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American Philological Association

The Pattern of Aeschylean Tragedy Author(s): Richard S. Caldwell Source: Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, Vol. 101 (1970), pp. 77-94 Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2936041 . Accessed: 24/07/2013 10:00
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THE PATTERN

OF AESCHYLEAN
RICHARD S. CALDWELL University ofTexas

TRAGEDY

A majorobstacle in theway of an inclusive, unified and appreciation criticism of theworkof Aeschylus hasbeenthetendency to study the plays(or trilogies) as discrete related to theother entities, playsonly by distance and contrast.ThusthePersae, Septem, Supplices, Oresteia, and Prometheus have all been regarded, at different timesand by different as anomaliesin the history critics, of Greek tragedy, as virtually separate genres. To be sure, a wide-ranging diversity is exhibited in theAeschylean one ofseveral corpus, waysin whichtheworkofAeschylus hascloser to that affinity ofEuripides thanto that of hisyounger contemporary Sophocles. This wide variety is not, as some suggest, merelythe growing painsof a nascent artform. Ifwe cannot a heroin the find Persae or in theAgamemnon, itisnotbecause these concepts wereyetto be formulated.Thereisno herobecause Aeschylus was notwriting a playabouta hero;forprecisely thesamereason, there isno protagonist in Euripides' a play aboutvictims, Hippolytus, not heroes. A good exampleof the problems caused by basic discrepancies between theplaysofAeschylus is thedebate which hascentered on the nature andpowerofZeus as he isportrayed in these works. Although Aeschylus' deepreligious feeling seems practically theonlycharacteristicofhisworkas a whole(other than linguistic complexity) uponwhich most critics have been able to agree,thesesame critics have been unableto reachanything close to agreement on themeaning of the chief objectof hisreligious feeling. The bestattempt, to date,to establish some sortof unityin our over-allpicture of Aeschylus is thatof C. J. Herington,I who has
I

C. J.Herington, "Aeschylus: The LastPhase," Arion 4 (i965) 387-403.

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Septem) and late(Danaid-trilogy, dividedtheplaysintoearly(Persae, and unified a static from on thebasisof a change Prometheus) Oresteia, (early)to a dividedand chaoticcosmoswhich cosmicbackground of politicaland philosophical reflects the impactupon Aeschylus a valuable provides Herington work of While the (late). innovation whichmight pattern, is no larger does it meanthatthere perspective, and the as thePersae intoplaysas disparate insights provideunified Supplices? sucha pattern, and describe is to suggest of thisessay The objective on the partof concern an enduring of whichreflects the existence forwhichhe wrote. In the of thesociety and,probably, Aeschylus of the to touchalso on thequestion I intend description, course ofthis Zeus. of theAeschylean nature playsof Aeschylus is thatall of theextant my suggestion Briefly, ofthe of theinfluence thestandpoint from examined maybe fruitfully oedipal this an might call we Psychologically, upon hischildren. father are to a certain as we shallsee,all thetragedies of Aeschylus pattern; ofa theeffect of Oedipus. This is not to say that thetragedy extent play, of each aspect is the mostimportant upon his children father it is, I in each play. Nevertheless, or thatit is of equal importance workof in thetotal element single themostimportant would suggest, of someof to show,thebasicmeaning Aeschylus. As I willattempt in all theplays,can of interpretation theplays,as well as problems is neglected. ifthis element be understood hardly Persae Greektragedies all other mostseparate from The playwhichseems and theonlyone tragedy extant theearliest thePersae, is, of course, recent butfrom history. is taken notfrom matter myth whosesubject oriented: oftheplayhasbeenhistorically mostcriticism Accordingly, or the victory accurate? Is it abouttheGreek Is theplayhistorically or does it Greeks victory? Does it praisethe conquering Athenian with the defeatedPersians? While one must reject sympathize to thePersae,2it still of poetry denialof thestatus Golden'sstrange
2 L. Golden, i962) 4I. Carolina (North ofPrometheus In Praise

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Hubris is indeed a sinagainst as both thegods, but, Aeschylus and his contemporary Xenophanes perceived,7 and as Freudcarefully analyzed, godsaremade bymen andofmen. As Freud says, When the finds individual that heis destined growing toremain a child for that hecan ever, never dowithout protection against strange superior helends powers, these powers the features belonging tothe figure ofhis
4A. Lesky, Greek Tragedy (LondonI965) 6i. 5 H. D. F. Kitto, Greek Tragedy3 (LondonI96I) 38, 43.

