The Confused Chorus ("Agamemnon" 975-1034)
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3937996 |
|---|---|
| Authors | William C Scott (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1969 |
| Volume | 23 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 336 |
| Publication date | 1969-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Phoenix (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0031-8299 • E-ISSN: 1929-4883 |
| Publisher | JSTOR (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/1086454 |
| OpenAlex | W2321330696 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
THE MEMBERS OF THE CHORUS in Aeschylus' Agamemnon were born to sorrow.' Much of their unhappiness arises from continuing confusion about their king. For many reasons anxious thoughts about Agamemnon dominate these men: they feel that he has shown arrogance against the gods; they are aware that he has enemies inside Argos even though these enemies feign friendship; and they realize that at one time they themselves entertained hostile thoughts against their king. From this point of view Agamemnon appears to be in a perilous position. And yet the king returns rich in spoils and honour; the expedition to Troy has been a success. It is, therefore, difficult for the chorus to think that this king who returns so proudly to his palace is not a holy man-the agent of Zeus and the leader of a crusade to enforce Zeus' justice. With these two conflicting thoughts in their minds it is no surprise that the chorus can fall prey to confusion.2 Present events point to the continued success and prosperity of their king: Zeus himself seems to honour this man and to single out his ship for divine protection in the midst of a storm. In contradiction to this, past history seems to indicate that people who transgress the laws of the gods suffer; this implies a bleak future for Agamemnon. There is a vexing question in the minds of the chorus members: how is it possible to reconcile the idea of the holy man of god with trust in the inevitable retribution which other men have suffered? As their king enters the palace treading on the forbidden purple carpets, Clytemnestra prays to Zeus: Zeus, you who direct matters to their proper end, make my prayers complete; may you take charge of those things which you intend to bring to pass (Ag. 973-974). The words of the domineering queen indicate that some sort of critical moment is at hand. This thought brings the perplexity of the chorus to a head. When they begin to sing, their song is different from the previous choral odes. In the first three stasima their method was to examine the happenings of the past and then to make a general statement of the will
Art · Chorus · Literature · Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History · Classical Antiquity Studies · Geology · History
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,05 |
| Citation span | 1982 - 2017 (36) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |