copper for the "non-guilty" votes and the other made of wood for the "guilty" votes. The voting was held secret.]

Athena orders the Herald to sound the trumpet and summon the people to their places. She calls for order in the court, Silence, the court is convened; a fair trial will be heard. The judgement will be prudent.

Apollo enters.

He has come to testify under the law. He says Orestes is his suppliant and that he had sought sanctuary at his shrine. Apollo states that he had purged Orestes of guilt [pollution]; that he is his advocate and shares the blame for the murder of his mother. He has come to ask the court to decide the case.

Athena orders the court to begin its proceedings and invites the Erinyes to put their case to it, to present their arguments and to state their charges against Orestes.

Apollo enters above, on the roof of the skene, behind Orestes

Athena invites him to speak.

Apollo tells the court that he is a witness. Orestes had sought sanctuary at his shrine; that he Apollo had purified him, purged his bloody hands; that he was Orestes' champion and shared responsibility in the execution of Clytemnestra.

Apollo: Bring on the trial. Turn its rules into Justice.

Athena: Let the trial begin.

She invites the Erinyes to make their case, to set out the facts clearly.

The Chorus ask Orestes whether he killed his mother.

Orestes answers "Yes". He can't deny it

The Chorus says that this establishes one out of the three  points required to prove/find Orestes guilty.

The Chorus ask him how did he kill her.

Orestes says that he drew his sword and cut her throat.

The Chorus asks who persuaded him.

Orestes answers that it was Apollo. He commanded it. He bears witness to this fact.

The Chorus asks Orestes whether the Seer [Apollo] drove him to matricide.

Orestes answers Yes and that he Orestes has no regrets.

The Chorus warn Orestes that if the court's verdict brings him down he'll chnage his story quickly.

Orestes says he trusts that his father iwll help him from the grave.

The Chorus: Trust in corpses? You made your mother one!

Orestes responds that she had two counts of murder on her hands.

The Chorus asks how? Explain that to the judges.

Orestes tells the court that Clytemnestra had killed her husband, his father.

The Chorus comment that the murder freed her and that Orestes had lived on to face trial.

Orestes tells the Erinyes she lived on. And then asks them why did they never drive into exile.

The Chorus answers that the blood of the man she killed was not of her own.

Orestes: And I? Does mother's blood flow in my veins?

The Chorus: Murderer, how otherwise could she breed you in her body? Are you denying your mother's blood? She gave you life!

Orestes turns to Apollo for advice. He asks the god whether he had struck his mother dead in Justice; that he does not deny that he did it, but was it just. Help him, He has to make his case before the judges.

Apollo addresses the court, and Athena in particular.

Seer  that he, Apollo, is, he has never lied, even when his prophecies and pronouncements concerning man, woman or a city are given from his throne at his shrine at Delphi. Never did he make any pronouncement that Zeus did not command. What he did was Zeus' judgement, and his justice is omnipotent. The court should bend to the will of Zeus. No oath can match the power of the will of Zeus the Father.

The Chorus respond: Zeus, you say, gave that command to your Oracle? It was he who charged Orestes to avenge his father's death and to disregard the honour due to his mother?

Apollo answers:-

Orestes was only avenging the slaying of a nobleman magnified in honour by the gift of a sceptre from Zeus himself; that he should have died not by an Amazon's arrow but by the hand of a woman in  a manner the court is about to be told.  

Apollo appeals to Athena and the judges to listen to him.

When Agamemnon returned from the Trojan war she had welcomed him with a loyal homecoming. When he was in his bath, she had thrown  a cloak over him shackling him and then cut him down. Such was his outrageous death. Lord of all the Greek squadrons, commander of the fleet, this is how he met his death.

Chorus: So you say, Zeus values a father's death more highly, yet even Zeus himself had put his father, Cronos, in bonds. Is not what you what you have told us therefore contradictory? [To the jurors] Witness this!