(744).6

pictured as theidealking, governing in timeof peaceand wisely intime always victorious ofwar(852,-06). In contrast tothedivine rule ofthe agedking (yrjpa&sflacTrAEv'9 854-55), Xerxes isseen byhis father himself asa mere inboth child, ageandintelligence. Xerxes is veOS(782),histhoughts arevEa(782),hisfallis due to vex G Op crE

654, 663, 67I,

" the remains hisstatement that that inthis characters exist play simply as vehicles"3 andLesky's comment that arekept in the "individuals background"4 a common betray inthis belief that historical drama it is nothuman concerns, but questions of state, which matter. A salutary corrective is theview of Kitto, that"Aeschylus was not a play-epic, writing oranything patriotic, else-about the but victory, was constructing a religious drama ... not thetragedy of Persia's butthetragedy ofXerxes' downfall, sin."5 Thisis,I think, thekeyto thematter: what is thesinofXerxes? To saysimply that heisguilty ofhubris isbegging the question; there isno concept so badly inneed ofre-definition, andfor for this play all ofGreek as that tragedy, ofhubris.Theexact nature ofXerxes' sin, ofhisindividual, andyet actofhubris, istobefound archetypal, inthe relationship between Xerxes, Darius, inthe andAtossa, familial tension and domestic tragedy forwhichinternational conflict is but the background setting. Xerxes andhisnation aredestroyed asa direct result ofhisefforts to hisfather surpass Darius. Darius ispresented notonly as a king, but alsoas godandfather in theeyes ofhispeople andhiswife (634, 643,
7II,

856). At theexpense of historical he is accuracy,

3Golden3S.

6 If Groeneboom's interpretation is correct, thechorus also usesve'ose as a pejorative description ofXerxes in lineI 3. 7 See Herington 399.

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whom he seeks theGods whom he dreads, forhimself he creates father; withhisown protection.8 entrusts and whomhe nevertheless to propitiate king,and god which lies at the equation of father, Darius exemplifies the heartof mythand fantasy;it is againstthis awesome figurethat Xerxes commitsthe sin of hubris. The yokingof the Hellespontand the invasionof Greece are indeed gods, but, as Aeschyluspointsout on many offenses to the traditional are due to thejoint occasions,theseactionsand theircauses and effects role and causalityof men and gods alike. In his official responsibility sins (80, I57-58), Xerxes to the divine throneof his father as pretender

gods (e.g., Poseidon750), but in his role as son, the official against thegod in hisown family. he sinsagainst inAtossa's folly isrevealed Xerxes' laybehind which The motivation withDarius: conversation evilmen. They with these by associating things learned Xerxes Fierce but by thespear, for yourchildren wealth great youacquired saidthat at homeand did not actedthewarrior of cowardice, that he,because from evil these reproaches often fortune. Hearing hisfather's increase ofGreece. (753-58) andthe invasion the expedition Xerxes planned men, to surpass and theattempt thedesire stated: Xerxes'sinis hereclearly of as thecontent Atossa's hisfather. However,equallyas important is thefactthatit is she who makesit, forshe had earlier statement of cowardly possessions about theeffect sentiments similar expressed wealth (i6I-67). Faced to useone'spowerto increase and thefailure ofher and confronted ofherson'sdefeat by thepresence withthefact ambitions to "evil men" herown vicarious Atossaimputes husband, thefeelings of herson. Furthermore, in thecareer and involvement if he between proudambition9-even of Atossaforherson vacillate ruleandwillnotbe heldto account (2I3-I4)he willstill is defeated, to hold him to accountherself and the tendency (753-58,cf. 726, Atossais dependent upon predominates, 846-48). While ambition
8 S. Freud, The Futureofan Illusion(StandardEdition: London I954-) 2I, 24. in thelifeof a man is relatedby Herodotusin words 9 Atossa'sambitiousinvolvement to persuadeDarius thatcloselyparallelherblame ofXerxesin thePersae. In herattempt to invade Greece, Atossa says, "A man who is young and the masterof greatwealth so thatthe Persianswill know thatthey should appear to be accomplishingsomething, are ruled by a man" (Herodotus 3.134.2).

