The Trojan War in Literature

I mentioned that the Trojan War has been active in Western Literature.  Here is a good list from Wikipedia to show that.  It begins with Homer, of course, then mentions several poems by Saphho and others.  It lists no less than 17 different plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides and others.  And that's just the Greeks!  The Romans talked about it with Virgil and Ovid.  Several medieval authors took a crack at it and the English are represented by Chaucer, Shakespeare, Marlowe and others.  This is an amazing amount of writing.  The only rival in terms of quality and quantity in Western literature is the Bible.

What's the intersection for our reading list?

• In Year Two we read The 'Iliad' first and the followed that up with the works of Aeschylus, 'Agamemnon', 'the Libation Bearers' and 'Eumenides'.
• Year Three has brought us Chaucer's tale of lost love, 'Troilus and Cressida'.
• Year Four will start out with Euripides.  Four different plays, among them 'Trojan Women'.
• In Year Five we'll cover Virgil with 'The Aeneid'.
• Next up, Year Six, we'll go back to Homer with 'The Odyssey'.
• And then a break until Year Ten when we open with Sophocles 'Ajax' and 'Electra'.  

That's nine different pieces, or about 5% of the total works in this reading list.  That's a lot.

Go to War?

A while ago I was asked if this reading list has led me to any big pops of understanding.  I answered that I'd begun to see just how important the idea of challenging the status quo has been.  Another idea occurred to me though.  Quite a bit of what we've read so far has dealt with the terrible costs of war.  Think of what we've gotten from the Greeks:

• Aristophanes - Lysistrata talks about how hard war is on the women at home.  
• Homer - The Iliad shows that the Trojan war was pretty much a disaster for all involved.
• Aeschylus - A continuation of the tragedies of the Trojan war.  Agamemnon's family was simply shredded in the aftermath.
• Herodotus - The parts of the History we read mainly dwells on the follies of various Persian leaders.  Spoilers: they didn't do well.
• Thucydides - The Peloponnesian war was terrible for pretty much every part of Greece.

The only balance I can think of comes from Plutarch where both Alexander and Caesar benefited from war.  And then were killed.  But their deaths were from disease and politics so they seem to be in a little different category.
Some of this is simply timing.  Quite a bit of the classic Greek works were written during the Peloponnesian war.  It understandably dominated the thinking of the time.  But all the same, these are foundational works of Western thought.  You could very easily read some of the greats and come away anti-war. 
At the very least, this reading has put some caution into my thoughts on the subject.  Not that I was rabidly pro-war before.  (In fact, the rabid pro-war person is more of a caricature than an actual representation.)  But my ideas of the costs and benefits have changed.  My threshold for supporting war is much higher than it was before.

Promethian Myths - Aeschylus

Last night, after I'd written about 'Prometheus Bound', I picked up the book that I'm reading and headed off to bed.  I'm reading a collection of articles, essays and short stories by Neal Stephenson called 'Some Remarks' and I'm up to a foreword that he wrote for a David Foster Wallace book.  In a nice show of synchronicity, Stephenson writes about the story of Prometheus (and Eve from Genesis).  Sorry for the long excerpt but I can't find it online.

