>At 9:03 AM +0000 25/2/02, david.bircumshaw wrote:
>I don't think the Oresteia actually covers that ground, Chris!
If the ground you mean is the question of patriachal legitimacy, it
does indeed cover that ground - the whole bloody story of the House
of Atreus (in all its various versions) is a fable about claims to
such legitimacy. Why otherwise are Helen's "theft" by Paris or
Clytemnestra's infidelity such a cause of angst? Agamemnon's
possession of Cassandra goes without comment, for example. And
Aegisthus can be argued to be a legitimate claimant to the throne,
given what Agamemnon's father did to his fathers and brothers... etc.
And the metaphorical extension to questions of copyright not merely
fanciful, I think. The whole play is riddled with contradictions and
bizarre intricacies - but I think it is somewhat euphemistic to say
the Oresteia endorses misogyny!
Best
A
--
Alison Croggon
Home page
http://www.users.bigpond.com/acroggon/
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