Apollo responds:-

You hateful creatures, hated by the gods, fetters can be undone. This can be remedied, but the earth has sucked the up the blood of a man when he is dead, there is no resurrection of him at all. He is gone forever. For this Zeus, my father, has no spells, but for everything else he can do what he wills.

Chorus says to Apollo: Look how you are justifying Orestes' acquittal. After having shed his mother's blood on the ground, his own direct kin's, you are suggesting he can then go and live in his father's house in Argos [in the palace as its king]? What public altars is he to use for worship? What clan would ever admit him amongst their number?

Apollo: Know that the one you call "mother" is not the true parent, but merely a receptacle, an incubator and nurturer of the seed sown by the father. Man creates life: a Woman merely fosters a stranger. I have proof that there can be a father without a mother. [Pointing at Athena], Child of Zeus, she was never nurtured in a woman's womb. 

He continues: I sent him here so that your house and hearth, Athena, and its people might become great, so that it might acquire a new ally. with its people and his descendants be eternally true to Athens.

Athena: I have heard enough. I call upon the jury to consider their truthful verdict. [To the Erinyes] How best can I appease you?

The Chorus: may the jury consider their verdict in line with the oaths they each made.

Athena: Hear my decree. People of Athens, you are the first to judge a case of bloodshed. From henceforth this judicial assembly will be upheld by Athens and you. When the Amazons invaded they pitched their camp on top of this rock of Ares. Those foes of Theseus forced the walls of Athens with siege-towers which dwarfed its own defences. In honour of their victory they named this place after the war god, Ares. And it is on this hill I found my court of justice.

She continues: From this rock must come respect for justice. Citizens must uphold the law. There must be no deviation: pure water can never be drawn from a well which once has been fouled. They must not embrace anarchy, nor the rule of tyranny: I urge citizens to worship the mean and not to banish fear: for where is the righteous man who knows no fear? The stronger one's fear is the more reverence is shown for the just, and the stronger the city's wall becomes. Untouched by lust for the spoils of war this court of law will rise above you in majesty as you sleep, as guardian of the land. I herewith found this court here and now.

One by one the ten [or twelve] jurors pass between the two urns casting their lots.

Apollo and the Erinyes hurl insults at each other:

Erinyes: Remember! we have the power to lay waste to the land. Do not hurt our pride.

Apollo: The oracles, they are not only mine but Zeus' too. Dread them!

Erinyes: you dabble in blood beyond your depth. Your oracles will be tainted forever.

Apollo: Was Zeus' mistaken when Ixion, the first man-slayer, came to him for sanctuary?

Erinyes: So you say, but if we do not receive justice, we will curse the land for the rest of time.

Apollo: you are a disgrace to the gods, both old and new. I will win and defeat you.

...

Erinyes: You brought down age-old customs, when you seduced the ancient goddesses with wine.

Apollo: Soon you will learn that you have lost this trial.

Erinyes: This youth rides roughshod over his elders.  We will wait to hear the verdict and then decide whether the city has invoked our wrath.


Athena: Orestes, the time has come for me to render the final judgement of this court. I will cast my vote in your favour.

She does this because she agrees with Apollo's suggestion that a mother is not an necessary requirement for life; She is her father's daughter, and had no mother. She can give no precedence to Clytemnestra's murder. Clytemnestra killed her husband, Guardian of his House. She orders the urns to be emptied and the votes to be counted: if they are equal, Orestes will win.

This is done.

In anticipation of the final count Orestes and The Erinyes each express hope their cause will win.

Apollo orders the votes to be counted fairly. 

Athena receives notification of the result: The votes are equal. Orestes can be set free, cleared of the charge of matricide.

Orestes makes a speech of thanks: the court has given him back his home and homeland. He promise that when he leaves for Argos he will make an oath that the people and kingdom of Argos, neither ship nor army will ever go to war or do battle against Athens; that his ghost will protect this oath beyond his grave; that his spectre will haunt and curse those who break this oath. If they respect and keep this oath, and honour Athens forever, he will bless Argos.

Orestes bids farewell to Athens.

Exit Orestes stage left.   Exit Apollo from the roof.

