Aeschylus' Oresteia: drama and democracy

Undergraduate / Graduate

Ancient Greek drama in the 5th c. BCE both maps and reckons with the constitutive tensions in the polis between residual (but still influential) aristocratic norms and practices and the newly dominant (but still evolving) democratic ethos and ideals- its practices institutionalized in the assembly, the magistracies, and the courts. Aeschylus's Oresteia represents and contributes to that debate, as it explores (among other things) the fortunes of the house of Atreus, the making of the polis, gender trouble, questions of kinship, revenge and its impasses, institutions of justice. This trilogy helps us understand crucial aspects of the society that produced it and also invites us to reflect on the ways ancient literature informs how we think about ourselves and our predicaments now-political, familial, and existential. And the Oresteia further invites us to think about the uses and possibilities of theater, then and now. No knowledge of Greek is required for this course, but there will be assignment options for those who wish to do the reading in Greek. This course will meet twice weekly for 3 hours during the 1st five weeks of the quarter, from March 24 to April 23.