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In this story, The Eumenides by Aeschylus, Athena is called in to hold a trial for Orestes. Currently the Furies are pursuing Orestes because the flock of malicious women were called down upon him by his murdered mother. The question presented to the jury is whether Orestes should be burdened with the bloodguilt of his matricide, or whether he acted righteously and should be pardoned. You see he killed his mother, Clytemnestra, because she killed her husband (his father) Agamemnon, who in turn killed his daughter (Orestes' sister) Iphigeneia. Whew! This is what is called the Curse of the House of Atreus. Agamemnon’s uncle laid down a blood curse many years ago. And, as you can see, that curse has been hard at work. Now Athena debates with the Furies and the 12 jurors about Orestes' motives and his fate.
Athena enters the courtroom in full armor. The sun glints off her breastplate and helmet through the columns. It is mid-morning and the air is still cool on the skin. The Furies lie in a peculiar heap about Orestes' feet. Their bodies are draped with unclean garments and with each exhalation of their breath you may wish to take a step back. Their black hair is wild and oily, as is their unwashed skin. Their fingers reach up to alternately caress and injure him, a pinch there, a slap here. One leans over to whisper in Orestes' ear things that make his face blanche white. But, Orestes only shakes his head and pushes her back down to sit with her sisters.
Athena announces herself to the
temple with no pomp or circumstance. She holds herself proudly, and
an aura of the divine surrounds her. "As soon as your plea reached
my ears I fled with all speed to meet you and hear your case. But
first, who are you foul women who drape yourselves upon this man?"
The Furies answer Athena in unison,
their scratchy voices echoing in the empty chamber. "We are
here doing our duty to a fallen mother. Fulfilling a blood curse
brought down with her dying breath."
"Is that why you pursue this man?"
"Yes.” They answer. “His matricide stains him."
"What was his motive, for what reason did he commit such a crime? You creatures are too eager to trade a man's life in without due reason. Justice cannot be served in this fashion",
questions the Goddess.
Before the Furies can speak up
for him, Orestes answers her question. “Pallas Athena, I freely
admit to the murder, but my motives are complex. I was exiled until
only recently, and upon my return I exacted revenge for my father's
death. Apollo was my counselor in all my actions, and so he also
shares responsibility.
"Allow me to call a jury of sharp witted men to come and hear this case" says
Athena who promptly sends messengers through the Acropolis to gather
her jury.
While everyone waits for the
men to arrive, the Furies begin to bemoan the process. "If such
a man as he were let free, what might come next? Surely there are
times when fear is good, and that is the service we provide. Without
us what reason would men have for doing good”
The 12 jurors begin filing in
now, one by one. "I have chosen 12 men from many different generations to come here, so that there will be no bias on young nor old" spoke
Athena.
All sides present their cases.
The Furies scream and rant about their righteous duty to the dead,
and condemn Orestes as a murderer. Hearing this, Apollo intercedes
as Orestes' litigator to defend him. "A son must avenge his
slain father. He has a duty to his kin and his country to restore
order to his household."
Athena confers with the jury,
and returns with her judgment. "In this case I must side with
Orestes. I side with the man, and not the woman for I was born of
no woman. I do not assign more grief to her death than to his. And
so, I say that Orestes shall have the benefit of the doubt if the
ballots are cast in his favor, or even if they end in a tie. Jurymen
go and decide."
The Jury confers with one another
for only a moment before reaching their decision. Tension cuts through
the air as the foreman rises to speak: "The ballots are even,
split each way. Orestes has escaped his Furies."
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This courtroom drama highlights Athena's godly sphere of Wisdom. She is called on to mitigate a moral matter because she was believed to be in complete control of her mental state, and had a clarity of mind few men possessed. This is interesting because the Greeks believed women to be irrational animals ruled by emotions, not temperate judges or morality. One of the parts I found particularly compelling was the piece where she passes judgment. The reason she states for siding with him is not because he is innocent, but because he is male. She is “always for the male with all [her] heart.” ("Eumenides", Aeschylus 1953: 135-171)
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