JUSTICE IN THE ORESTEIAN TRILOGY
Justice in the Oresteian Trilogy In ancient Greek religious thought, order and justice are maintained under the administration of Zeus. ... Justice is achieved only when the gods intervene. ... In the second play, The Choephoroe (The Libation Bearers), the chorus sang about the unlawful passions, which it confirms with fearful examples from myth and shows how at last all crimes are overtaken by avenging Justice. ... -may behold my mother’s unholy work, so that he may bear me witness on the day of judgment when it comes that it was with justice that I pursed this killing-that of my mother (for Aegithus death I count for nothing; he has suffered the adultere’s penalty, as is the law). ... Apollo points out that the Furies form of justice is intolerable because it implies a contempt for the marriage bond and will result in generations of blood-feuds. As he says òFor the marriage bed, granted by fate to man and woman, is mightier than an oath, if Justice is its guardian. ... Since all the characters in the trilogy, including the main characters Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, and Orestes, claim justice for their own actions, the final judgment has to descend from a being higher than the human being. ... The essence of Zeus’s ultimate plans is accomplished by revealing the wisdom of justice and order through human beings.