r siblings in lines 81 to 89: "Be as you choose to be; but for myselfI myself will bury him. It will be goodTo die, so doing. I shall lie by his side,Loving him as he loved me; I shall be a criminal-but a religious one."This conviction is tested indirectly many times throughout the play, but most strongly in a confrontation with Creon, where she maintains and restates her original beliefs. (Sophocles, 509-515) This is especially noteworthy considering the times in which she lived. Her place is in the household, or oikos, not to look for glory or bravery, or challenge authoritative figures.The lines are not as clearly drawn in The Eumenides. The divine and mortal worlds have different opinions about the sanctity of blood and marriage bonds. The issue here is one of justice, as it is in Antigone, but in a different respect. In addition, a complicated family history leads up to the conflict. During the Trojan War, King Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter. When he returned, his wife, Clytaemestra, in revenge for his crime murdered him. Many years later, their son, Orestes, murdered Clytaemestra (who was not punished) in revenge for his father's death. (Aeschylus, 454-464) Questions arise, such as: Is the crime of Orestes more severe than that of Clytaemestra? Should Orestes be punished or is his crime one of justice?In the beginning, the lines seem clearly drawn. The gods, specifically Apollo, see the marriage bond as equal to one of blood. His logic behind this is that Zeus and Hera have sanctified the marriage oaths. (Aeschylus, 213-222) Mortals, as represented by the chorus, see a marriage bond as inconsequential compared with a bond of blood. (Aeschylus, 211-12) However, later in the play, Athene agrees with the mortals, although her judgement of Orestes' punishment does not reflect this belief. (Aeschylus, 739-41, 752-753) These contradictions highlight the conflict between divine and mortal, and marriage and blood.In both play...
