Monthly Archives: April 2024

Aeschylus’s “The Eumenides”

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The Furies attacking Orestes.

Originally, “The Eumenides” were nothing but a personification of curses pronounced upon a guilty person. The name Erinys, which is the more ancient title, was derived by the Greeks, while the name Eumenides signifies “well-meaning” and was used in reference to gods because people were too scared to use their real names in conversation.

At the start of “Eumenides,” a priestess declared that Apollo would be a prophet. The priestess was frightened of the powerful furies and fear overwhelmed her. Vowing to protect Orestes, Apollo called on Hermes to watch over Orestes, so Hermes got Orestes out of Athens. The furies were angered by this, and tried to take Orestes to the underworld to face judgment.  

The furies invoked justice and demanded expiation. Fate gave the furies this work, since immortal gods could not lay hands on the furies, who are the ultimate justice. Moreover, the furies could not be appeased, even after the Greeks gave Athena land in Troy and Orestes sacrificed pigs. Therefore, Apollo bore responsibility and Athena could not dissolve the dispute. The furies consented to a trial, but then quarreled with the god Apollo over whose system of justice would decide it. 

Since the gods went against the furies, the furies vowed twice to destroy the city of Athens. However, they slowly consented to the gods and eventually promised positive sanctions to the Greeks. This resolved the conflict between the gods of Mount Olympus and the gods of the underworld, and Athens agreed to sacrifice to both sets of gods in exchange for protection. 

In the “Oresteia Trilogy,” which are the books of “Agamemnon,” “The Libation Bearers,” and “The Eumenides,” the furies had power over the gods, but the gods could still defy them due to their great strength. In the end, the furies, the gods of the underworld, and the gods of Mount Olympus came to a civic resolution, and the Greek people agreed to worship all of them. 

Sparta: Greece’s Superpower

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Typical Spartan warrior.

When one hears the word Sparta, images of elite soldiers fighting the forces of Persia usually come to mind. However, few know of the home life of Sparta or how they became the ancient military powerhouse they’re remembered as today. 

Spartan militarism began with the invasion of Messenia in the 8th century BC. After conquering Messenia, Sparta enslaved the inhabitants and gave its own citizens use of Messenian lands. The slaves were treated poorly by their Spartan captors, a situation which boiled over and eventually resulted in a mass slave revolt. The Spartans quelled this rebellion, but to prevent such an uprising from happening again Sparta became much more militaristic in order to keep the Messenians in subjugation. Moving forward, this is why Sparta would have such an intent focus on military strength. 

At age seven, Spartan males left home for 13 years of military training. The boys were given one cloak, no shoes, and just enough food to keep them alive. The winters were cold and the food was barely enough to live off of, so they had to steal or forage extra to survive. However, if they were caught stealing, they would be harshly punished. 

After this arduous training at age 20, these soldiers entered into the citizen army and were allowed to marry. At age 30, they became citizens but despite this achievement still had to eat at public mess halls. This helped to enforce the idea that the State and Sparta were more important than one’s own family. Even though the quality of each individual soldier was far superior to that of Athens or the other Greek city states, the Spartans did have two significant challenges. Firstly, Sparta did not have a strong navy to rival the Athenian navy. Secondly, fears of slave revolts forced Sparta to keep a significant amount of troops in the homeland. These disadvantages would become evident in the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars. Nevertheless, on land Sparta’s military was unmatched. 

While Sparta’s military prowess is often discussed, life in Sparta is relatively unknown by most people. Even though certain aspects of their history, such as their treatment of the Messenians, were abhorrent, we still must learn what led up to them being the Greek superpower they would eventually become. 

Hesiod’s Theogony

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Pin on Fashion History: Ancient Greece
Sculpture of the Greek god Zeus.

Poetry and plays provide insight into the lives of the ancient Greeks. Their religion was ritual-based, each city-state had its own separate rituals, and citizenship was open only by participating in these customs. Performing as part of the annual festival of the god Dionysus, plays and poems helped unite the society. 

One of these poems was Hesiod’s “Theogony” which was written around 750 BC. In “Theogony,” Hesiod discusses the origins of the Mount Olympus’ gods who are not the same as the local gods, city gods, or gods of the underworld. Although it is the most well-known poem about the story of the gods, it’s not the only one. 

The whole opening section of the poem is a description of gods called “muses”: the daughters of Zeus. He is the supreme god but not omnipotent and he worries about being overthrown. 

Hesiod was a pious man, telling readers to respect the gods and even claiming that the gods told him in a vision to write the poem. However, he highlights multiple times in “Theogony” that they do many immoral and vile things such as murder, deception, and vengeance. Hesiod even points out that since there are no ethical rules among the gods, peace is impossible. 

The story of creation is told in “Theogony” and goes like this: the god chaos was first, then chaos created earth and from chaos came night and day, then earth bore heaven. The gods use humans to get their will and create war and conflict on earth. Interestingly, at birth men are chosen to be either good or evil, and their fate is also decided at that time by the gods. Like in the Old Testament of the Bible, the five fundamental themes are shown in “Theogony.” Sanctions are displayed when men are punished during a feud between two gods. The sanctions include suffering death, blame, woe, and “ruthless avenging fates.” One of these fates is women, who were created to destroy men and are referred to as the “deadly race.” Hierarchy is shown through “Theogony” as well with there being a complex order amongst the gods, with Zeus being supreme.