Whitman and the American identity

Throughout ancient belief systems, a metaphysical balance is routinely emphasized and idealized. From “an eye for an eye” in Old Testament Judeo-Christianity to “karma” in the Eastern philosophies, most of the major faith systems recognize some form of spiritual moral balance, an evil done to evil-doers. In classical mythology, most evidently in Aeschylus’ Oresteia Trilogy,¹ this balance was illustrated by revenge, which was exacted on murderers by the mortal kin of their victims, prodded along by various immortals.

Revenge lends itself to the idea of responsibility for one’s actions—in the classical mindset, the ultimate avenue to showing responsibility for one’s grievances is having those same grievances brought down upon your own head (I classify this philosophy as belonging to “the classical mindset” because I fear it might be misinterpreted as a justification for the death penalty or war). The gods, specifically Apollo, ensure that the balance of morality is maintained by encouraging Orestes to exact revenge on Clytemnestra in the Oresteia.

Unfortunately, this balance is always extremely short-lived, for whenever one murder is avenged, the gods responsible must see to it that the murderer’s murderer himself gets what’s coming to him. This perpetuates a chain of responsibility, which is eventually ended by Pallas Athena in the Eumenides—the Furies, ultimate instruments of vengeance in classical mythology, are shaken from their destructive intentions by Athena’s logic.

Of course, there is the question of the original wrongdoing—was it in repayment for a prior sin on the part of Agamemnon? Was Clytemnestra justified in her murder of both her husband and the spoils of his victory in Troy, Cassandra? This is an issue for readers to decide for themselves, but—if she was, in fact, justified—it would support the theory that all of the major malevolent actions taking place in the Oresteia were simply efforts on the parts of both mortal and immortal characters alike to regain or maintain a sense of metaphysical moral balance.

The Oresteia Trilogy provides some valuable insight into the inner workings of the classics’ consciences, and details the extent to which their mythology valued a form of divinely-enacted karma. The plays take an unwavering look at the results of evils, and the detrimental aftereffects that befall those responsible. Just like “an eye for an eye” and karma, the Oresteia offers a weak form of morality, really a bastardization of something like the Golden Rule: don’t kill other people, or you’ll get killed back.