These are meant to be scary, cautionary tales to keep Bronze Age peons from asking difficult questions of their betters. To say that they have outlived their usefulness is wrong, since they were never useful to begin with. At some level, though, we've all imbibed them and they can be invoked in rhetoric to elicit certain predictable responses. By and large, these ensure to the benefit of those who have acquired lots of knowledge. You might not think so, for the Promethean myth is ostensibly a knock on academics. Not so ostensibly, though, it gives scientists a reason to put on priestly airs and, by hinting at the perhaps no-so-priestly stances of their counterparts in other countries, haul down defense grants. And it gives non-scientists an implicit pitchfork to brandish in the scientists' faces. Accordingly, a kind of deal has been struck in which both scientists and non-scientists have ended up accepting the Promethean myth as being a passable model of reality. Call this the Promethean consensus. The Promethean consensus is something that no one would ever admit to believing in, if you pinned them down and tried to get them to engage in that level of introspection, but is universally hammed home by every movie and TV show about science and a good many books as well, and obviously underlies the public postures that scientists are expected to adopt.
Once you've bought into it, the only two stances you can really take toward the Promethean consensus are to respect its rules or to willfully break them. You are either a priest or a bad boy. Priest because, if you are one of the keepers of the academic flame and are willing to allow that some of your knowledge is dangerous, you can get a lot of mileage out of intoning the right solemn and portentous sound bites. Bad boy because the downside of the Promethean myth has largely gone away. No one is getting expelled from the Garden of Eden or being chained to a rock to have his liver torn by vultures anymore. it's true that modern-day scientists have to take their share of flak, but, with the exception of people who run girls' schools in Afghanistan, or the occasional biomed researcher who's run afoul of the animal-rights activists, they no longer have to dodge pitchforks. And so if you're one of the people who actually has access to Promethean-grade knowledge, there's no longer much personal risk, and so, to the extent that the knowledge is perceived as dangerous, it can just feel kind of cool, in a naughty way, like you're a teenager who just figured out where Dad hides the keys to his gun cabinet. 

Stephenson goes on to talk about how various academic cultures treat each other, making a distinction between prestigious coastal universities and what he calls the Midwest American College Town (or MACT).  I don't know either culture well enough to comment, beyond saying that I found his theories interesting. 
Do we still use the Promethean myth today?  We do have large amounts of gate-keeping when it comes to science and academia.  Unorthodox theories won't fly unless the theorist has strong credentials.  Some of this is no doubt useful just in terms of controlling the flood of information but also no doubt some important things get dismissed out of hand unfairly.  But this doesn't feel connected to Prometheus.
As Stephenson points out, modern scientists and academics don't face too much risk for bringing forth advances or theories.  In fact, it's the exact opposite.  If Scientist X thinks he has something, there are more avenues than ever for getting that something out to the public.  How often do you see news reports about some theory that is due to be printed in a scientific journal?  All the time.  And if that 'something' doesn't pan out?  The scientist's career will still be fine, especially if the 'something' got lots of publicity. 
I don't think that we still have things that 'shouldn't be known by man'.  This is undoubtedly a good thing.

Prometheus Bound - Aeschylus

The basic story of Prometheus is well known.  Fire stolen from the gods and given to mankind.  For that, he was punished by Zeus; chained to a rock and attacked daily by eagles.  Aeschylus picks up the story as the chaining is taking place.  Two things that I learned from this telling:

• Prometheus was a god, who gave fire to mortals.  Apparently I've had this wrong.  That changes the dynamic a bit.  He wasn't a clever mortal who found a way to enrich his fellow man.  He was a god that looked for a way to elevate those lower than him.
• And it wasn't just fire.  Per the play, he also taught them how to build houses, how to use tell by the seasons when they should plant, the use of numbers (surpassing all inventions), how to domesticate horses and cows, how to make boats.  He also helped them with medicine and the high art of reading omens from birds and entrails.

Prometheus also speaks a prophecy about the overthrow of Zeus.

Wherefore let him rest on in his presumption, putting confidence in his thunders aloft, brandishing in his hand a fire-breathing bolt. For not one jot shall these suffice to save him from falling dishonored in a downfall beyond endurance; such an antagonist is he now with his own hands preparing himself, a portent that shall baffle all resistance; who shall invent a flame more potent than the lightning, and a mighty din that shall surpass the thunder; and shall shiver the ocean trident, that earth-convulsing pest, the spear of Neptune. And when he hath stumbled upon this mischief, he shall be taught how great is the the difference between sovereignty and slavery. 

Zeus is not too happy about this so he sends Hermes to ask for an explanation.  Prometheus refuses and Zeus promises further torments. 
This prophecy is very interesting.  Basically the tyrant will hold things so tightly that he will create his own opposition and eventual doom.  This is almost conventional wisdom now but apparently it was wisdom for Aeschylus too. 
It's also interesting that Aeschylus would have a play that shows Zeus in such a bad light.  I don't have the firmest grip on just how seriously the ancient Greeks took their religion but I've got to believe that this crossed some lines.  Zeus could have been portrayed as giving out a reluctant punishment.  Instead, he's somewhat bloodthirsty. 

