"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.

"The Odyssey": Review

Where to start. I've taken a little over 3 months off from the blog. But I have come back. I'll just give a very short review of "The Odyssey" to start.

What can I say? This is the classic adventure story. Filled with names and characters that many of us have heard all our lives. This story still keeps us on the edge of our seats to this day.

Amazing novel. Definite must read in my opinion. Still couldn't understand everything in it to my liking. All those Greek names are...well, they're all Greek to me.

That was my major failing: following the the characters. The main ones are easy. But the not-so-major characters just kept falling through the cracks in my mind. But who cares. Fun book.

I hope you get to reading and finishing it. And congrats to all those kids who had to who had to read it in high school and finished without the cliff notes. And shame on the teachers/schools who only assigned parts of this amazing literary masterpiece. It should be all or nothing.

Bye for now. Next we get to some Greek plays.

"The Odyssey": Chapter [21-24]- Triumph and Homecoming

Hello there. This will be a very special post. Last night I was going to read just one chapter from "The Odyssey", but I just got sucked into reading the final four chapters. Good thing too. They all seemed to tie together like they could have been a single chapter anyway. So this will be one big post for all four. Plus, I finally finished the first volume of the Great Books. AWESOME!!

Chapter 21:

Now Penelope has Odysseus' old bow brought out for the competition that will decide whom Penelope will marry. The competition has individuals stringing the bow and then shooting an arrow through a row of twelve axes lined up. It's harder than it sounds. Telemachos couldn't even string the bow but neither could any of the suitors. The suitors want to call it a night so that they can resume tomorrow after offering sacrifice to Apollo who is an archer himself.

Odysseus takes the swineherd and the oxherd outside to test their loyalty to Odysseus. They pass with flying colors. Odysseus then reveals himself to them. They cry and hug before heading back inside where Odysseus asks for a chance with the bow. They suitors angrily refuse. How embarrassed would you be if a bum did something that you couldn't. Telemachos usurps his authority and gives the bow to Odysseus. Odysseus easily strings the bow and effortlessly shoots an arrow through the twelve axes.

Chapter 22:

The next arrow Odysseus shoots goes through a suitor's throat. He then reveals himself as Odysseus. Suitors beg pleading that the dead suitor was the only bad one. Odysseus launches another arrow. Telemachos releases his spear.

Odysseus then instructs Telemachos to get some extra weapons and armor for the swineherd and oxherd. He forgets to secure the door when he leaves the weapons storage. This leaves a treacherous servant the opportunity to sneaks weapons for the suitors. The second time he gets caught and tied up by the swineherd and oxherd. Now a tiny war is taking place in the palace. Athena comes down in the form of Odysseus' old friend, Mentor, to lend some encouragement to Odysseus and his partners. The battle soon ends.

Odysseus spares two men. The minstrel and a herald. Then the old servant, Eurklyeia, is summoned by Odysseus. He asks her to bring before him the unfaithful servant women. He has them clean up the bodies and the palace. Then they are all taken outside where Telemachos, in anger of their deeds against him and his mother during Odysseus' absence, hung them all in a disgraceful death. Then the unfaithful servant, Melanthios, has his nose, ears, and private parts fed to dogs while his hands and feet are chopped off in anger.

Odysseus requests brimstone, fire, and sulfur to purify his palace. He also asks for the faithful servants brought before him as well as his wife.

Chapter 23:

Eurklyeia makes all haste to Penelope to tell her the grand news. Penelope believe that the gods have made Eurklyeia mad. But Penelope is soon brought down. She, at first, does not believe Odysseus to be in front of her. They both sit calmly across from each other. Then Odysseus speaks of their current troubles. They just killed a good number a young men from powerful families. They are not going to be well liked once word reaches the families. So Odysseus instructs the minstrel to play as if there were a wedding taking place in the palace to throw off suspicion. And that they should leave for his father's farm to lay low. Now back to Penelope and Odysseus.

Penelope, after all those years, is still wary about whether or not this man before her is truly Odysseus. She gives a final test. She requests that Eurklyeia bring down Odysseus' bed for him to sleep in for the night.

Odysseus is highly offended at this request. He knows well that it is no easy task to move his bed. He built it himself. He know it's weight and construction by heart. He recounts how he carved and prepared the bed himself.

This is enough to finally convince Penelope. She throw her arms around him in joy. They then go to bed together. He gives her a quick summary of his journey home from Troy. Now he must make for his father's farm with Telemachos. He gives Penelope instructions to not take any visitors the next day.

