Peith on Trial Aeschylus Oresteia Part 3 Eumenides

Peithō on Trial: Aeschylus’ Oresteia Part 3: Eumenides

Aeschylus Eumenides p. 231 PYTHIA First of the gods I honour in my prayer is Mother Earth, the first of the gods to prophesy, and next I praise Tradition, second to hold her Mother’s mantic seat, so legend says, and third by the lots of destiny, by Tradition’s free will — no force to bear her down — another Titan, child of the Earth, took her seat and Phoebe passed it on as a birthday gift to Phoebus, * Phoebus a name for clear pure light derived from hers. * Phoebus = Apollo, whose oracle (place of prophecy) Delphi currently is.

SUCCESSION MYTH Ouranos (sky) sexually smothers Gaia (Earth) Kronos (Titan) castrates father Ouranos, eats his own children (Olympian gods). Zeus (Olympian) overthrows Kronos, forces regurgitation of other Olympians, rules universe.

Eumenides, and Oresteia as a whole, as speech act?

Agenda • Group Oral Report • Aeschylus’ Eumenides • Recap and Update • What Kind of Progress? • Discussion • Peithō in Eumenides: Theory Lenses that Work?

Group Oral Report Aeschylus’ Eumenides

Recap and Update What Kind of Progress?

Question. . . Can persuasion-based. . . – – politics justice . . . work?

Oresteia: Larger Movements From. . . To. . . • matriarchy • palace kingdom • patriarchy • polis – monarchy, tyranny • • vendetta justice strife (stasis) Argos peithō – politics • • procedural justice order (eunomia) Athens peithō

Eumenides: Parallel Conflicts Orestes sky gods (Olympians) younger male orientation institutional justice democrats Furies earth gods vs. older female orientation self-help justice aristocrats

Foundation: Areopagus Court ATHENA: And now if you would hear my law, you men of Greece, you who will judge the first trial of bloodshed. Now and forever more, for Aegeus’ people this will be the court where judges reign. This is the Crag of Ares, where … (Aeschylus Eumenides p. 262)

Areopagus: Powers, Functions Early 400 s • Staffing – Ex-archons – Aristocrats • Functions – Legislative (veto) – Judicial • Homicide • Sacred olive trees Post 461 BCE • Staffing – Same • Functions – Judicial only. . . 507 BCE Cleisthenic reforms. 490 -479 Persian Wars. 463 -461 Ephialtes’ ascendency. 461 Areopagus reforms. 460 Argos a democracy. Alliance with Athens. 461 Ephialtes assassinated. 458 Oresteia produced.

Peithō in Eumenides • • Delphic spin (prologue) Apollo’s peithō (234) Furies’ Binding song (245 ff. ) Pistis entekhnos (258 ff. ) • “Artful proof” (Apollo’s anti-motherhood gambit) • Athena-Furies “Buy-in” scene • Athena’s peitho

Discussion Peithō in Eumenides: Theory Lenses that Work?