The Erinyes are in the Orchestra and Athena is on the stage.

The Erinyes dance angrily.

The Erinyes complain that the younger gods have cheated them; that they have ridden roughshod over the ancient laws; that they have stolen the Erinyes' ancient rights; that they have been dishonoured.

Athena answers this complaint saying that the Erinyes have not been defeated, but the votes were truly equal with no dishonour to them; that there was clear evidence that Zeus ordered that Orestes was to come to no harm for what he had done. Athena promises the Erinyes that they may have an abode in a hidden spot in the righteous city of Athens; that they will be richly honoured by the citizens of that city.

The Erinyes continue their complaint that they have been cheated of a rightful verdict in this trial in their favour; that the new gods have usurped their powers. They will release a poison on this land of Athens, a canker which will sweep and strike the land, killing men. The ruin for Athens will be great.

Athena replies that they are not dishonoured; that their excessive anger should not blight the land; that she alone of all the gods knows where Zeus keeps his thunderbolts and has the keys to the treasure house where he keeps his lightning, but she will not use it. Instead she will try gentle persuasion. The Erinyes are to put their anger to sleep, for they are to be honoured with awe and will share her home for evermore.

Erinyes: Alas that we should suffer this; that we, the more ancient,  have to live on earth where pollution goes unpunished! O, the shame of it! The hurt! Listen, Mother Night, our ancient prerogatives are being taken from us by these upstart gods! We are nothing!

Athena: I shall bear with your anger for you are the older. There are matters in which you are very much wiser than I, but Zeus gave me good sense too. If you leave for another land you will long to come back here for the future will bring much honour to Athens. With a honoured shrine near the Erechtheion you will receive more processions from the people here than you would ever get from anywhere else. But you are not to stir up trouble in my land. Let war and family feuding stay abroad. You may share in the good I receive in this land, the land that the gods love most. 

Erinyes [repeating the above lament]: Alas that we should suffer this; that we, the more ancient,  have to live on earth where pollution goes unpunished! O, the shame of it! The hurt! Listen, Mother Night, our ancient prerogatives are being taken from us by these upstart gods! We are nothing!

Athena: I will not tire from telling you about the good things Athens has to offer. You may never say that you have been dismissed from this land without honour and hospitality (xenia ξενία), ancient goddesses rejected by a younger one, myself. If you accept Persuasion sacred to my tongue and its winning way, then stay. But then if you do not wish to do this, it would not be right for you to let loose a harm on the people of this land. You may have an abode here and rightly be honoured forever.

Erinyes: What abode do we have? Will you guarantee this forever? What prerogatives remain for us?

Athena: You will have a home untroubled by distress. Yes, I will not break my promise to you. No house will thrive without you.

Erinyes: You have won over us. We shall now give up our anger, our wrath!

Athena tells them that they will acquire new friends and that she will guarantee the arrangement that she has made with them. The Erinyes ask Athena what can they do for the people of their new home. Athena answers that they ae to bring an abundance to the people.

The Erinyes, having given their consent in principle to the agreement that they have made with her about their rights and role as far as the citizens of Athens are concerned. They now wish to go through the details of the agreement for a second time to confirm everything they have agreed to.

Athena confirms that if they want to remain and reside in Athens the Erinyes will have to calm down and must give up anger. They agree to do this.

The Erinyes ask Athena what can they do, what service can they perform.

Athena replies telling them they can celebrate a victory which has not been badly won for this victory has come from the earth and the waters of the sea, from the heavens, from the winds that blow over the lands of  Attica and the fine sunshine which basks that land. From all this is generated a large benefit to all the people and each and every citizen of Athens, from those ships that sail the sea, from the beasts that are reared and graze of the lands. All this brings great security to the people. And it is this which she, Athena, celebrates, and this they should also do too. This abundance brings righteous freedom, victory in the wars of the great conflict.

The Erinyes now confirm they can and will accept a home in Athens with Athena; that Athena has won them over using her power of Persuasion and not Force. Athena confirms they may now from henceforth be called The Eumenides [Kindly Ones] and no longer The Erinyes [Furious Ones].