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Xerxes,whose presence is, in her opinion,the "eye of the palace" has been dashedand her son is no longera (I69). When ambition itis Xerxes who is dependent to theroleofa child, man,butis reduced andcomfort fortheneeds ofa child, uponhismother clothing (529-3I, we have seen a son drivento In thisinterpretation of thePersae, hisfather, failure by theneedto be greater than impelled by a mother of failure. who nevertheless is quick to blame him in the instance This picture situation thefamily accurately reproduces which,in the thesocialstructure of 5thcentury Greece view of Slater,dominated and shapedthedramatists' of myth. The basiccominterpretations of thisdomestic are theambivalence of themother ponents situation toward hersonandtheson'sinordinate aboutbecoming anxiety greater than his absentfather. The important factorin the constellation described is themother-child by Slater relationship: Sinceshe alternately himas an idealized heroand rejects his accepts masculine one wouldexpect himto develop an abnormal pretensions, concern abouthow others viewhim, andto haveanextremely unstable He willfeel self-concept. that ifheisnota great hero heisnothing, and pride andprestige become more important than love.IO The result of this is theproduction situation of "male children who are highly oedipal... a vicarious involvement of the mother in the lifeof herson... an emotional overload on themother-son relationship... by forcing themother to puttheson in thefather's place."II At this point, we mayaskwhatitmeans to be "highly oedipal." For Slater it means" to be oriented an unattainable toward goal ... to be I2 competitive, dissatisfied, grandiose." But these are secondary symptomatic formations, andwe should expect to find in myth andin mythically-oriented art some indications of the basic meaningof "oedipal striving," which can only be the desireto supplant the father and win the mother. These indications are,I believe,to be inthePersae, found intheelaborate dream sequence ofAtossa (I76-200). She dreams oftwomagnificent sisters, one dressed inPersian robes and
P0 p.

832-38, 849-5I)-

33.

Slater, TheGlory ofHera: Greek andthe Greek Mythology Family (BostonI968)

I2

II Slater46I. Slater46I.

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thefirst paternal inheritance in Doric clothing. Fromtheir theother quarrel, to begin they When Greece. second the Asia, receives sister and thenyokesthemto a to soothethem, attempts Darius appears, is proudof hernew role,but the other chariot. One of thesisters the yoke and causesXerxesto fall. Darius thenappears, destroys hisclothes. tears Xerxes ofhisfather hisson,butat thesight pitying of Xerxes' allegory historical This dreamis, on one level,a patent ourwe permit if level,however, expedition. On a deeper abortive phenomenon asa psychological a dream ofregarding theprivilege selves to extend we mustcertainly a privilege allegory, as well as an artistic in to interpretation also, the dreamof Atossalendsitself Aeschylus we havepostulated. relationships of thefamilial terms to dreamof himcausesa dreamer commonly conflict Intrapsychic persons. In Atossa'sdreamthe two quarreling selfas two separate toward her ambivalence conflict, Atossa'sinternal women represent psychologically, and Greece; are Asia they her son. Allegorically, a child, herson remain that desires conflicting Atossa's theyrepresent possessions failure to expandhis father's through lessthanhis father, who his father, beyondAsia, and thather son succeedand surpass who does not resist the sister could not win Greece. Allegorically, who Xerxes' rule over Asia, while the sister the yoke represents at the handsof theGreeks. Psychologichisdefeat represents rebels betweenthe need ambivalence maternal ally,theyagain symbolize and derogate him, thesonandtheneedto criticize to pleaseandflatter in which the most grandiose relationship "a mother-son reflecting and punctured."13 areat oncefomented self-definitions wellintothepsychological fits which ofthedream Thereisonedetail butnot at all intotheallegorical. Why are thesisters interpretation mainland? Strict father's by lot their as havingreceived pictured that notion the far-fetched would of the produce allegory tenance thetimeof Xerxes. commonrulebefore Greeceand Asiawereunder = the father'sland. In = Atossa the two sisters Psychologically, for Xerxesis not only striving to yoke themtogether, attempting is which of thewhole world,but also forthatpossession possession ofhis his"father's land,"theperson inthewholeworld, valuable most mother.
'3

Slater44.

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his father at whosesight When Xerxesfails, Xerxestears appears, thisforeshadows his clothes. Allegorically, theactualappearance of Darius' ghostand theactualrending of Xerxes'garments.Psychoand the it signifies thefailure of theson'soedipalaspirations logically, and is resultant regression to theoriginal thefather rettrns situation; once moredominant, theson is reduced to thelevelof a childagain. the tearing of Xerxes' clothing Allegorically, his actual represents actionat the battleof Salamis(468) and upon his arrival in Sousa (I030). Psychologically, this action denotesXerxes' reduction to childishness and thedestruction of hisnarcissistic for concern desires; one's clothing and otherforms of body adornment are basicmanifestations of narcissism.'4 Furthermore, the otherside of "narcisI5 maybe seenin theutter sistic oscillation" of Xerxesupon dejection hisreturn, as wellas inhisneed, recognized bybothfather andmother, to be comforted and soothed. Finally, letus reconsider thequestion ofhubris in thePersae. Jones hassaid: The Persians is theone playin theentire extant literature-not justin Aeschylus-which is genuinely andfully founded uponhubris, and the ofthefailure story ofthePersian expedition against Greece isatonewith thework ofart's morality-at oneinprophecy andinthedeeditself and inthequality ofthepoet's single insights.I6 The hubris ofthePersae is thehubris ofXerxes, and maybe defined as the son's aggressive attempt to eclipsethe stature of his father and thereby win theundivided affection of hismother, a definition which accordswell with Slater'sdescription of hubrisas "fundamentally I7 masculine prideand phallic self-sa'isfaction." Septem The Septem, whichseems at first so foreign to thePersae in content, and meaning style, is actually almost identical to it in thelight of the oedipalpattern we have postulated.In fact, theentire play may be
14

