The wisdom and pleasure of Edith Hamilton`s of “The House of Atreus”
What choice would you make if you had a kill your mother because she killed your father? Would you leave your mother alone? But what if you are obligated to kill your father’s murder because the ancient laws of your gods tell you to do so? In the Edith Hamilton`s “The House of Atreus” Orestes is forced to make that choice in a situation that could argue that the death of his father could have been just ,but because he cannot let his father’s death call go unanswered at the same time there is another sacred rule to never kill your mother. The lesson in this is that through pain we learn answers then through that we form wisdom. Orestes himself says “I have been taught by misery” (Hamilton 349).
They say that the House of Atreus is cursed by the gods. There is proof of that throughout the story. In the beginning Tantalus was a king who was favored by the gods beyond anybody. Yet he chose to throw it all away when the gods came down to dine with him. He had killed …show more content…
He must avenge his father but he cannot hurt his mother this makes him hesitant a first for his bloodline. Most of his blood would have automatically killed Clytemnestra but he hesitated showing he has a better character than his blood would say. He then goes to the oracle of Delphi who tells him from Apollo to kill the two who murdered his father. After he kills his mother he is haunted and chased by the Furies for that he wanders lonely and aimlessly for many years. He then again seeks help from Apollo who guides him to Athens to have a trial of Apollo as his lawyer, the Furies as prosecutors, and Athena as the judge. Apollo says the blame lies on him not on Orestes, but he instead it he accepts the guilt of what his bloodline has done ending the curse on the House of Atreus. Showing that through pain he learned what his family could not learn and applied it to help himself and his
What choice would you make if you had a kill your mother because she killed your father? Would you leave your mother alone? But what if you are obligated to kill your father’s murder because the ancient laws of your gods tell you to do so? In the Edith Hamilton`s “The House of Atreus” Orestes is forced to make that choice in a situation that could argue that the death of his father could have been just ,but because he cannot let his father’s death call go unanswered at the same time there is another sacred rule to never kill your mother. The lesson in this is that through pain we learn answers then through that we form wisdom. Orestes himself says “I have been taught by misery” (Hamilton 349).
They say that the House of Atreus is cursed by the gods. There is proof of that throughout the story. In the beginning Tantalus was a king who was favored by the gods beyond anybody. Yet he chose to throw it all away when the gods came down to dine with him. He had killed …show more content…
He must avenge his father but he cannot hurt his mother this makes him hesitant a first for his bloodline. Most of his blood would have automatically killed Clytemnestra but he hesitated showing he has a better character than his blood would say. He then goes to the oracle of Delphi who tells him from Apollo to kill the two who murdered his father. After he kills his mother he is haunted and chased by the Furies for that he wanders lonely and aimlessly for many years. He then again seeks help from Apollo who guides him to Athens to have a trial of Apollo as his lawyer, the Furies as prosecutors, and Athena as the judge. Apollo says the blame lies on him not on Orestes, but he instead it he accepts the guilt of what his bloodline has done ending the curse on the House of Atreus. Showing that through pain he learned what his family could not learn and applied it to help himself and his