Athena: The time has come to rejoice. I must and will lead you to your new abode. in a procession lit by these escorts who are now entering.

Exodos [Lines 1032 - 1047]:

A Secondary Chorus of  Female Temple Attendants bearing torches enter the Orchestra to escort the Eumenides to their new home under the Athenian Acropolis.

The Chorus of Athenian Women: Go to your new abode you great and loving children. You are no longer Children of the Night, and may you receive all the honour due to you! Cry out your joy in song!

Ceremoniously all exit with Athena at the head of the procession, followed by the Eumenides accompanied by their female attendants bearing torches and the jurors following at the rear of the procession

[The procession or pompe has been compared to that held at the time of the Panathenaian celebrations]


Alternative Versions of the Structure of this Play

1. Division into Three Acts and the Different Settings for Action

The Settings are 

Act I. At Delphi, before the temple of Apollo, but within the sacred precincts.

Between Act I. and Act II. The wanderings of Orestes, hunted by the Erinyes, from his leaving Delphi to his reaching Athens.

Act II. A sanctuary in Athens, exhibiting an altar, ‘house’, and ancient image of Pallas Athena.

Between Act II. and Act III. The scene is cleared

Act III. On the Areopagus, at the place where the Court which judged murder regularly sat.


Other Structural Analyses of the Play

http://people.duke.edu/~wj25/UC_Web_Site/tragedy/summaries/eumenides.html 
Archived: https://bit.ly/3cGr3Ml

http://reed.edu/humanities/110Tech/playstructure.html#Eumenides
Archived: https://bit.ly/3tsWC2C

http://uncomelyandbroken.com/2019/01/26/aeschylus-eumenides-discussion-questions/
Archived: https://bit.ly/3voWG5z

http://morec.com/phd/oresteia.html
Archived: https://bit.ly/3vqAcRx



References


Aeschylus: Eumenides (Eὐμενίδες) - Wiley Online Library
Structure and Outline of the Oresteia https://bit.ly/3vqAcRx playstructure.html Eumenides


Aeschylus' Eumenides Summary


Eumenides
Eumenides https://bit.ly/3cBxK1U

Eumenides Prologue (Lines 1-63) Cliff's Notes
Eumenides - Spanish Wikipedia

Eumenides by Aeschylus - GreekMythology.com THE EUMENIDES - AESCHYLUS - SUMMARY | Ancient Greece

The Eumenides Cummings Guide
Athena - Wikipedia Pythia - Wikipedia Hermes - Wikipedia Apollo - Wikipedia Erinyes - Wikipedia
ERINYES - The Furies, Greek Goddesses of Vengeance & Retribution The Erinyes | Greek Mythology Wiki | Fandom The Gods of the Greeks (Eumenides): Kerenyi, C - Internet Archive


Areopagus - Wikipedia

Dikastes - Wikipedia

Heliaia - Wikipedia

The Dikast's Oath dikast.pdf


Part 1 Chapter 4: "Three Court Days" pp. 21-30 in
Boegehold, Alan L., et al. “The Lawcourts at Athens: Sites, Buildings, Equipment, Procedure, and Testimonia.” The Athenian Agora, vol. 28, 1995, pp. iii-256. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3602008.


Karl Otfried Müller (1835). Dissertations on the Eumenides of Aeschylus: With the Greek Text and Critical Remarks. Printed at the Pitt Press, by John Smith, for J. and J.J. Deighton.
Dissertations on the Eumenides of Aeschylus. With the Greek text by Karl Otfried Müller, Aeschylus - Google Books

The Stagecraft of Aeschylus: the dramatic use of exits and entrances in Greek tragedy: Oliver  Taplin - Internet Archive    Chapter VIII Eumenides p. 362

Robin Mitchell-Boyask (12 December 2013). Aeschylus: Eumenides. A&C Black. ISBN 978-1-4725-1963-4.

