"Seven Against Thebes" by Aeschylus

Howdy do there! These plays just keep getting better (I wonder how many times I'll say that). This particular play had a lot of thought provoking passages in it for me. To begin:

Thebes is under attack by Argives being led by Polyneices. And the fun twist, for those who don't know some of the finer details of Greek mythology (like yours truly), is that Polyneices is the brother of the current king of Thebes, Eteocles.

The title has its origin with the 7 leaders of the Argive army, for whom each is selected one Thebian soldier who is chosen personally by Eteocles. And Eteocles chooses to fight Polyneices, one of the 7, himself.

The Argives are successfully repelled, but Eteocles and Polyneices end up killing each other. This is apparently the fulfillment of a curse put on the brothers by there father, Oedipus. Now we have the sisters, Antigone and Ismene, mourning over the corpses of their brothers.

A herald arrives bearing the new that Eteocles shall be honorably buried while Polyneices is to be thrown to the wolves without a proper burial by order of state law. But Antigone will not have this. Only a quotation can do her justice.


ANTIGONE:
"So I to the Cadmaean magistrates
declare: if no one else will dare to join me
in burying him, yet will I bury him
and take the danger on my head alone
when that is done. He is my brother. I
am not ashamed of this anarchic act
of disobedience to the city. Strange,
a strange thing is the common blood we spring
from––
a mother wretched, a father doomed to evil.
Willingly then with one that would not will it,
live spirit with dead man in sisterhood
I shall bear my share. His flesh
the hollow-bellied wolves shall never taste of.
let that be no one's 'pleasure or decree.'
His tomb and burying place I will contrive
though but a woman. In the bosom folds
of my linen robe I shall carry earth to him.
And I shall cover him: let no one determine
the contrary. Be of good cheer [spoken to Ismene], I shall
find means to bring my will to pass."

Quite a speech, right?! Needless to say the play ends with Antigone continuing to resolve to bury her brother. Apologies if the summary seems a bit bare-bonesy, but the real meat of this story is in the dialogue and deserves to be read for its own sake.

The most thought-provoking idea in this story for me is the sibling bond that Antigone had for Polyneices. I have had, to be generous, a rocky relationship with my brother since I was fifteen. It makes sense from an outside perspective to see the virtue of the sibling bond sewn so deep into the hearts of the characters.

But could you do the same? Could you defend the right to honorably bury a most dishonorable sibling that tried to attack the very home you had come to love? Can't fully answer for myself. I tend to lean towards no. But I have a bit more than this one aforementioned event influencing my decision.

I hope this has been another entertaining blog entry for everyone out there. Be sure to share and comment.

And raise a glass for all those who, like Eteocles, have given their lives for the protection of the homes they had come to love. Happy reading!

“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.”
― G.K. Chesterton

"The Persians" by Aeschylus

Well...another break...another start up. But, at least, I was semi-productive this time. I've been spending my time with some really fun books. All three by the brilliant, well-read Benjamin Wiker. These books really have helped to reveal part of the journey that philosophy has taken through the past 2,000 years. I guess I should probably get to naming these books. :P

The first: "10 Books That Every Conservative Should Read." This was a really positive book. It's definitely aimed at a Conservative audience, but Liberals and many others should still find some positive notes in it.

The second: "Answering the New Atheism: Dismantling Dawkins' Case Against God." Obviously this has very specific audience; but, again, non-believers can still find some pros to this very densely assembled title. The biggest pro would be correcting any of the flawed arguments that they might so happen to have in their arsenal for debates with believers.

The third: "Ten Books That Screwed Up The World." This was a bit depressing and anger-inspiring at times. But it is worthwhile to read to discover where some of the problems of modern philosophy had originated. Ironically, this book is a more worthwhile read for Conservatives than anyone else. But the non-Conservatives might find it extremely helpful to see if their personal philosophy might have originated with these destroyers of sanity.

Now, finally, on to "The Persians." Overall: very good. Slow to start but, once it picks up, it keeps a decent pace. The main character's in this play were the narrating Chorus, The Queen (Xerxes' mother and Darius' wife), Darius (in ghost form since he's died by this point), and the ever so woeful Xerxes.

When the story begins, Xerxes has been on his campaign to conquer the world. SPOILER: He doesn't succeed. Soon a Herald (oops forgot to mention him as a main character) arrives to tell the Queen of Xerxes' horrific defeat in Greece (300 anyone?). Sadly there didn't seem to be any direct talk of the classic, EPIC battle of Thermopylae. But I digress.

The Herald reveals that Xerxes has become the paragon embodiment of Proverbs 16:18, "Pride goeth before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall." And the worst part: Xerxes took the entire population of Persian warriors with him. Which means...no one left to defend Persia. *Face Palm* for Xerxes.

As a side note, the Queen offers sacrifice to tempt the spirit of Darius to the world of the living that she can take some solace in the words of her departed husband. Ultimately Xerxes arrives back home and the story ends with him saying "woeful" way too many times to count.

Hope you enjoyed this little blog entry. Feel free to share any comments concerning the theme of this play: Proverbs 16:18. At least, that's the theme that I took from it. Either that, or how woeful one can be after loosing his entire army to his own prideful ambitions; and thus leaving his entire country defenseless against all foreign invaders.

Have a good day. Bye. :-)

"The Suppliant Maidens" by Aeschylus

Hmm.....well....that was an even longer break I took there. But now we shall get on with the plays of Aeschylus. I really wish I had auto-fill for these names. It's always hard for me to remember names that aren't English. Onto the tale of "The Suppliant Maidens."

"Rashness never suits the weaker." So said Danaus, the father of the maidens, to his daughters. This was his warning to the maidens to be careful in their speech whilst speaking with Pelasgus, the king of the Argives.

The maidens, with their father, flee to Argos to escape the horrific fate of forced marriage to their cousins, Egyptus' sons. King Pelasgus greets them with suspicion, but it's quickly revealed that they are, in a way, Argive citizens.

To explain: Io, an Argive, was their ancestor. Zeus did what all male gods did. And Hera was none too happy with him. So she did what she does best. She turned Io into a cow and drove her out with really mean flies. This wasn't just a insult between women anymore. She was literally a cow. Poor Io.

But never fear. Zeus decided to turn into a bull. He finds her in another country, what do you think happened next? Sons beget more sons until you get the evil cousins and the suppliant maidens.

The father left to plead their case to the Argive people. The maidens needed everyone on their side, not just the king. But good news. It all worked out.

And none to soon. The herald for the cousins showed up quite on cue for this play, and was quickly talked down by the king. And thus the maidens are free.

Danaus leaves his daughters with the advice to "honor modesty more than your life."

This has a lot of depth personally for me. And thus I shall leave you with the question for this entry. What does the quote, "Honor modesty more than you life," mean to you? And do you feel as if we've lost our sense of modesty?

Leave your thoughts in the comments section or @ mention me on Twitter: @mrakestraw777

Have a blessed day.