The Eumenides: The Myriads Of The Gods

In ancient Greek mythology there can be found a god for nearly every aspect of life which governs the everyday mortal, from justice (Dike), vengeance (Nemesis), hospitality (Zeus), and even family affairs (Hestia). Just glancing at the myriads of gods, it would seem implausible that a human would have any control over his or her own fortune or vice considering how there is a god which rule nearly every characteristic or action which makes up a mortal. The gods are in fact so integrated into the lives of the mortals, that any fortune or hardships mortals bring upon themselves can ultimately be attributed to the pleasure, disapproval, or urgings of the gods. Although mortals can bring upon each other pain and prosperity sometimes in the form

Fortune also is not always carried out by just the gods, for instance, in the play the Eumenides when the conflict between the Furies and Orestes evolves into a more diplomatic dilemma with the appearance of the goddess Athena. Athena revealing herself and allowing this conflict to be judged by other mortals is a way for these members of the court to enact either misfortune or favor upon Orestes by deciding his fate between being cleared of his crimes, or being forced to eternal damnation by the hands of the Furies. This decision by the judges, although a clear example of how mortals can push either favor or misfortune on one another in this decision is still influenced by the input of the gods who ultimately decided Orestes fate as Athena proclaims herself as the one who will “render the final judgement” (748). Although the members of the Athens court system are ultimately deciding a part of Orestes fate, still the gods will prevail human reasoning; further pushing the argument that the mortal’s own actions upon themselves will have some form of godly influence whether direct or indirect. More evidence of this kind of minor fortune and misfortune being carried out on other mortals but ultimately overpowered by the influence of the gods can be found when the goddess Artemis forces Agamemnon to sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia if he wants to safely sail to Troy for war (the Agamemnon 200-210). Although Agamemnon’s sacrifice is a terrible and evil act to commit, he has no choice but to follow the orders of Artemis. It can be thus interpreted that because it was of the will of the goddess Artemis which forced Agamemnon to sacrifice Iphigenia, then it is in fact the goddess who is enacting such a misfortune on not only Agamemnon as punishment for the disrespect of Artemis, but also is a grave and fatal circumstance for Iphigenia as, although she may not be