The religious movement of the Eumenides : W.H. Stallings - Internet Archive

Long, Jacqueline. Gender, Democracy, and the Justice of Athena’s Vote to Acquit Orestes. Text & Presentation, 12, : 57-69, 2015. Retrieved from Loyola eCommons, Classical Studies: Faculty Publications and Other Works, 

 Law and Drama in Ancient Greece. A&C Black. 16 October 2013. pp. 39–. ISBN 978-1-4725-1985-6.

Adriaan Lanni (27 February 2006). Law and Justice in the Courts of Classical Athens. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-139-45265-6.

Andreas Markantonatos; Eleni Volonaki (1 April 2019). Poet and Orator: A Symbiotic Relationship in Democratic Athens. De Gruyter. pp. 389–. ISBN 978-3-11-062972-9.

The Center for Hellenic Studies The Ancient Greek Hero in 24 Hours
Hour 17. Looking beyond the cult hero in the Libation Bearers and the Eumenides of Aeschylus


Winnington-Ingram, R. P. “The Rôle of Apollo in the Oresteia.” 
The Classical Review, vol. 47, no. 3, 1933, pp. 97–104. JSTORwww.jstor.org/stable/699068.


Scribner, Henry S. “The Treatment of Orestes in Greek Tragedy.” The Classical Weekly, vol. 16, no. 14, 1923, pp. 105–109. JSTORwww.jstor.org/stable/4388449.

Gagarin, Michael. “The Vote of Athena.” The American Journal of Philology, vol. 96, no. 2, 1975, pp. 121–127. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/294376

Kennedy, Rebecca Futo. “Justice, Geography and Empire in Aeschylus' Eumenides.” Classical Antiquity, vol. 25, no. 1, 2006, pp. 35–72. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/ca.2006.25.1.35.

RYNEARSON, NICHOLAS. “Courting the Erinyes: Persuasion, Sacrifice, and Seduction in Aeschylus's ‘Eumenides.’” Transactions of the American Philological Association (1974-2014), vol. 143, no. 1, 2013, pp. 1–22. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/43830250.

Brown, A. L. “Some Problems in the Eumenides of Aeschylus.” The Journal of Hellenic Studies, vol. 102, 1982, pp. 26–32. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/631124.

Grube, G. M. A. “Zeus in Aeschylus.” The American Journal of Philology, vol. 91, no. 1, 1970, pp. 43–51., www.jstor.org/stable/293397

PRINS, YOPIE. “THE POWER OF THE SPEECH ACT: AESCHYLUS' FURIES AND THEIR BINDING SONG.” Arethusa, vol. 24, no. 2, 1991, pp. 177–195. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26309402

Boegehold, Alan L. “Toward a Study of Athenian Voting Procedure.” Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, vol. 32, no. 4, 1963, pp. 366–374. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/147360.

Boegehold, Alan L., et al. “The Lawcourts at Athens: Sites, Buildings, Equipment, Procedure, and Testimonia.” The Athenian Agora, vol. 28, 1995, pp. iii-256. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3602008.

Weaver, Benjamin H. “A Further Allusion in the Eumenides to the Panathenaia.” The Classical Quarterly, vol. 46, no. 2, 1996, pp. 559–561. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/639808.

Headlam, Walter. “The Last Scene of the Eumenides.” The Journal of Hellenic Studies, vol. 26, 1906, pp. 268–277. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/624378.


Brown, A. L. “Eumenides in Greek Tragedy.” The Classical Quarterly, vol. 34, no. 2, 1984, pp. 260–281. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/638287.

Dover, K. J. “The Political Aspect of Aeschylus's Eumenides.” The Journal of Hellenic Studies, vol. 77, 1957, pp. 230–237. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/629362.

Sidwell, Keith. “Purification and Pollution in Aeschylus' Eumenides.” The Classical Quarterly, vol. 46, no. 1, 1996, pp. 44–57. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/639559.

Allen, James Turney. “On Secrecy in Voting in the Athenian Law-Courts in the Fifth Century, B. C.” The Classical Review, vol. 18, no. 9, 1904, pp. 456–458. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/694137.