Greek Timeline

I'd normally put up biographies of Aeschylus and Herodotus but I did that last year.  You can find Aeschylus here and Herodotus here.  Last year I wrote that it was important to have a feel for the overall contemporary history of this period and I still think that's true.  So I'll just reproduce the timeline that I made then. 

There were three different wars that pictured the ancient Greek worldview and it's useful to put the various writers in context of those wars.  (As future historians learn about the 20th century, they'll need to be very aware of both world wars and the Vietnam war.  Same deal.)

Trojan War - (Sometime in the 1200s or 1100s BC)  This was the legendary war that provided so many stories of heroism and courage.  The Greeks wrote and sung about the happenings of this war for centuries.

Homer - (850 BC?)  The Homeric epics cemented the Trojan war and its aftermath in Greek storytelling.

Aeschylus - (525 - 456 BC)  Wrote about Agamemnon's return from the wars and the ensuing bloodbath.

Greco/Persian wars - (499 - 449 BC)  Notably, this started with a Greek adventure into Persian territory.  The Persians counter-invaded in 492 and the incredibly influential battle of Marathon happened in 490.  Two generations of Greeks lived with the reality of war with the Persian empire.

(Battle of Thermopylae 480 BC) A battle within the greater Greco/Persian war. 

Herodotus (484 - 425 BC) - Both men grew up in the wars.  It's notable that Herodotus traveled extensively during this whole period.  When he wrote about the conflict with Persia, he undoubtedly talked with veterans and contemporaries. 

Socrates (469 - 399 BC) - Grew up as the wars were winding down.  Was in his late 30's when the next war really heated up.



Thucydides (460 - 395 BC) - Was alive as an adult during the whole of the Peloponnesian War. 

Peloponnesian War (431 - 404 BC) - This war had many phases, but the most important for this timeline is that Athens was completely humbled by the end.  We're set to read Thucydides on this subject next year.

Plato (428 - 348 BC) - Grew up during the long fight with Sparta.  His adulthood was mostly in the post-war era.

Aristotle (384 - 322 BC) - Lived entirely after the wars.  By this time Athens was no longer had an empire nor a world power.

January Reading

Two pieces:

January
Aeschylus: Prometheus Bound link
Herodotus: The History (book VII-IX) link

Readings for January

Two pieces:

January
Aeschylus: Prometheus Bound link
Herodotus: The History (book VII-IX) link

Greek Timeline

Normally I'd put up biographies of Plato and Aristotle but I did that last year.  You can read them here and here if you'd like.  The main reason that I do the biographic sketches is so that I can get a feel for the people and their times. I've been trying to get a handle on the larger picture of ancient Greece by reading and watching documentaries on the period.  There were three different wars that pictured the ancient Greek worldview and it's useful to put the various writers in context of those wars.  (As future historians learn about the 20th century, they'll need to be very aware of both world wars and the Vietnam war.  Same deal.)

Trojan War - (Sometime in the 1200s or 1100s BC)  This was the legendary war that provided so many stories of heroism and courage.  The Greeks wrote and sung about the happenings of this war for centuries. 

Homer - (850 BC?)  The Homeric epics cemented the Trojan war and its aftermath in Greek storytelling. 

Aeschylus - (525 - 456 BC)  Wrote about Agamemnon's return from the wars and the ensuing bloodbath.

Greco/Persian wars - (499 - 449 BC)  Notably, this started with a Greek adventure into Persian territory.  The Persians counter-invaded in 492 and the incredibly influential battle of Marathon happened in 490.  Two generations of Greeks lived with the reality of war with the Persian empire.

Sophocles (497-405 BC) and Herodotus (484 - 425 BC) - Both men grew up in the wars.  It's notable that Herodotus traveled extensively during this whole period. 

Socrates (469 - 399 BC) - Grew up as the wars were winding down.  Was in his late 30's when the next war really heated up.

Peloponnesian War (431 - 404 BC) - This war had many phases, but the most important for this timeline is that Athens was completely humbled by the end.  We're set to read Thucydides on this subject next year. 