See A. Reich, "PathologicFormsof Self-Esteem Regulation," Psychoanalytic Study ofthe ChildIS (New York I960) 2I5-32. x6J. Jones, On Aristotle andGreek Tragedy (LondonI962) 72. I7 Slater 45.
IS

See Slater454-55.

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Xerxes' dream, in Atossa's detail of a single seenas theexpansion or his hismother, whorepresented thetwowomen to subdue desire aboutthehouseof in a trilogy expect land. As we might father's and againto time comes conflict of fratricidal drama this Oedipus, possessions? the father's shall acquire who question: thebasic inabeyance. iskept this question oftheplay, 652 lines Forthefirst someas the ofEteocles a picture we aregiven play, ofthe part In this effecHe and general. administrator butefficient whatmisogynous hisown masculine through of thechorus calms theanxieties tively andpiety, ofrhetoric combination justtheright and,with discipline in Nowhere Thebes.I8 of gates the to defend champions heappoints and atissue. TheCurse conflict ofthe real meaning isthe section this mention, onepassing only ofitall,receives cause the ofOedipus, Fury forthe prays of thegodsto whomEteocles in theroster included andhis ofPolyneices thedescription ofthecity. After preservation is outandEteocles breaks oftheCurse force thefull however, shield, oftheplaycontains linein theremainder almost every transformed; of thesons which for or oftheobjective oftheCurse either mention kill another. one Oedipus venretributive brought which is theFury of Oedipus The Curse andPolyneices. ofEteocles andgrandfather thefather toboth geance tothe allotment ofanequal form the ittakes inthe Septem, Asitappears but of wealth, not equality father's possessions: of their brothers theCursehas encounter, in death. By thetimeof their equality that an extent tosuch ofthe brothers andfeelings lives the over taken the oftheCurse, in theterms is described itself Thebes for thebattle possesofOedipus' have been thedenial must ofwhich element chief of seesthe"division Eteocles to hissons. Evenin hisdreams, sions is the"bitter stranger The Chalybian (7Ii). possessions" hisfather's tothe hehasgiven allotment ofpossessions" (729-30), butthe divider is Ares the not living the is among dead, among brothers (73I-32). he of possessions" divider also a "bitter (44-45), and in addition an "equal" cometrue" curse (945-46)bybeing "makes thepaternal as are described brothers dead the lines A few earlier, divider.I9
18 See T.

Dramas onSix Greek (Texas Essays TheMasks ofTragedy: G. Rosenmeyer,

I963) I6-23, 34-38. 19 Reading &aos forKaKO'g (Weil).

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having received an equal share of possessions(907-8).

evidence we mayconjecture that theCurseof Oedipus, as itprobably inthelostsecond occurred hissonswould was that playofthetriology, shareequallyin deaththatwhichtheycould not agree to sharein

life.20

The "possessions" whichare contested by Eteoclesand Polyneices must obviouslyrepresent Thebes. However, theymust represent something elseas well,forthebrothers as "havingtaken aredescribed by forcethe father's house" (877-78),and there is no suggestion of Eteocles havingtaken, or having attempted to take,Thebes. Thebes figures in the possessions becauseshe is the material object of the conflict and becauseit is on her soil thatthe Curseis fulfilled in all threegenerations.The "possessions" of Oedipusare equivalent to theFuryof Oedipus,hisonlyrealpossession formostof hislife, and " which the"possessions thebrothers share in death isthere-enactment ofthefate ofOedipus, thecompelled repetition ofthesins ofOedipus. As Bacon points out, In taking by force thehouseoftheir father, they putthemselves in the samerelation to Oedipus that Oedipus wasin toLaius. When the sons are laid besidetheir father-brother in Thebanearth theysharetheir mother with as he shared him, herwith hisfather, Laius.21 We noted earlierthatin myththe father and the king are often synonymous; sincetheking'srealmis thecityas thefather's realmis themother, = earth = city we arrive at thesimilar = equation mother thatwhichis possessed by thefather. The destruction of thesonsof Oedipusoccurs forexactly thesamereason as thefallof Oedipus-an attack upon thefather and an attempt to win hischief possession, the mother. Thus,in thebeginning oftheplayEteocles putshisappealto the citizens on behalfof Thebesin terms of the archetypal mother symbol, Mother Earth, "she who raised you as creeping children on her kindlyground,sustaining all the burdenof your upbringing"
(I7-I9). 20H. J.Rose,A Handbook ofGreek Mythology (New York i959) 22I, n. 28, "Oidipus' curse evidently was,'Sincethey cannot dispose aright oftheir ancestral possessions, may they never dispose peaceably ofthekingdom,' or 'Sincethey cannot rightly divide the meat, maythey notdivide thekingdom rightly."' 21 H. Bacon,"The Shield ofEteocles," Arion 3 (I964) 3I.

