Social World (Libation Bearers)
Libation Bearers as a title, referring to most likely Electra and Orestes, brings interesting connotations to their characters and lends to justifying their acts of avenging their father's death by killing their mother. If it is freedom they are bringing, to whom do they give it? Surely, they are not freed by the filth of their blood-stained hands as Orestes flees the city after the murder to be cleaned by the righteous Apollo. Are they freeing the city from the disordered tyranny that became of Agamemnon's reign after he was conspired against and killed by killing those conspirators? Or are they only adding to the disorder by beginning a cycle of revenge? It is important to examine the two types of revenge here, just and unjust, and attempt to assign it to one or the other. In my humble opinion, if human justice is seen to be an attempt to align with divine justice, Clymnestra would have interfered with that justice by murdering her husband who paid tribute to the gods in the only way he knew: by sacrificing one of his daughters. While I am not neglecting that her death is morally inept to say the least, being the king's wife comes with weight to bear, such as the king's constant battle between familial and national success. He could not have successfully sailed to Troy without the gods favor (supposedly) and continued to win the Trojan War. On Orestes side of things, he was practically bullied into killing his own mother by the god Apollo. He was another attempt of protecting divine justice. While we were visiting the city of troia, I was struck with this discontinuity that I have always held with those who believed in Greek gods. Perhaps it is the sheer nature of pagan religions or the constant immorality we see among the immortal, but I usually fail to sympathize with characters who act in accordance to such unpredictable gods. In attempt to begin to consolidate this, I tried to think of the character of those who lived here and how those relate to ours. Their belief in higher gods was how they explained a complex web of knowledge that creates life, death, and circumstance, and this was their best method of organizing life together. The construction of the city it what people believe to make the good life, both today and back then, and their temples dedicated to their gods were a huge chunk of that. Much like they organized their city through construction and laws, it is easier to think about the things we take for granted in how the city is formed and used.
Biblical Heritage (Joshua, Judges)
The stream of mercy in these books of the Bible are generally written off by the claim that the God of the Old Testament was somehow different or "mean" compared to the God of the New. However, God remains the same, but the narrative is what truly shifts. The Old Testament is comprised of what is called a salvation history, where their purpose from the Israelite view has consummated itself in Christ to restore their kingdom and guard their aspirations. In 12th century BC, bearing in mind the time frame that the Trojan war was 15th, a catastrophe and deliverance occurs through the exodus of Jews out of Israel. Meaning "the way out", the Exodus provides a promise of nationhood and a set of laws to guide that nation through the Mosaic covenant. This follows the Abrahamic covenant whose descendants reaches a catastrophic end in 400 years after Joseph. Still a great nation in number as promise under that covenant, but they are now under pharaoh's slavery. Understanding this deliverance from his cruel rule is crucial for teaching of God's deliverance, freedom, and prosperity, to next generations. The Jewish holiday of Passover commemorates this. Where Psalms recollect these miracles through songs and poetry, the last of the 10 plagues is a defining episode that the covenant hasn't been lost despite His people's straying. By the killing of the first born of each family of Egypt, the Angel of Death passes over the doors of those Israelits who put sheeps blood on their doors. This movement is lead by Moses, an imperfect reluctant messenger and unlikely strong leader who must use his brother Aaron as his speaker. After God's judgement on pharaoh, Moses and his people continue on lost in a desert and are kept full of complaints and skepticism, despite the constant provision of God. Idolatry and rebellion continue but God leads his people out of the desert to their city. He mercifully keeps his covenant with the people even if they couldn't keep their half.
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