Plato (428 - 348 BC) - Grew up during the long fight with Sparta.  His adulthood was mostly in the post-war era. 

Aristotle (384 - 322 BC) - Lived entirely after the wars.  By this time Athens was no longer had an empire nor a world power. 

Eumenides - Aeschylus

'The Eumenides' completes the Oresteia trilogy.  The story takes up right where the 'Libation Bearers' ends. Orestes has just killed his mother and fled to the temple of Apollo.  He has cleansed himself and Apollo himself reassures him that he will be protected.  The Furies (aka Eumenides) have chased him there and being put under a spell from Apollo, promptly fallen asleep.
Unfortunately for Orestes, the ghost of his mother Clytaemnestra has also shown up and she isn't happy.

"You - how can you sleep?
Awake, awake - what use are sleepers now?
I go stripped of honor, thanks to you,
alone, among the dead. And for those I killed
the charges of the dead will never cease, never -
I wander in disgrace, I feel the guilt, I tell you,
withering guilt from all the outraged dead!
But I suffered too, terribly, from dear ones,
and none of my spirits rages to avenge me.
I was slaughtered by his matricidal hand.
See these gashes - Carve then in your heart!
The sleeping rain has eyes that give us light;
we can never see our destiny by day.

She succeeds and wakens them.  The search for Orestes to destroy him but before they can do so, they are stopped by Apollo and Athena.  Orestes (truthfully) claims that he was given the task of killing Clytaemnestra   by the gods and should not suffer.  The Furies will have none of it.  For a son to kill his mother is an outrage. If he goes unpunished, the law may as well be throw out.
At Athena's urging, they form a jury out of Athenian townspeople.  Each side will present their case and the jury will decide if Orestes should be punished or not.  Athena herself will break any tie.  The jury decides in Orestes' favor and he is spared.
The Furies are, well, furious.  They declare that they'll curse the land and be generally vengeful.  Athena appeals and appeals to their better nature.  Using her skills of reason, she convinces them to stand by the verdict and protect the court and the land.

This is a play about a maturing system of justice.  The normal laws of vengence have already wiped out two generations of a twisted family and are now threatening a third one.  Each death had some justification but there is no end in sight.  Some impersonal agency simply has to step in and decide what justice is.  Only once that is done can any kind proper conclusion come to the story.  When the Furies buy into the verdict, that system of justice can be in place.
I'll admit that I don't fully follow the Furies ethics.  It is awful for a son to kill his mother, but that's simply the latest in a chain of awful acts.  Is it more awful than ambushing your husband?  Is it more awful than letting the murder of your father go unpunished?  It definitely isn't more awful than killing your daughter to get better weather!  And yet this is the crime that exercises them.

Choephoroe (Libation Bearers) - Aeschylus

This is the second part of the Oresteia trilogy, written by Aeschylus.  It takes place several years after 'Agamemnon'.  Clytaemnestra and Aegisthus are still ruling, though some of the Thebans are still unhappy with the way they killed the old king. 
The play begins with Orestes, the son of Clytaemnestra and Agamemnon, finding the grave of his father.  Orestes has been away for years, in exile, and has returned for revenge.  The murder of his father has weighed heavily on him, especially since the murderer has gone on, unpunished. 
While at the grave, he runs into his sister Electra.  She is bringing libations to pour on the grave.  A libation is a drink offering given to the departed.  Her mother, Clytaemnestra, is offering libations to try and assuage a bad dream that she thinks was sent from the underworld.  She dreamed that she gave birth to a snake that then tried to suckle, causing a confusion of blood and milk.
The two meet and plan revenge.  Orestes will pose as a messenger, bringing the news of his own death.  He gets Aegisthus alone and then kills him.  Then he summons Clytaemnestra so he can kill her too. 
She is devastated by these events.  She's just been told that her son was killed.  Now she finds that this isn't true.  Instead he has returned and killed her lover of many years.  And now he means to kill her too.  Her own son!  She tried to talk him out of it, but he is resolute and slays her, across the body of Aegisthus, in the same spot that Agamemnon was killed. 

