Context of Authority and Identity in Greek Mythology - Essay Example

Trojan War Activity 1 The two plays, Iphigenia at Ilium and Iphigenia at Aulis seem to define similar storylines given the common name of Iphigenia shared in both titles of the plays. However, the two plays tell entirely different stories and each version of the plays is totally radically different from the other version. Iphigenia at Aulis tries to reflect on the ancient happenings of Iphigenia, the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra in the Greek mythology during the Trojan War time while Iphigenia in Ilium tells a story of independent women trying to gain control of the society, contrasting greatly with the limitations that women had in the ancient days during the Trojan War. The first radical contrast is is the authority that women contained in the two different contexts of the plays. In the Iphigenia at Aulis, Iphigenia had to be dragged on to be sacrificed without her consent given the instructions that Agamemnon, her father issued. This was after it was claimed through Calchas, a Greek prophet, that goddess Artemis had commanded appeasement by only sacrificing Iphigenia. Neither Iphigenia nor her mother, Clytemnestra had the power to get out of the situation but comply after having acted on lies of Iphigenia’s marriage to Achilles. On the other hand, women in the play Iphigenia at Ilium yielded the authority and it is said that they possessed more intelligence than men, a fact that was emphasized also in Iphigenia at Aulis, but in both cases facing rebellion by the egoistic me. In Iphigenia in Ilium, the women thus have the power to preside over men and decide on better “breeds” of men responsible enough to bear kids and avoid unnecessary war. The second radical contrast appears in the context of sacrificial gender for intended objectives. In Iphigenia at Ilium, men had to be sacrificed by women in order to maintain peace. On the other hand, Iphigenia, a woman, had to be discriminately selected by goddess Artemis to be offered as a sacrifice before the Greeks had a chance to proceed to Troy to wage war and regain their pride and position as previously known. The intent of sacrifices greatly differs in the two plays being compared. In the Iphigenia at Aulis, sacrifice had to be made to the goddess for appeasement in order to allow the Greeks to proceed on war with the Trojans. On the other hand, sacrifice or killing of men in the Iphigenia of Ilium had to be done in order to eliminate the bad strain of men who had the potential to cause unnecessary war. Finally, in the Iphigenia of Aulis, the sole authority appears to come from goddess Artemis, a woman goddess. In the same wavelength, the Iphigenia at Ilium killings and decisions hail from women who have organized themselves in councils that form authority. By having the highest authority hold the identity of a woman, both stories share the common idea that women are an intelligent and powerful lot in the society, a fact that men overlooked due to ego. The Iphigenia at Aulis further emphasize this point by narrating how Artemis saved Iphigenia by replacing her with a substitute sacrifice of a lamb and elevating her as a prophetess at Tauris. Activity 2 Charles Mee Jr. inserted his satirical prowess to retell Euripides’ play, Oresteia of Aeschylus for a purpose. Oresteia of Aeschylus is a trilogy that represented three Greek tragedies revolving on Agamemnon’s family murder, revenge, and reconciliation. The story seems to revolve around Orestes, the son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra who avenges for his father by killing her mother and is finally brought to trial alongside his sister, Elektra, to be charged for matricidal. The trilogy consists of Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers and The Eumenides that Charles follows keenly enough to remake the entire story in a modern context. The possible decision to remake this Greek trilogy by Mee might have arisen from the urge to entrench the postmodern crisis in a satirical way that could associate the past and the present. In such a way, viewers would get to understand the current unjust political situation and a legal framework in an entertaining yet educative manner. However, for Mee to achieve his intended objectives, he had to translate the Oresteia of Aeschylus into a context that would fit the postmodern scenario. The changes made in order to adapt to our times will be discussed in the consequent paragraphs with each change having a relevant explanation as to the essence in the modern times. Mee ignores the first two sections of the trilogy where Agamemnon is killed by his wife, Clytemnestra and the avengement that Orestes has by killing his mother, Clytemnestra. Instead, Mee jumps to the scene after the crimes have been committed and the Elektra and Orestes await trial and execution. This ignoring might be likened to the eventual and concluding crimes of victims to non-existing counts of crime or rather poorly researched cases. This clearly demonstrates the injustice of the legal framework. It is further emphasized by the ruling of the forensic experts who narrate the course of Clytemnestra’s murder as extremely unexpected like it really was in the original trilogy. Another change that was imminent was the evident use of a modern costume, theater and all the elements that entailed modernity in dressing, decoration and weaponry during the start of the play. This signifies the modernity revolution that has taken place and emphasizes on the relevance of the play remake to the modern times and not the past as might have been expected of majority audience. The entire case is also made a mockery of law and justice. This contrasts greatly with the seriousness that was demonstrated in the real account in Athens where Elektra and Orestes are summoned by a team of 12 Athenians collected by Athena in forming the jury to decide the case. The proceedings, unlike in the new version by Mee are also sequential and the defendants show respect to the whole proceeding. In Orestes 2, Mee tries to pass across the mockery that various segments of the government have shown towards the judicial system in a bid to frustrate the system with entirely selfish intentions. The two comparisons of the Iphigenia’s story in the two contexts and the Remake of Orestes from the Original Trilogy of Oresteia is of great relevance to matters relating to authority, gender balance, politics and the legal system. Given the difference in the age of production, it is quite clear that as far as there might appear to be differences between the past and the modern times, some aspects will always remain the same and this is an aspect that human’s will have to acknowledge and appreciate in order to act in an upright way to uphold norms in the society Works Cited Graves, Robert. The Greek Myths: Complete Edition. London: Penguin, 1993. Read More