Apollo in the Oresteia of Aeschylus
Date
1974
Authors
Colbrook, Barbara Veronica
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Abstract
The purpose of this thesis is to examine the dramatic functions of Apollo in the Oresteia. I attempt to define the contribution that Apollo makes to each play by devoting one chapter to each of the three plays. Thus Chapters II, III, and IV form the main body of the thesis. In Chapter I I assess the use which Aeschylus makes of the traditional views of Apollo as he appears in cult and literature. I demonstrate that Aeschylus is following the tradition in his presentation of Apollo as the god of purification and of prophecy. Moreover Aeschylus, like Pindar and Herodotus, accepts Apollo's authority as a prophet and portrays him as the true spokesman of Zeus. Apollo was also traditionally conceived as a god of healing, and Aeschylus employs this tradition to provide a foil to "Apollo the Destroyer", so emphatically indicated for us by Cassandra and her fate in the Agamemnon. Finally, I discuss the origins of the story of Apollo and Cassandra which is related in the Agamemnon, and conclude that this too must be to some extent traditional. Aeschylus' handling of the story is contrasted with Pindar's treatment of Apollo's relationship with mortal women. Aeschylus and Pindar, I suggest, are alike in their fundamentally anthropomorphic conception of the god.
Chapter II, which is concerned with Apollo's role in the Agamemnon, naturally focusses upon the Cassandra-scene. I conclude that the story of Apollo and Cassandra illustrates how mankind, by offending the gods, may encounter the god's violence in place of divine favour. Although Cassandra's suffering is disproportionate to her crime, no criticism is made of the god who inflicted her punishment. Apollo is predominantly portrayed in the Agamemnon as Cassandra's destroyer, but his equal ability to be saviour and healer of mortals is implied, mainly in the first half of the play.
In Chapter III, I begin by illustrating how Apollo affects the action of the Choephoroe through the instructions which he gave to Orestes in an oracle. I show how the details of the oracle are gradually revealed in the course of the drama. In the second part of the chapter I attempt to refute Professors Wilamowitz-Moellendorf and Winnington-Ingram, who contend that Aeschylus wishes us to condemn Apollo in this play. I argue, against these critics, that Apollo is portrayed in a favourable light.
In Chapter IV I consider the Eumenides, in which Apollo himself becomes one of the actors. I analyse the part which Apollo plays first in the opening scene a t Delphi, and, secondly , in the Trial Scene at Athens. Again, I argue that it is not Aeschylus' intention to criticise Apollo, Apollo is harsh to the Erinyes, one-sided in outlook, and not entirely correct in all his arguments. However these features are not intended to make us suspect the god; rather they are required by the dramatic themes of this final play in the trilogy.
In my Conclusion I discuss whether Apollo is portrayed consistently throughout the trilogy, Professors Kitto and Winnington-Ingram have suggested that Apollo alters in the course of the trilogy in character or in attitude. I contend that Apollo does not alter, but that his different dramatic functions require that, first, his capacity for malevolence and, later, his capacity for benevolence predominate. In this thesis I have tried to indicate both the complexity of Apollo's role, and the essential consistency of his character throughout the Oresteia.