Aeschylus at times advocated blind and inexorable destiny

 

Aeschylus at times advocated blind and inexorable destiny-Discuss.

 

Ans. Aeschylus has, at times depicted destiny as all powerful before which man is a mere pawn in the game of chess. As a matter of fact both Aeschylus and Sophocles have dealt with hereditary curses. The sin comes down to the posterity of a sinner. Such convictions are bound to give rise to such impressions as Aeschylus is a fatalist, preaching a gospel of gloom and helplessness. The wicked members in a family may have to face the destiny of death, but how can it be accepted that good also be perished with them.

 

Free will is another important aspect in Aeschylus' plays. However strong arguments may put Clytemnestra forward in justification to the murder of her husband Agamemnon, no one can forgive her wilful adultery she has committed with Aegisthus in absence of her husband. The argument that she needs the male assistance in her act of crime does not hold good as she carried out the double murder in cool blood without any assistance.

 

Agamemnon can hardly absolve himself of the terrible sin of sacrificing his innocent daughter Iphigenia. On the top of it he returns from Troy with Cassandra, the daughter the slain King Priam as his mistress. He, therefore, shows scant regard for morality. Strangely enough Aeschylus absolves a sinner who is a perpetrator of the most heinous crime like matricide.