The Greek poet and playwright Aeschylus wrote “The Libation Bearers” as a sequel to “Agamemnon”. Its name comes from the ancient Greek religious practice of Libation, which is a basic showing of piety that you do often to appease the gods and dead humans. In the story, the dead were not being appeased because libations were not offered. Differing from “Agamemnon”, the chorus is made up of captured Trojan slaves who converted to Greek religion. 

In this play Zeus is once again in charge, yet seems to always be in the background instead of making every decision. Still, everyone praises Zeus since this was basic to Greek thought. The god Apollo is the most important of the Olympians in this play. Orestes, Agamemnon’s son, promises Apollo that he will kill his father’s murderers, but Apollo has to validate the legitimacy of this oath. He eventually does at the conclusion. There is another set of gods called the “furies” or “hounds.” They are gods of retribution and avenge people who have been murdered. Described as being relentless in their revenge, they are feared by the characters. 

One of the other vital Olympian gods in “The Libation Bearers” is Hermes who is a messenger of Zeus to the underground gods. He is known as a trickster and will sometimes change Zeus’ message to get what he wants. There are gods of the “hearth” who provide the well-being and success of each individual family, and they are the ones that must be offered Libations. Fate, time, fear, and justice are described as invisible forces or gods themselves. Like in “Agamemnon”, bloodshed is dealt with by more bloodshed; justice is constant and merciless. Fate is a large part of the story; the outcome of men’s actions depend on it. The succession of Agamemnon’s family is unclear and we don’t know if Orestes becomes the ruler, but in the end, Orestes kills his father’s murderers fulfilling the oath. 

By 70 BC, Rome was gravitating toward an Empire instead of a Republic like how they had been traditionally for hundreds of years. Many influential Romans still wanted to preserve the Republic, including Sulla who implemented various reforms around 50-60 BC. After Sulla’s death, three prominent Roman men gained immense power. They were Crassus, Pompey, and Julius Caesar and are known as the First Triumvirate.

Both Crassus and Popmpey became consuls, at that time one of the highest positions in Rome. The First Triumvirate started to get rid of Sulla’s laws and tried to undermine the power of the Senate and consolidate power in favor of an imperial system. Eventually, Caesar also took the office of consul, but more importantly he got large military commands. Crassus died in 53 BC, now leaving only Pompey and Julius Caesar in a power struggle for the most influential man in all of Rome. While Pompey was back home in Rome, Caesar continued to win countless military victories in Gaul and northern Europe, but key senators decided to support Pompey over Caesar, believing Caesar to be power hungry. 

The Senate boldly commanded that Julius Caesar disarm his army. Obviously, he refused as he had control of the most numerous soldiers. Caesar led his legions of men in a march on Rome. After a brief civil war between Caesar and Pompey and his supporters, Julius Caesar was victorious. Throughout a three-to-four-year period, he consolidated power, becoming dictator in 48 BC and dictator for life in 44 BC. In fear, the Senate honored Caesar and was promptly filled completely with his supporters. Not a brutal dictator, Julius Caesar was fair, had mercy on his enemies, and was generally beloved by the people. Some of his accomplishments include: creating a new calendar, granting citizenship to many people, and establishing colonies for veterans. 

There were some former Senators that resented Julius Caesar and even some of his associates and supporters that thought he had gained too much power. So in 44 BC, they assassinated Caesar who was  stabbed and was famously killed by his close friend Brutus. After Caesar’s death, the biggest question in Rome was the problem of the power gap that was left open. Two men would emerge into yet another power struggle: Marc Antony, a close associate of Julius Caesar and who was furious at the men responsible for killing him, and Octavian, a young ambitious man who was named heir to the throne by the Senate. 

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.