User:Taylormonti/sandbox

The ancient law of the Erinyes, otherwise known as the Furies, mandates that blood must be paid for with blood. The chorus states this fact several times throughout the play; vengeance is just, they say, and it has been the law of the house for generations. Nothing else can wash away a bloodstain but more blood, which in turn requires more blood in order to be cleansed. The chorus offers no solution to this dire situation of violence breeding more violence. In The Eumenides, Apollo has promised Orestes that he will not suffer for his crime. Orestes chooses to comply with the god's commands. In fulfilling his duty towards Apollo and his father, Orestes condemns himself to suffering. He chooses to make this sacrifice, however, in order to preserve the laws of society. In the end of The Eumenides, Orestes is tried in court by the Furies, with the goddess Athena and the Athenian elders acting as the jury. In this case, Orestes is not killed in turn for his crimes as would have been the retributive law at the time, but he is given the opportunity to defend himself, and is ultimately declared not guilty.The Furies are angered by this decision as they belong to the old gods, and for decades uncounted blood had to be repaid in blood. Yet Athena calms them with great effort, making it clear to them that a society cannot possibly work and grow under such circumstances, and grants them seats of great power in Athens. Justice is decided by a jury, and the panel of jurors are made up of those who are considered to be the best of the people, not in terms of superiority, but of those who clearly represent Athens. This scene in the play is increasingly important because it is depicting the creation of the court becoming representative of the law. While Athena says that the jury would be making a decision as to whether Orestes would be found guilty or not guilty, she also makes it clear that she has final say in what happens, and that if she is unhappy with the verdict given then she will overturn it. Ater the trial, Athena, the goddess of Reason and Protection, calms the Furies, the goddesses of revenge and remorse, thereby establishing a legal system centered in Athens, relieving the Greeks of their responsibility to avenge violence with violence. Now the state is the institution to administer justice, employing reason, but also holding the power to punish, violently if need be. Athens has left its barbaric system of blood for blood behind and has embraced an order where people deserve a fair trial.[15]