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is out from inside, whichbreaks the danger passion, The engulfing withLaius,of Eteocles and Polyneices Oedipus rivalry-of incestuous thewoman theland, thecity, eachother-over withOedipus andwith 'v, the mother spring asAmphiaoftheir life source whoisthe (pyrpop gSr-gy .2z line584) Thebes, raus calls shouldnot, of course,be takento mean that This interpretation toward ambitions necrophiliac had conceived Eteoclesand Polyneices Xerxeswas in love withAtossa. It does, anymorethanthat Jocasta, of oedipalmyths meaning repressed meanthattheoriginal however, suchas artist in metaphoric in theworkof a gifted form willreappear is whollyconscious of therepressed thereturn Aeschylus. Whether we cannotsay,but it on thepartof Aeschylus or partly unconscious ofDevereuxthat judgment withthe clearthat we must concur seems "this greatpoet of the deepestlayerof the psyche,"23 Aeschylus, beneath barely in whichwe can perceive, wrotethatkindof poetry whicharethe wishes ungratified theeternally thesurface ofthedrama, of artand life. mainsprings Supplices of an the presence to demonstrate I have attempted elsewhere24 thedaughters myviewisthat intheSupplices.In brief, oedipal pattern play in theoedipalsituation.Everyother fixation of Danaus typify of dynastic succession is concerned withthe vicissitudes of Aeschylus and sons. betweenfathers -with, in otherwords,the relationship of the oedipal is concerned with the aspect opposite The Supplices between the fatherand his daughters. the relationship situation, identifiand their father to their attachment excessive Becauseoftheir and men other love are unable to a they cation with mother-substitute, sex concerning anxiety consumed are therefore by an incapacitating and marriage. However,Danaus is, as Garviepointsout, "superinthelight be interpreted fluous"25 intheaction ofthe plot. Thismust inneurotic roleoffantasy considerations: thedecisive oftwoimportant
Bacon 3I. Accountsof Dreams," G. Devereux,"Observationand Belief in Aischylos' Psychother. Psychosom. i5 (I967) I30. 24 R. Caldwell, and the in Psychoanalysis "The Psychology of Aeschylus' Supplices" ed. J.P. Sullivan (in press). Classics, 25 A. Garvie, (Cambridge I969) I38. PlayandTrilogy Aeschylus' Supplices:
22 23

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ofZeusintheSupplices. behavior andthesignificance Danaus is the ofhisdaughter's butin their hisplace object tragic fixation, fantasy hasbeen taken andomniscient andbya king byanomnipotent deity, those ofZeus. The mother whose imagined powers closely parallel withwhomtheDanaids is their distant ancestor identify Io, whose froma suitor's are compelled situation-a to fugitive lust-they an economical repeat.In terms ofthis andcoherent hypothesis, set ofanswers isprovided for ofthe themajor problems play:the signifofIo andher the tortured importance the wanderings, parthenogenesis ofEpaphus, the roleofthe chorus as protagonist. a satisfactory ofthe Furthermore, which analysis the trilogy Supplices begins cannowbe made. In theDanaids' subjection to their father, andintheir relation toIo, their ofthe mother offantasy equation with the ancestor ofthe we seea portrayal ofthe inwhich race, man grip is whether heldby thepast, theindividual a manbegins pastwhich hisbirth or thesupra-individual with which includes past everything whichcan stillaffect thepresent. As Freudwrote, "the human hasto devote individual himself tothegreat task ofdetaching himself from hisparents, andnotuntil that task isachieved canhecease tobea 26 a member child andbecome ofthesocial community." In thefinal theDaniads'unitary playof thetrilogy, fantasy of themselves as living out thedetermined of thepassion repetition of Io-a fantasy which"is notjust a memory, but thehallucinatory ofmemory, a mode re-animation ofself-delusion substituting thepast from thecollective liberates neurosis, repressed Eros, andemerges as an individual. Her refusal to obeyherfather symbolizes herinner freedom from the father whorestricts loveandfrom the desire tohave a child Whilehersisters bythefather. continue bound to thecomof thepastand their pulsive repetition pathological attachment to is freed their from theburden father, Hypermestra ofherownpast andthat ofherrace. Thechild shedesires andtheloveshefeels are no longer offantasy, products butfor the first time arefirmly situated
26 S. Freud,Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis (StandardEdition: London i6, 337. 27 N. 0. Brown, Life Death Against (New York I959) I64. I954-)

