Aeschylus’ THE FURIES (translated by Peter Meineck)
Due Monday, April 19, 2021, along with Libation Bearers.
Illustration: Orestes at Delphi. Apollo holds pig above his head to purify Orestes from the murder of Clytemntestra. Next to Orestes is the Omphalos, or navel stone of the world. To the right, Apollo’s sister Artemis. To the left, the Ghost of Clytemnestra attempts to wake up the sleeping Furies. They are very tired from chasing Orestes, who is obviously a fast runner.
Click here to see Dr. Levine’s thoughts on the Oresteia and its connections to the Odyssey.
20. In the Prologue, spoken by the Pythia, what is the relationship between Apollo and Zeus? (15ff) How is this emphasized at 614ff?
21. In the Prologue, why does the Pythia re-enter from the Temple, “scurrying on all fours”? What is the “center-stone,” and what is its name in Greek? How does the Pythia describe the Furies?
22. How does Apollo calm Orestes’ fears? (64ff) What does Apollo say about his brother Hermes and his father Zeus? How are these gods important to the story? (88-93)
23. What kind of reciprocity does the Ghost of Clytemnestra expect from the Furies? Why does she refer to a “hunting net”? How might this reference to a “net” recall the death of Agamemnon? (105ff)
24. Why do the Chorus members refer to “these new gods” at line 162? Why are there so many references to “old” and “young” gods in this play? (349, 393, 490, 727, 731, 778, 848, 883)
25. How does Apollo describe the “justice” of Persians and other Eastern “barbarians”? (180-196, and note)
26. How does the Chorus distinguish between husband-killing and mother-killing? (211ff, 604-605)
27. How was Orestes purified from murder? What does he offer to the Athenians if their goddess Athena receives him well? (276-298)
28. In the Chorus’ “Spellbinding Song” they say that “Zeus detests our gruesome kind, and shuns us from his side” (365) and “The gods hate our gory share, shunned in sunless grime” (385). Why is there this antipathy between the Furies and the gods?
29. What is Athena’s dilemma? How is she “damned if she does, and damned if she doesn’t?” How does she propose to solve this problem? (470-489)
30. If Apollo appears on the roof of the scene building at line 572ff, what might the spatial relationship between him and the Chorus would Aeschylus be making? (note 574) What does “chthonic” mean, and how is it related to the Furies?
31. Why does Apollo say that the “mother” is not the “true parent”? What example does he give to prove this? (657ff)
32. How does Athena establish the court of the Areopagus? What historical event in Athenian history might this passage reflect? (681ff, and note)
33. Why does Athena always “defer to the male“? (734ff)
34. How might Orestes’ oath to Athena regarding the future of Argive-Athenian relations be an allusion to actual Athenian history? (753ff, and note)
35. What veiled threat does Athena make while trying to calm down the Furies? (824ff)
36. What rewards does Athena offer to the Furies if they will relent from their wrath? (853ff, 894ff)
37. What kind of “division of labor” does Athena propose for herself and the Furies at Athens? (903ff)
38. What does the Chorus say about stasis? Why is this important to Athens? (976ff)
39. This play is also called EUMENIDES. Why? (1003ff, and note)
Click Here to see the Questions on Libation Bearers, also due on Monday, April 19, 2021
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