What Is Aeschylus Representation Of Dispensers Of Justice

In Aeschylus’ “Eumenides,” the Furies play a central role as ancient goddesses that punish wrongdoers. They seem to view themselves as true dispensers of justice. However, disagreements with other gods during the play proves to call their view of justice into question. In this essay, I will explore the idea that the Furies prove to be inconsistent in their dispensation of justice, which would thus invalidate them being representations of justice. However, I will counterargue that the Furies in Aeschylus' "Eumenides" represent a unique form of justice that values family loyalty and evolves through their adaptability, making them representations of consistent dispensers of justice, even in a changing world.

One might think that the Furies

While it is true that the Furies only attempted to punish Orestes and not Clytemnestra, the circumstances of the two murders prove the Furies to be consistent rather than the counter. In the text, the Furies themselves explain why they did not pursue Clytemnestra and did pursue Orestes. In response to Orestes asking why they did not “hound” his mother, the Furies respond “Because she did not kill a blood-relation!” (604-605). In this excerpt, it is conveyed that the Furies role is not to just punish any crime, such as murder. The text indicates that the Furies are more concerned with crimes that violate certain boundaries, such as familial murder. With Clytemnestra’s crime not violating this boundary, the Furies do not view it as something they needed to concern themselves with. Thus, it would have actually been inconsistent for the Furies to have pursued Clytemnestra because the circumstances of her crime did not warrant their involvement. However, that is not to say that the absence of them punishing Clytemnestra is the only contestation of the Furies consistency.

One might object that the Furies are not true representations of justice because they are shown at the end of “Eumenides” to have lost the trial against Orestes. The play very clearly outlines how the goddesses lose the trial and start to speak of retaliation. It could be perceived that the

Throughout the play, other characters express valid concerns about a perceived inconsistency with the actions of the Furies, which would thus invalidate their role as upholders of true justice. However, this clash of consistency and justice is one that solves itself once one looks closely at the text. Additionally, the true justice of the Furies could be disputed by the fact that the Furies did eventually relent in their pursuit of punishing Orestes, which once again could be perceived as an inconsistency that invalidates their justice. However, this is not so much an inconsistency but, as proved by the text, an evolution that allows the Furies to uphold newer forms of justice. The actions of characters in ancient texts are often rather complicated and, at times, confusing, but taking into consideration each perspective is vital to understanding the whole