icanceof Zeus, thecharacterization of Danaus,therole of Pelasgus,

for the present" 27is

shattered by Hypermestra, who frees herself

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indiof theDanaides fragment in reality. As theone sizableextant illusion; is no private cates,theEros whichwins over Hypermestra realitywhich "compels the earthto undergo it is the universal of all life and sustenance thegeneration and whichinsures marriage" therelationship shouldbe made concerning points Two additional the Supplays. Of all Greektragedy, to theearlier of the Supplices omniof the statements absolute and expansive themost contains plices potenceof Zeus, a qualitywhichwill be deniedin the Prometheus. pointsout, "is cursorily On the otherhand, Zeus, as Herington and theSeven."28 in thePersians emphasis, withno special mentioned, difference forthisdrastic a reason of our oedipalpattern, In thelight of the the power and effect may be suggested.In the Supplices, psychoand forbothdramatic as such, be presented can hardly father onto the god and kingwith but mustbe projected logicalreasons, andfantasy.In in myth is equated thefather whom,as we haveseen, place,andthepowerofa takes process an opposite plays thetwoearlier of of a dead father. The "possessions" in thefigure god is invested shows Darius which for to the possessions Oedipus are equivalent of Darius and position and thedivinereputation suchgreatconcern, are as mucha livingCurse to Xerxesas Oedipus is to his sons,a as the and ineluctably as surely itspurpose Cursewhichaccomplishes willof Zeus. omnipotent as an aggressive in thePersae hubris appears that It was notedearlier the fits exactly also which definition a to replacethefather, attempt hubrisappearsas a sinsof Oedipus and his sons. In the Supplices and is seennot as a particular of the sons of Egyptus, characteristic of anyonewho attribute but as the necessary flawof theEgyptiads father. In all of the cherished the position would dare to threaten thedivinefigure against is an act of usurpation hubris instances, these of thefather. Oresteia who of theSeptem: we return againto thequestion In theOresteia brother not are the time antagonists This the father? shallsucceed
28 Hegrigton 399.

(fr.T25M= 44N2).

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hisdead father, byhis ofthe killing man whohas, ina sense, committed the sins ofOedipus, byhismaintenance ofthe primary taboos, Orestes earns exoneration from the pursuit oftheFuries, the spirits ofretribution. Ifthearguments ofApollo inthe Eumenides seem specious and basedon technicalities, it is becauseOrestes is onlysuperficially innocent. A very thin lineseparates murder ofa father-figure from patricide, andthe conscious actofmatricide hasanimplied incestuous
29SeeJoelFriedman and SylviaGassel, "Orestes," Psychoanalytic 2o (I95I) Quarterly 433.

incestuous desires forher.29 By hismatricide, by his reverence for

against butmother andlover, whosucceed brother, in their attempt, sonanddaughter, against whoreplace them inturn. Since a complete analysis ofthis massive even iflimited tothe work, we oedipal pattern have been isfar the I ofthis will discussing, beyond scope confine essay, myremarks toa few inthe inthe this keyfactors plot, will hopethat elucidate botha general ofthetrilogy as a wholeand interpretation therecurrent oftheonmipotence question ofZeus. The death ofAegisthus at thehands ofOrestes in is,likeso much Aeschylean tragedy, over-determined. He hasreplaced thefather by killing aswellasbyusurping him, his inthe bedofClytemnestra. place In hiseffeminacy as inhispower, heis a striking of theamsymbol bivalence with which theoedipal father isregarded asthe bythe son, "tallstranger" whohastaken theson's the holder of place, unlimited power over the andyet son, ofthe mother's unworthy love. Furthermore, Aegisthus is theparadigm of theson'soedipal fantasy, the essential basis ofallheroic toreturn myth: from killthe exile, father, andmarry themother.Thusit is forreasons ofjealousy, revenge, andhisown repressed desires that Orestes kills Aegisthus. Forthe first timein Aeschylean tragedy (withthe possible exception of Hypermestra inthe lost a sonhasbeen Danaides), abletoovercome his father. must Clytemnestra die notonlybecause shekilled Agamemnon, but also because shebetrayed herson and abrogated hisrights of succession. In addition, it is through theact of matricide that the ancient taboos ofpatricide andincest areupheld. Again, it is fora multiplicity of reasons that Clytemnestra dies,buttheresult seems unequivocal: by murdering his mother, Orestes totally rejects his