Clytaemnestra is the most interesting in this play.  Remember, she feels totally justified with how she dealt with Agamemnon.  She then suffers a series of emotional shocks and is faced with her own death.  At the end she pleads with her own son, her own blood, to spare her.  But to no avail. 
Orestes is also conflicted.  He has been told by Apollo that this is justice but he is far from certain.  If he could have figured a way out, he probably would have taken it but alas, there is no way.  He ends the play by fleeing to a temple so that Apollo can wash the blood from him. 
The 'Libation Bearers' doesn't have quite the punch of the other two plays, but I can see how it would be effective.  Both Orestes and Clytaemnestra are in very tough situations without any apparent solution.  The audience couldn't help but empathize. 

Agamemnon - Aeschylus

'Agamemnon' is the start of a tragic trilogy.  It begins with the return of king Agamemnon, from the ruins of Troy.  The king, you may remember, was one of the least likable characters from the Iliad.  He opened that story by usurping Achilles woman and then spent the story undermining both the morale of the Greeks and his own authority.  The back story for the play shows us that his awfulness started even earlier.  Before the war started, he ran into some bad weather and then sacrificed his own daughter to help himself out.
Not surprisingly, this didn't sit well with his wife, Clytaemnestra.  While Aggie was out of town, she has taken up with Aegisthus, who also has a pretty awful back story.  (Before his birth, his brother was killed and put into a stew.  Aegisthus himself, was born of spiteful incest and set to kill his own father.)  Clyt and Aegis both lay in wait to kill Agamemnon as soon as he got home.  So arrive, he does, and he is whisked off by the servants. 
We then meet Cassandra, pretty much the only sympathetic figure in the whole story.  She was taken as a slave from Troy and is now Agamemnon's concubine.  She suffers a unique curse.  Cassandra can see the future, but she is doomed to be ignored.  In this case, she sees her own death and yes, she's right again.
The action happens offstage.  Clytaemnestra kills both Agamemnon and Cassandra.  Aegisthus dances on the bodies. The chorus, made up of the men of Thebes, tells him how awful he is and tell him that he'll get his end. 

Cassandra is the high point of the play.  I can easily imagine that she gave the Greeks chills!

Aieeeeeee!-
the pain, the terror! the birth-pang of the seer
who tells the truth-
    it whirls me, oh,
the storm comes again, the crashing chords!
Look, you see them nestling at the threshold?
Young, young in the darkness like a dream,
like children really, yes, and their loved ones
brought them down . . .
     their hands, they fill their hands
with their own flesh, they are serving it like food,
holding out their entrails . . . now it's clear,
I can see the armfuls of compassion, see the father
reach to taste and-
     For so much suffering,
I tell you, someone plots of revenge.

Chills.

Biography of Aeschylus

Aeschylus was born around 525 BC in a small town northwest of Athens.  When he was young he worked in a vineyard.  He was said to have been visited by the god Dionysus, who urged him to write tragedies.  (I'd love to steal that bit of personal history.)  He immediately started writing and won his first prize at the age of 26.
He fought against the Persians at Marathon in 490 BC and again, ten years later at Salamis.  These two battles were enormously important to the contemporary Greeks, and therefore to western history.  After he died, his military service was commemorated, not his play writing.
But history remembers him for the plays.  He was the first playwright who had two actors on stage, as well as the chorus.  This opened up space for conflict and he used that to create tragedies.  Aeschylus competed regularly with his writing and, though the exact numbers aren't well known, he is thought to have won more than a dozen times.
One legend has it that he was killed by a falling tortoise(!),  dropped by an eagle.  (I don't think I'll borrow that part.)  In any case, he died in 456 or 455 BC.  The Greeks restaged his tragedies in later competitions.  Most of his work has been lost to time.  Only seven remain, out of possibly 120. 

February Readings

Here is the list for this month:

Aeschylus: Agamemnon, Choephoroe (a.k.a The Libation Bearers), Eumenides link, link, link
Sophocles: Oedipus the King, Antigone link

I was able to find translations by Robert Fagles for these pieces, so that's what I'm reading from.  On a personal note, I did a one act version of 'Antigone' back in high school.  I'll see if I can dig up a picture.