Justice in Oresteia

Democracy, emerging in the city-state of Athens, allowed unprecedented power to her citizens. Among these new powers was the ability to legislate. Yet, legislation was not without its problems. First the citizens must agree upon what is just and unjust, and then enforce the law by bringing the unjust to reconcile their guilt with the public through trial, and finally dispense the appropriate penalty. This evolution was not without concern. The Greeks were attempting to establish a governmental system which would span the middle ground between anarchy and despotism. By the crimes played out in Aeschylus' tragic trilogy The Oresteia, Aeschylus demonstrates the contrast between anarchy and despotism, and judges them both guilty. Indeed he shows, by the end of the play, that the only way man can be absolved of guilt is by joining leagues with the gods in a united effort to promote justice. His premise is supported by sequentially following the criminal legacy of the house of Atreus, and showing that the curse of continued injustice can only be ended by the cooperative effort of man and god.

Aeschylus draws his contrast between anarchy and despotism through the main characters in the play

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Some common words found in the essay are:
Atreus Ag, Oresteia Aeschylus, Atreus Atreus, Oresteia Democracy, Troy Ag, Aegisthus Agamemnon, Aeschylus Furies, Agamemnon LB, Apollo LB, Atreus Eu, anarchy despotism, house atreus, curse house atreus, contrast anarchy, middle ground, anarchy agamemnon, curse house, acknowledges guilt, gods ag, despotism clytemnestra, people eu, contrast anarchy despotism,
Approximate Word count = 1160
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)