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of forthe ambivalence Greekfeeling The characteristic content.30 jury. the human of tie vote the by expressed is events and emotions and are equallyreprehensible and matricide On one level,patricide level, of the Furies. On another equallysubjectto the vengeance alleconscious guilt,and Orestes' is as real as conscious unconscious violation withhisunconscious gianceto thetabooshasbeenidentical but kills him in the formof his father of them. Orestesreveres but the act in whichhe kills his mother, he repudiates a substitute; is revealed incest. The meaningof the repressed her is symbolic its act contains and theconscious of repression, in the mechanism " opposite: the way up and the way down are one and the same (Heraclitus). of and theprotection of theFuries therights between The conflict and conscious, the basic societaltaboos, betweenthe unconscious forthemaleprinciple victory inan apparent results andreality, instinct a realnora final butthisis neither and Athena, by Orestes advocated is based on the to the long struggle solution. The trueconclusion of are two sidesto humanlife,neither thatthere acknowledgement of This dualism direconsequences. without whichmaybe frustrated and wish,a familiar reality male and female, and irrational, rational two addiin the Oresteia receives in Greekliterature, enoughtheme ambivalencewhich motivates tional dimensions:the instinctual and conscious instincts unconscious between and theconflict Orestes, is neither there his trial. In sucha conflict whichconstitutes reality in a new and a share must receive bothantagonists nordefeat; victory by Athena,who is symbolized unity. The finalsolution inclusive who is both Zeus, by female and male the principles, both embodies serve, andwhombothApolloandAthena to Athena andmother father of spirits of the Furiesinto Eumenides, and by the transformation vengeance. and as of death as well and fertility peace of conthesynthesis of opposites, reconciliation In theparadoxical unsatisfactory moves fromthe ultimately claims,Aeschylus flicting by law and reasonto a utopianvisionof harmony result produced human power. The agentandsymbol beyond effected by something and live with both of man's abilityto understand of apocalypse,
30 See H.

" Mother-Murder Quarterly Psychoanalytic andLegend," inMyth A. Bunker,

I3 (1944) 206.

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dimensions of human is identified in thelastlinesof the nature, play:


ovici MoZtpaTE
ZEV'g <o > rravo'rrras
U?vyKa-E/3a.

Zeus and Moira thusdescended All-seeing In together (I045-46). the partnership of Zeus and Moira, the mutualantagonists of the Prometheus, healing of the "cosmic cleavage"3I is effected and reflected; instinct and reality have met in harmony, and the only obstacle to Zeus' omnipotence is removed, as thetransformed Eumenidesindicate (Eum.9I8). Yet theFuries had earlier referred to Zeus as the archetype of dynastic upheaval(Eum. 640-43), an attitude similar to thecharacterization ofthepowerofZeus in theAgamemnon. The famoushymnto Zeus which begins"Zeus, whoeverhe is" (Agam. I60) identifies this elusive deity as themostrecent in the victor struggle between fathers and sonsforcosmicsovereignty (I67-75), a cosmic paradigm forthetroubles to beset thehouseof Atreus. After thedeathof Agamemnon, thechorus ponders theroleof Zeus in all that hashappened, and,likethechorus of theSupplices, concludes:
Ir yap
o CEtav Wjso

TEAETcUa;

Forwhat is accomplished for mortals without Zeus?


(Agam.I487, cf. Supp.823-24)

Thus Zeus appearsin the Oresteia as a symbolof father rightand dynastic violence, as themysterious causeof all evilor ofall-encompassing good, as finally the ambivalent instinctual lifeno longerat odds withreality. The inference to be drawnfromthis, as well as from theevidence ofthePrometheus, is that Zeus was a concept which Aeschylus tookfrom myth andcultanddeveloped for hisown dramatic purposes. Dependingnot upon Aeschylus' putative theological program butuponhisobservation andunderstanding ofwhatitmeant to be human, "Zeus, and theFuries, are not independent entities but theauthor's meansof sketching thehuman predicament."32
3I

32

See Herington 398-40I. T. G. Rosenmeyer, "Gorgias, Aeschylus andApate," AJP76 (I955)

259.

