O RA L T R A D IT I O N

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Erick Armstrong
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1 Euripides Orestes

O RA L T R A D IT I O N Historical Periods BRONZE AGE ca. 3000-1150 BCE Minoans, Myceneans, legendary Trojan War DARK AGES ca. 1100-800 BCE ARCHAIC PERIOD ca.

2 O RA L T R A D IT I O N Historical Periods BRONZE AGE ca BCE Minoans, Myceneans, legendary Trojan War DARK AGES ca BCE ARCHAIC PERIOD ca BCE alphabet, Homeric epics CLASSICAL PERIOD BCE The Golden Age; tragedy and comedy at Athens HELLENISTIC PERIOD 323- ca. 150 BCE Library at Alexandria ROMAN PERIOD ca. 250 BCE- 450 CE tradinon of performance arts, comedy

3 Homer Development an alphabet in the Archaic Period allows stories from the oral tradi;on can be wrisen down, solidified in texts Homer: Iliad (c. 750 BCE), Odyssey (c. 725) Epic Cycle: stories surrounding the Trojan War Bust of Homer from HellenisNc period 3

4 Three Classical Tragedians Aeschylus ( BCE) Sophocles ( BCE) Euripides ( BCE) 4

5 Aeschylus Oresteia 458 BCE Aeschylus last producnon in Athens Trilogy Agamemnon nostos The Liba9on Bearers The Eumenides So- called Mask of Agamemnon

6 Play #1 of the Oresteia Trilogy: Agamemnon all cita9ons from Robert Fagles transla9on, 1984

7 The Chorus Chorus presents background- Sacrifice of Iphigenia

8 Agamemnon s return 1879, IllustraNon from Stories from the Greek Tragedians by Alfred Church

9 Cassandra No... no... a house that hates the gods... house full of death, kinsmen butchered... heads chopped off... a human slaughterhouse awash in blood (ll ) O evil woman, you re going to do it. Your own husband, the man who shares your bed once you ve washed him clean... there in the bath.... (ll ) But I must go. I ll lament my death, and Agamemnon s, too, inside the house. (ll )

10 Agamemnon screams out (ll. 1590ff) 470 BCE

11 Cassandra s death 430 BCE

12 Clytemnestra over the body of Agamemnon 490 BCE

13 Clytemnestra Then hear this, too, the force behind my oath by that Jus;ce I exacted for my child, by Ate, goddess of destrucnon, by the Fury to whom I offered up this man my hopes will never walk these halls in fear, so long as Aegisthus stokes the blazing fires in my hearth. And he s as loyal to me now as always, my shield, no man to trifle with. (ll )

14 Collier, 1882

15 Aegisthus and Clytemnestra Pierre- Narcisse Guérin, 1817

16 Play #2 of the Oresteia: The Liba9on Bearers Orestes shows up

17 Orestes, Electra, Pylades at Agamemnon s tomb 330 BCE

18 Orestes kills Aegisthus Apulia, BCE 18

19 Orestes kills Clytemnestra Campania, 340 BCE

20 Watch out the hounds of a mother s curse will hunt you down (911) Olympia, 570 BCE 20

21 The Furies/Erinyes No, no! Women look like Gorgons, shrouded in black, their heads wreathed, swarming serpents! - - Orestes, ll Alc, 525 BCE

22 Play #3: The Eumenides ResoluNon to this Conflict

23 Furies Chasing Orestes Italy, 370 BCE

24 Orestes grabs the Delphic omphalos, Athena, Apollo, Furies below, BCE

25 Apollo sends Orestes to Athens for a trial The Areopagus, site of murder trials

26 Apollo Here is the truth, I tell you see how right I am. The woman you call the mother of the child is not the parent, just a nurse to the seed, the new- sown seed that grows and swells inside her. The man is the source of life the one who mounts. She, like a stranger for a stranger, keeps the shoot alive unless god hurts the roots. I give you proof that all I say is true. The father can father forth without a mother. Here she stands, our living witness. Look Child sprung full- blown from Olympian Zeus, never bred in the darkness of the womb but such a stock no goddess could conceive! (ll , Fagles)

27 Orestes acquised by Athena s vote My work is here, to render the final judgment. Orestes, I will cast my lot for you. No mother gave me birth. I honour the male, in all things but marriage. Yes, with all my heart I am my Father s child. I cannot set more store by the woman s death She killed her husband, guardian of their house. Even if the vote is equal Orestes wins. - - Athena, ll (Fagles)

28 Athena born from Zeus Head BCe

Development of Democracy in Athens Government in the later Archaic Period 9 Archons, Ekklesia (Assembly), Heliaia (Court) Areopagus council Reformers Solon (594 BCE): expansion of Ekklesia and

29 Development of Democracy in Athens Government in the later Archaic Period 9 Archons, Ekklesia (Assembly), Heliaia (Court) Areopagus council Reformers Solon (594 BCE): expansion of Ekklesia and Heliaia; addinon of Boulē (Council) Cleisthenes (509 BCE): reorganizanon of Boulē Ephialtes (462 BCE): drasncally reduced power of the Areopagus, but snll in charge of murder cases Oresteia 458 BCE

30 FoundaNon of the Areopagus Court But since the maser comes to rest on us, I will appoint the judges of manslaughter, swear them in, and found a tribunal here for all Nme to come. Athena, ll

31 Areopagus

32 Furiesà Eumenides Apulia, 4 th c.

33 So what can Euripides do, telling the story of Orestes following in the shadow of Aeschylus Oresteia? characters: addinon of Helen and Menelaus psychological state of Orestes change themanc focus: family strife/familial curse vs. polincal facnons deus ex machina

Prologue: The watchman tells about the hardships of his long watch, & is joyful when he sees the beacon announcing the fall of Troy.

Prologue: The watchman tells about the hardships of his long watch, & is joyful when he sees the beacon announcing the fall of Troy. Lifelong Learning course Oresteia trilogy, by Aeschylus structure Douglas Kenning (line numbers correspond to Lattimore's Chicago translation). parados = 1 st entrance of the Chorus, usually from the parados