Progression from Evil to Good in Oresteia
Aeschylus' use of darkness and light as a consistent image in the Oresteia depicts a progression from evil to good, disorder to order. In the Oresteia, there exists a situation among mortals that has gotten out of control; a cycle of death has arisen in the house of Atreus. There also exists a divine disorder within the story which, as the situation of the mortals, must be brought to resolution: the Furies, an older generation of gods, are in conflict with the younger Olympian gods because they have been refused their ancient right to avenge murders between members of the same family. The Oresteia presents two parallel conflicts, both of which must be resolved if harmony is ever to be desired again. As one can expect, these conflicts eventually do find their resolutions, and the images of darkness and light accompany this progression, thereby emphasizing the movement from evil to good.
The use of darkness imagery first emerges in the Agamemnon. In this first play of the trilogy, the cycle of death which began with the murder and consumption of Thyestes' children continues with Clytaemestra's murder of Agamemnon and Cassandra. The darkness which is present in the beginning of the story is further magnified by the death of Agamemnon. This is illustrated when Clytaemestra says, "Thus he [Agamemnon] went down, and the life struggled out of him; and as he died he spattered me with the dark red and violent driven rain of bitter savored blood" (lines 1388-1390). Clytaemestra has evilly and maliciously murdered her own husband; thus the image of the dark blood. The darkness is representative of the evil which has permeated the house of Atreus, and which has persisted with this latest...
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...ing themselves the Eumenides, or Benevolent Ones, these gods have progressed from symbols of evil darkness into symbols of bright goodness.
In his trilogy the Oresteia, Aeschylus' use of darkness and light imagery coincides with his progression of themes. Orestes, who represents light, brings and end to the vicious cycle of dark death continued by Clytaemestra. He illuminates the dark evil in the house of Atreus. Likewise, Athene and Apollo bring the Furies out of their dark, blood-lusting ways and into an order of justice and reason, transforming them into the brightly clad Benevolent Ones. In the end, goodness prevails over evil just as light conquers darkness. Aeschylus effectively makes use of his images to emphasize this movement.
Works Cited:
Aeschylus. “The Oresteia.” Aeschylus: The Oresteia. Tran. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin Books, 1979.
At first glance, the picture of justice found in the Oresteia appears very different from that found in Heraclitus. And indeed, at the surface level there are a number of things which are distinctly un-Heraclitean. However, I believe that a close reading reveals more similarities than differences; and that there is a deep undercurrent of the Heraclitean world view running throughout the trilogy. In order to demonstrate this, I will first describe those ways in which the views of justice in Aeschylus' Oresteia and in Heraclitus appear dissimilar. Then I will examine how these dissimilarities are problematized by other information in the Oresteia; information which expresses views of justice very akin to Heraclitus. Of course, how similar or dissimilar they are will depend not only on one's reading of the Oresteia, but also on how one interprets Heraclitus. Therefore, when I identify a way in which justice in the Oresteia seems different from that in Heraclitus, I will also identify the interpretation of Heraclitus with which I am contrasting it. Defending my interpretation of Heraclitean justice as such is beyond the scope of this essay. However I will always refer to the particular fragments on which I am basing my interpretation, and I think that the views I will attribute to him are fairly non-controversial. It will be my contention that, after a thorough examination of both the apparent discrepancies and the similarities, the nature of justice portrayed in the Oresteia will appear more deeply Heraclitean than otherwise. I will not argue, however, that there are therefore no differences at all between Aeschylus and Heraclitus on the issue of justice. Clearly there are some real ones and I will point out any differences which I feel remain despite the many deep similarities.
The play ends with a wild outburst of passion and despair from Orestes. He is the sport of the gods. In his anguish the day seems to darken round him, and he sees a vision of his rival and his love:
(Macbeth 1. 1. line 1). This is a good example of darkness imagery because when
Though vegetarianism was never a taboo subject as are some other controversial topics, The question of whether or not human beings should live off meat still is highly discussed amongst all types of people. Spiritual leaders, activists, scientists, and doctors have spoken up on behalf of their group’s opinion. Amongst the arguments of what is right when it comes to the food chain, resonating on many a mind is where the concept of vegetarian came from. Was it started as a religious virtue or a moral decision? Perhaps it was a forced lifestyle or a diet trend gone wrong (or right depending). Health wise, which is better for us? Educating ourselves by answering these questions helps us answer the, perhaps, most important question of all. Which lifestyle will we, as individuals, choose?
Orestes’ revenge is the first important example of the gods’ revenge in the poem. In Book 1, Hermes told Aegisthus, “’Don’t murder the man,’ he said, ‘don’t court his wife. Beware, revenge will come from Orestes…” (Homer 260). King Nestor delivers the story of Orestes’ revenge to Odysseus’ son Telemachus, while Telemachus is visiting Nestor to discover answers about his fathers’ whereabouts. In Book 3 of The Odyssey, King Nestor tells this of Agamemnon, “…Aegisthus hatched the kings’ horrendous death” (Homer, 285). King Nestor continues on telling of the revenge Agamemnon’s son Orestes has on Aegisthus, “Orestes took revenge, he killed that cunning, murderous Aegisthus…”(Homer, 285). This example of Orestes’ revenge shows that the gods should be listened to or they will give horrific revenges to those who disobey.
But for darkness its the opposite, all the bad events took place during the night, for example when Macbeth goes to kill king Duncan because of greed, he wasn't happy with the position he received, he wanted to be king so he can have more power. Another example of Darkness is when the witches come to tell him his prophecy (I, iii, 125). This is a type of tragic situation because if the witches hadn't appeared and told Macbeth that he would be king, he wouldn't have so much lust. In this scene, Macbeth describes the witch as an ugly old lady dressed in black. The color black represents the witch’s evil nature.
The myths which prove the contradictory behavior of the gods, acting as both benefactors and tormentors of man, can readily be explained when viewed in light of the prime directive for man, to worship the gods and not “overstep,” and the ensuing “Deus ex Mahina” which served to coerce man to fulfill his destiny as evidenced by the myths: “Pandora,” “Arachne, and “Odysseus.” Humankind and it’s range of vision over the gods beauty and power portrayed them to be benefactors but unseemingly it depicted their affliction towards humans.
The vegetarian diet has become very popular in the United States. How does not eating meat affect a person's health? It is important for people to eat a nutritious diet that will fuel their body. Some people think the vegetarian diet is bad for a person because there are so many nutrients that we can only get from meat.The vegetarian diet has a stigma that it is not very healthy, however the vegetarian diet can be very beneficial to a person's health.
Throughout Oedipus the King, Sophocles employs one continuous metaphor: light vs. darkness, and sight vs. blindness. A reference to this metaphor occurs early in the play, when Oedipus falsely accuses Tiresias and Creon of conspiracy: Creon, the soul of trust, my loyal friend from the start steals against me... so hungry to overthrow me he sets this wizard on me, this scheming quack, this fortune-teller peddling lies, eyes peeled for his own profit—seer blind in his craft!
... a dark setting used which involved supernatural events, while the light setting was used for last battle, when Macbeth was slain at the end to show the restoration of peace and honesty. Thus the symbolism of light and darkness representing good and evil in the play emphasizes the theme of corruption of power.
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