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Prometheus a playin whichthepowerof Zeus is a constant In thePrometheus, the issueand in whichwe would expectthispower to be clarified, denied by Prometheus of Zeus is expressly omnipotence (5i7-i8, are the of Moira, whose instruments gods and men is the necessity of Moira is meaning Moirai and the Furies(5ii-i6). The ultimate but is based on of limitation, principle not a randomand indefinite divine that whichforbids principle, whatFreudwould call thereality as universally whichmenperceive necessities to men,those aspirations intothecosmosas the project in their livesand whichthey operative ofmyth. fantasies andjudgesof thewish-fulfillment guardians eternal which projections mythical Moirais opposedto those function, In this of the oedipalfantasies life,especially derivefromman's instinctual idea ofmyth. The central whichlie at thecenter love and aggression the and reality, of instinct is thisconfrontation of the Prometheus as King (or hisprojection theFather he who overthrows that necessity willbe overthrown and therefore theFather himself, or God) becomes who exemplifies thatPrometheus, in turn. Thus it is appropriate which is fatedto succeed, rebellion in his stubborn this necessity in subacquiescence theson of Zeus who demands to Hermes, refers of whichrecallDarius' criticism Xerxes,calling in terms ordination, a child"(987). It is Hermes, than moremindless andstill hima "child, to the Father, thegod whoserole is one of absolutesubservience who, like the Danaids,saysof Zeus, "His everyword is fulfilled" are the wordsof Prometheus On the otherhand,the first (I033). theperennial of his mother, invocation sameas thelast,a passionate thefather. against fantasy allyof theson'sconspiratorial oedipalpattern withthefamiliar in thePrometheus We arepresented in which butthemanner their to replace fathers,33 of sonsattempting plays of the other that from is different is portrayed vastly thepattern and god is no longerunlimited; of Aeschylus. The powerof father Eteocles isofDarius, ofZeus,as Xerxes Prometheus isnottherealchild
(NewYorki95i)
3 andtheSocialSciences and Christ," Psychoanalysis 33 See R.. Wayne,"Prometheus 20I-I9.

769-70, 907-3

I).

of ofthenewFather thepower limits Thatwhich

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andPolyneices of Oedipus, theDanaidsof Danaus, and Orestes of themother of Prometheus has no connection Agamemnon; with Zeus,andthewife ofZeushasnonewith Prometheus. Thishighly symbolic isindeed presentation we should a what in which expect play hasrightly Rosenmeyer as an allegory andyetmore perceived than anallegory.34 ifweregard the Furthermore, extant ofAeschylus plays as a continuum, the oftheoedipal symbolic inthe complexity pattern Prometheus a step represents theOresteia, beyond justas theOresteia a progression marked theSupplices. beyond As Herington remarks, "Ifthere wasto be anything the itprobably beyond Oresteta, hadto be this."35 In thePersae we had historical persons and an historical family, albeit presented mythically. IntheSeptem the characters aremythical, butthebrothers arestill theactual sonsoftheir father the Oedipus; is symbolically mother, however, as Thebes. In bothof portrayed these plays, is transferred controlling power from godto a man-god, anditisbecause ofthis power that sons inneither fail; play, therefore, istheomnipotence ofZeusatissue. TheSupplices progresses beyond theearlier playsin several ways:omnipotence is transferred from father to god and king, and is of majormoment in theplay;the characters enmeshed inan oedipal arenotsons tragedy butdaughters; the influence ofthe father hasstill a destructive effect upon hischildren, butinthis instance oneoutoffifty, isabletoescape Hypermestra, from theburden ofthepast andfrom paternal subjection; themother with whom theDanaid's themselves identify is nottheir actual mother (or buttheir mothers) ancestor Io. In theOresteia omnipotence is again an important characteristic ofZeusand,through thesymbolic agency ofthis the power, escape ofHypermestra istransmuted into a dramatization ona cosmic level ofmankind's perennial task ofovercoming the social andpolitical, as wellas the personal andfamilial past. Thisall begins, in thesameway as thePersae, however, in a son'spsychic encounter hisdeadfather. with In the Prometheus thepattern persists, butonly formally, since none of therealrelationships arepresent. Zeusis notthefather of Prometheus and he is not omninotent: Prometheus1 is not hiq scBn
34See Rosenmeyer, The Masks of Tragedy 77-90. 35 Herington 400.

anA

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the hestrives tosupplant tragedy inAeschylean sons likeother while, heisandexposes for what opponent hispaternal herecognizes father, him. ambiguous, is essentially uponhischildren ofthefather The effect In results. anddestructive bothbeneficial and as suchcanproduce is conaspect thedestructive as we haveseen, ofAeschylus, theplays as theZeus of in itsembodiment culminating emphasized, tinually of Prometheus that Zeus is notthefather The fact thePrometheus. asittouches ofthis destructiveness extent paternal pervasive the reveals to use Aesclhylus and also enables and divine institutions all human doneto manbyhissubjection oftheviolence symbol Zeusas a pure a struggle accurately which andsons, between fathers struggle toa bitter and Zeustopower have which brought the mirrors upheavals dynastic in the of Zeus of the limitation the he is. power him By what made Aeschylus in thefuture, fallor change and by hisdestined present neednotbe forever oftheOresteia-the past thevision againaffirms thefuture maybe transformed. repeated,

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