Parental Conflict in Greek Mythology

A detailed Summary of Parental Conflict in Greek Mythology

Aeschylus's plays "Agamemnon", "The Libation Bearers", and "Eumenides" were all based on one parent child conflict that gradually manifested into one the best-known curses in Greek mythology. Tantalus, one of Zeus's many sons, started this havoc when he attempted to serve the Gods a dinner consisting of his son, Pelops. The reaction of the angered Gods resulted in the curse on the House of Atreus, which would prove effective as it plagued parents and their children for generations to come. The first of these conflicts is presented in "Agamemnon" as a wife slays her husband in punishment for being a negligent father. An ever deeper dilemma is presented in "The Libation Bearers" as a son avenges his father's death by murdering his mother. The last of the plays, "Eumenides", brings about a sense of closure as the question over parental love and loyalty is raised in a divine trial.

After ten years at war Agamemnon returns to Troy only to be slaughtered at the hands of his loving wife, Clytaemnestra. This is not only because of his "

In punishment for sacrificing a daughter, a wife murders her husband. In punishment for murdering a father, a son incited by Apollo slays his mother. Is the crime a brutal matricide or a much-deserved act of revenge worthy of forgiveness? So went the Trial of the Furies held before the goddess Athena herself. In the end Orestes was victorious as Athena concluded the role of a father is superior to that of a mother. She based this on the fact that a mother is not required to create a child, because she was born out of Zeus's head without a mother at all.

friend", Cassandra, but because of a bitter resentment she has harbored waiting for his return. In order to leave port and sail to war, Agamemnon had sacrificed his eldest daughter, Iphegina. "Oh, but doom will crush me, once I rend my child, the glory of my house- a father's hand stained, blood of a young girl streaks the altar." ("Agamemnon", 207) To Clytaemnestra this was a great betrayal as she felt her husband had chosen the life of a soldier over that of a father. Althoug

Some common words found in the essay are:
Clytaemnestra Orestes, Iphegina Oh, Libation Bearers, Troy Apollo's, House Atreus, Athena Orestes, Tantalus Zeus's, Bearers Eumenides, Bearers Orestes, libation bearers, Trial Furies, parent child, child conflict, war agamemnon, returns troy, parent child conflict, husband punishment, father's death,

Approximate Word count = 697
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous

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Parental Conflict in Greek Mythology

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