Chapter 24:

Now we find ourselves watching as Hermes leads the dead suitors to Hades. They meet Agamemnon, Achilles, Patroklos, and Ais on the way. Agamemnon asks how so many young men have come to death. They recount Penelope's deceit all the way to Odysseus' revenge.

Now we come to Laetres', Odysseus' father, farm. Odysseus has the others go ahead inside so that he can spend some time with his father alone. Odysseus introduces himself as a stranger that entertained Odysseus some time back. After Laetres, with eyes full of tears, asks to hear about his son Odysseus can't take it and reveals himself before embracing his beloved father.

Now they all catch up over a meal. But back in town Rumor is spreading the news of the suitors' deaths. There is uproar over this. Antinoös' father is particularly irate over his son's death. He lead a small army of men to Laetres' farm to kill Odysseus. Once they get there, Odysseus and his companions are ready to fight. Even old Laetres is ready for battle. He actually throws the spear that kills Antinoös' father.

Now Athena persuades all the rest of the men to forget and forgive Odysseus. Odysseus is then reestablished as king. And they all live happily ever after. (I think)

Wow. That was fun. Better than the old "Wishbone" adaptation that I saw about 12 years ago. Who else used to watch "Wishbone"? It was a killer show for youngsters. I hope you have enjoyed this journey so far. We are 1/60th finished now. Yay!!! I'll write review for the Odyssey soon. Bye. ^_^

"The Odyssey": Chapter 20- An Unpleasant Meal

Both Odysseus and his beloved queen have a troublesome night. Odysseus is unsure of victory against such a great number of suitors while Penelope wants to die rather than entertain a lesser man than her believed-to-be-lost husband.

Athena encourages Odysseus who, upon hearing his wife's distress, asks Zeus for a portent concerning the suitors. Zeus is quick to act with the sign of doom.

Dawn spreads herself again across the land of Ithaka. Odysseus and Telemachos meet with the swineherd and some others. Now to dinner. Athena makes sure that the suitors are especially rude so Odysseus won't loose any anger against them. A very rude suitor throws an ox hoof at Odysseus, who effortlessly dodges. This stirs Telemachos to much anger. He rebukes the suitor with harsh words and threats.

Then Telemachos is spoken against by a suitor speaking of Telemachos' treachery at preventing his mother from marrying a new man. Telemachos is insulted at this remark and quickly defends his intentions for his mother. But this only serves to create laughter among the suitors.

Then, unbeknown to the suitors, the walls bleed and darkness fills the room. The prophet, Theoklymenos, who Telemachos granted passage from Nestor's land, interpreted this as a sign of doom for the wretched suitors. But his words bolster the suitors laughter. He then storms out of the palace leaving the suitors to their fate.

Telemachos is then insulted for his choice of guests. He pays no attention. His mind is all on his father. The time is coming closer "for [the suitors] had first begun the wrongdoing."

Stayed to for another awesome post for "My Odyssey Through the Great Books." Bye. ^_^

"The Odyssey": Chapter 19- Nighttime Chat with the Queen

Hello. I've been absent for some time. Sorry about that. I've had some major distractions this past week. But that's all over now. Back to the story.

Now Odysseus and Telemachos store away the weapons so that the suitors can't use them when the time comes to fight. Now after they're done the suitors all go home and Odysseus goes to talk with Penelope.

She asks the normal questions. Then she asks the stranger to describe her husband because he claims to have seen him. It's safe to say the Odysseus does a pretty good job of describing himself. So well, in fact, that Penelope starts crying from the memory.

After much talking Penelope offers the stranger a bed, but he refuses. She gets him to agree to have his feet washed. The servant who washes his feet is Odysseus' old nanny. As she starts washing, she notices an old scar that Odysseus got during a boar hunt. Joy lights up her face as she see her lost master come home. He quickly quiets her and tells her to keep it secret.

Then Penelope asks the stranger to help her interpret a dream. There are twenty geese eating wheat. Then a eagle swoops down and kills them all. The eagle then takes perch a tells Penelope that it's Odysseus. This is what he'll do to the suitors once he returns.

Not too many ways to interpret that one. I think she was mainly confused as to whether or not this dream was true. Some come true while others don't. In her grief she still refuses to believe that Odysseus will come back.

She then decides to hold a contest the next day. Whoever wins shall receive her hand in marriage. Now they all sleep.

I really like this chapter as well. It feels good to get back to it. Let's hope that there aren't anymore big setbacks in the future. Bye.