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chapter 18

Mycenae. The major Greek city in the late Bronze Age (1600-1100 BC).It controlled much of mainland Greece through alliance, and much of the Greek islands too.Linear B oldest form of written Greek found in Mycenae and Pylos.. Bloody Family History. Tantalus

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chapter 18

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    1. Chapter 18 The Mycenaean Saga

    3. Bloody Family History Tantalus & Pelops Pelops & Oenomaus Pelops & Myrtilus Thyestes & Atreus Atreus & Thyestes Thyestes & Pelopia Agamemnon & Iphigenia Aegisthus & Clytemnestra & Agamemnon Orestes & Clytemnestra & Aegisthus

    4. Tantalus & Pelops How is it that a guy who dines with the gods tries to pull this kind of stunt? May allude to a time of human sacrifice Pindar denies it

    5. Atreus & Thyestes What a family – betrayal, intrigue, infidelity, cannibalism and incest! If you eat at the “House of Atreus,” avoid any items listed as Specialties of the House, or boast a “secret family recipe.”

    6. Agamemnon & Iphigenia Again we have a sacrifice – may point to a time of human sacrifice – no longer acceptable. Lucretius’ On the Nature of Things – an Epicurean view on the dangers of religion

    7. Clytemnestra & Aegisthus Motivation is partially valid – Aegisthus and Clytemnestra are agents of the spirits of blood vengeance (the Furies), but…

    8. Orestes Has a more valid case than Aegisthus & Clytemnestra – doesn’t have another agenda. He is avenging his dad, and the king. Is pursued by the Furies, though.* Will eventually be found not guilty. *Orestes is not pursued by the Furies in all versions (cf. Sophocles’ Electra).

    9. Aeschylus’ Oresteia (458 BC) Our only surviving dramatic trilogy from ancient Greece. Agamemnon The Libation Bearers (Choephori) Eumenides Shows the arc of the blood vengeance from Atreus through Orestes which is then supplanted by civic justice (Orestes is finally acquitted in a trial in Athens on the Areopagus)

    10. Euripides’ Electra (c. 415 BC) Tells the story of Orestes’ return and his killing of Aegisthus and Clytemnestra. Is very reluctant to kill mother, bullied into it by his sister Emphasis is on the pathology of the house as represented by Orestes and Electra Also makes fun of Aeschylus’ archaic style and logic.

    11. Sophocles’ Electra (c. 410) Date unclear, but probably after Euripides. Covers same material, but emphasis is on the heroic actions of Orestes and Electra settling accounts with their father’s murderers. No hint of guilt or madness. Play emphasizes the long suffering of Electra, waiting for her brother. Sophocles’ Electra is the hero(ine) who won’t bend or submit.

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