Gagarin, Michael. “The Vote of Athena.” The American Journal of Philology, vol. 96, no. 2, 1975, pp. 121–127. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/294376.

Hester, D. A. “The Casting Vote.” The American Journal of Philology, vol. 102, no. 3, 1981, pp. 265–274. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/294130.

Headlam, Walter. “The Last Scene of the Eumenides.” The Journal of Hellenic Studies, vol. 26, 1906, pp. 268–277. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/624378.

Bacon, Helen H. “The Furies' Homecoming.” Classical Philology, vol. 96, no. 1, 2001, pp. 48–59. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1215471.

Weaver, Benjamin H. “A Further Allusion in the Eumenides to the Panathenaia.” The Classical Quarterly, vol. 46, no. 2, 1996, pp. 559–561. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/639808.

Edith Hall; PEACEFUL CONFLICT RESOLUTION AND ITS DISCONTENTS IN AESCHYLUS'S EUMENIDESCommon Knowledge 1 April 2015; 21 (2): 253–269. doi: https://doi.org/10.1215/0961754X-2872367

Aeschylus' Eumenides and Legal Anthropology

Theatrical furies: thoughts on Eumenides

Forms of justice in Aeschylus' Eumenides  [PDF]
E Dugdale, L Gerstbauer - Polis: The Journal for Ancient Greek and …, 2017 - brill.com

Theatricality and Voting in Eumenides: “ΨΗΦΟΝ Δ’ ΟΡΕΣΤΗΙ ΤΗΝΔ’ ΕΓΩ ΠΡΟΣΘΗΣΟΜΑΙ” in: Performance in Greek and Roman Theatre


Greek Versions

Eumenides, with introd. and notes by A. Sidgwick : Aeschylus - Internet Archive

Translations Aeschylus (1849). The Tragedies of Aeschylus, Literally Translated, with ... Notes ... by Theodore Alois Buckley. The Furies: H. G. Bohn. pp. 179–. The tragedies of Aeschylus [The Furies] trans by Robert Potter - Internet Archive

The House of Atreus; Being the Agamemnon, the Libation bearers, and the Furies - Project Gutenberg tr. by E.D.A. Morshead

 

Æschylos Tragedies and Fragments by Aeschylus - Project Gutenberg
tr. by E.H. Plumptre The Eumenides (The furies) of Aeschylus : tr by Gilbert Murray - Internet Archive

Aeschylus, Eumenides Perseus Digital Library Aeschylus, Eumenides tr. by Herbert Weir Smyth AESCHYLUS, EUMENIDES - Theoi Classical Texts Library H.W. Smyth

Oresteia : Aeschylus The Furies tr by Peter Meineck- Internet Archive

The Oresteia : Aeschylus The Eumenides - Internet Archive tr. by Robert Fagles


Oresteia : The Eumenides tr by Richmond Lattimore - Internet Archive


Oresteia : Aeschylus Libation Bearers - Internet Archive tr by Richmond Lattimore


The Eumenides of Aeschylus = Aischylou Eumenides : Aeschylus - Internet Archive tr by A.W. Verrall Aeschylus (2018). The Oresteia: Agamemnon, Women at the Graveside, Orestes in Athens. Liveright. ISBN 978-1-63149-467-3. tr. by Oliver Taplin
Aeschylus (1853). Aeschyli Eumenides. Macmillan.


Performing Oaths In Classical Greek Drama [PDF] [2fq8blsk4160]


Audio/Visual

Episode_029_the_mound_and_the_furies Doug Metzger


Oresteia: Eumenides (The Furies) by Aeschylus - YouTube


Aeschylus's Eumenides. Lecture 6 by Michael Davis - YouTube

Aeschylus's Eumenides. Lecture 7 by Michael Davis - YouTube

Oresteia: Eumenides, Aeschylus - Center for Hellenic Studies

Aeschylus' Oresteia - The Furies (BBC Radio 3) - YouTube

Aeschylus: The Eumenides - Summary and Analysis - YouTube


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