Aeschylus was, by all accounts, a notable participant in the major dramatic competitions of Athens. Considered the father of tragedy, Aeschylus used poetry to address ethical dilemmas that were often present during his time. In the Oresteia, Aeschylus' religious tendencies seem, at times, to cloud his vision. In the context of the play, events created by human arrogance set off a chain reaction of such epic proportions that only the gods can help repair; he seems to forgive and forget the gods' involvement in the events leading to the curse. Aeschylus's sexist depiction of the myth of the sons of Atreus is a religiously biased tale of bloodshed and retributive justice in which the actions of the gods are justified. Unlike justice, which is congruous and restorative, revenge is harmful and punitive: it quickly becomes a cyclical black hole that draws in everyone it touches. Orestes was a mere pawn trapped in a game of manipulation by the gods and a victim of the senseless pride of his ancestors. His decision to kill his mother was based on Apollo's expectations of seeking revenge for his father's murder. The chorus encourages him by reminding him of the brutality of his father's murder. "Shame? Slaughtered, I tell you, with his hands chopped off/skewered to shackle his neck and arms! / so he worked / he buried him, he made your life hell / your father, mutilated, do you understand? However, as you learn the story, it is easy to understand that Agamemnon's downfall was actually due to a series of unwise choices. First, the Trojan War that took him from his land and his wife was not his battle to fight. It was his brother's war of Menelaus. A ten-year ordeal to avenge his brother's wounded pride after Paris, prince of Troy, seduced and stole Menelaus' wife...... middle of paper ...... the position of men over women , portraying Clytemnestra's strength as a flaw and continually having women in the play agree with her point of view, this is to be expected in the literature of that period. Overall, the discriminatory portrayal didn't stop me from enjoying this book; in fact I find it ironic that it is the women who create conflict making the show interesting. Works Cited Graves, R. (1992). The Greek Myths: Complete Edition. New York: Penguin Books.Aeschylus. (2011). In the Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/7413/Aeschylus (accessed April 11, 2011) Eleusis. (2011). In the Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/184469/Eleusis (accessed April 2, 2011) Aeschylus. The Oresteia. Robert Fagles, translator and editor. New York: Penguin Books, 1979