The Oresteia starts with the plea of a watchman, “I beg the gods to release me from my misery”(3). The petition of Aeschylus shows us the struggles of his characters. The house of Atreus has a corruption curse, which is not breakable by mortals. It is their fault, and now they are trapped in a vicious cycle of death and misery. Only gods have the power to alleviate the suffering of those who reside in the Atreus household. Aeschylus uses pollution in Atreus’ house as a tool to convince Atreus that a greater force – a God – is required to stop the cycle.
Aeschylus’ use of language in Cassandras speech in Agamemnon illustrates Atreus’ house as a polluted place. Before Cassandra enters the house in which she will be killed, she addresses the Chorus.
CASSANDRA. The house smells of murder and drips blood.
CHORUS. How? How? The smell of burning sacrifices is a common one.
CASSANDRA. The vapor from the tomb is so obvious!
CHORUS. You must not describe the house as a Syrian palace! (37)
Cassandra mentions that the house itself is “breathing homicide” in order to foreshadow her own and Agamemnon’s deaths, as well all future deaths. Cassandra uses the word house to describe the impending deaths, rather than mentioning a murderer. The house, Cassandra says, “breathes,” as though it is alive. It is as if this house is the one responsible for murders. The curse of Atreus’ house is a major theme in the trilogy. Aeschylus describes the house as “breathing blood, and dripping murder” in his description. . This vapor reminds me of pollution. The house of Atreus is polluted with a cycle that includes murder and corruption. Agamemnon had killed Clytemnestra’s sister, so Clytemnestra murdered Agamemnon. As Cassandra has predicted, Clytemnestra too will die, and this cycle of corruption and murder will continue. Cassandra suggests in her speech that the gods are needed to break the cycle.
The Chorus, in both the passage above and her entire speech, does not accept what Cassandra says. Her punishment is from Apollo. “She couldn’t convince anyone about anything,” (34). The curse placed on Cassandra highlights the importance of the gods in the trilogy. Cassandra’s curse will prevent her and Agamemnon from being saved. Cassandra cannot stop her own demise because she is cursed. This shows the power of gods, as they can affect mortals’ fates. They will also be required to break the curse placed on Atreus’ house. In the two following plays, the gods become more important in the lives and deaths of the characters as the theme of pollution continues.
Orestes continues the cycle of pollution at Atreus’ house in Libation Bearers. Orestes argues that Clytemnestra killed his dad, which is why he kills her. He hopes this will stop the death cycle in his house. Orestes thinks that Clytemnestra was wronged by her murder, but Orestes does not. Orestes is similar to Clytemnestra in many ways. Both exhibited the corpses of their victims publicly, displayed Agamemnon’s robe, and implied that a divine being was behind the murder. Orestes’ mother also believes that they did the right thing and will end violence. Orestes proclaims: “I tell my friends, it was not unjust that I murdered my mother. Pollution killed my father. And an abomination in the eyes of the Gods” (80). Orestes argues that killing his mother for the crime of murdering his father was justified. Clytemnestra also makes the same argument in regards to Agamemnon. . Is he not the one who you should’ve expelled for polluting the land?” (40). Clytemnestra argues that Agamemnon killed her daughter and polluted the home, thus justifying his murder. Orestes and Clytemnestra’s similarities are important because they show that Orestes is also a polluter of Atreus’ house, just like Clytemnestra. Orestes’ encounter with the Gorgons at the end is a further indication of this. Orestes was also a victim of Clytemnestra. The chorus starts to doubt Orestes’s claim that he has broken the cycle. They tell the story of all the calamities, which includes Orestes.
In the beginning, there were children devoured, followed by a hard and cruel suffering for a husband or king. His death was a brutal slaughter in bath water, as he died in battle to lead the Achaeans. Now a new third one has appeared from someplace, promising safety…or should I say, death? Where is the place of fulfillment, where can the Ruin be stopped by lulling people to sleep? (81)
Orestes, as he appears in this account of the Cycle, isn’t the last but merely another perpetuator. After the Gorgons appear, the Chorus suggests that Orestes is only bringing more death. Aeschylus concludes Libation Bearers with chaos. He asks from where order will be brought and sets up the following play which provides the answer.
The furies bring up the topic of pollution again in Eumenides. Orestes, they say, still has Clytemnestra’s smeared blood on his hands despite Apollo’s purification.
We consider ourselves to be just: those who are pure in their actions, such as this man, who do not conceal bloody hands, will never feel our anger, while we, who act in the name of justice, punish anyone who is guilty, like him, who hides bloody hand, by imposing payment on them with authority. (94)
Furies claim that Orestes is not purified, and demand justice. House of Atreus members thought that they were acting for justice. However, what they actually did was perpetuate a death curse. The goddess Athena is called upon to intervene. Athena does not act the same as the others in the Trilogy. She is a different person. She doesn’t use violence blindly as she knows that Orestes destiny isn’t up to her. “To judge the matter is greater then any mortal thinks,” (98) she says. Athena’s decision to vote for Orestes is a tie. However, it is the fact she used trial and not violence that is most significant.
Athena’s ending of the violence cycle illustrates how rationality can end the violence that has lasted for generations. Atreus’ house was cleansed by Athena and the drama ends on a more positive note. Aeschylus uses pollution to cause chaos in Atreus’ house and the need for a higher power. The chaos and death of the trilogy can be resolved in harmony and order through this intervention.
