Orestes (play) - Themes

Themes

Like much of his work, Euripides uses the mythology of the Bronze Age to make a political point about the politics of Classical Athens during the Peloponnesian War. Orestes first played at the Dionysia during the waning years of the war, both Athens and Sparta and all of their allies had suffered tremendous losses.

Euripides challenges the role of the gods and perhaps more appropriately man’s interpretation of divine will. Orestes and others note the subordinate role of man to the gods, but the superiority of the gods does not make them particularly fair or rational. Even Apollo, the god synonymous with law and order, ultimately gives an unsatisfactory argument. For example, he cites the reason for the Trojan War as the method the gods chose to cleanse the earth of surplus population. This leads one to question why gods (or political leaders) would use war as an instrument for a greater good, and, this being the case, why these gods/leaders are worthy of our admiration and praise?

In addition to the will of the gods, the role of natural law and its tension with manmade law is noted. For example, Tyndareus argues to Menelaus that the law is fundamental to man’s lives, to which Menelaus counters that blind obedience to anything, such as the law, is an attribute of a slave.

Perhaps most important to the play is Apollo’s closing statements that Peace is to be revered more than all other values. Orestes best embodies this value by sparing the life of the Phrygian, driving home the point the beauty of life transcends cultural boundaries whether one be a slave or free man. This was also the only successful supplication in the play. This point is of particular value, since the Peloponnesian War had already lasted nearly a quarter of a century by the time of this play’s production.