Clytemnestra, Athena, and The Furies: Powerful Women in Aeschylus’ Oresteia Trilogy

About the Event

This First Friday Lecture is supported by the Anastaplo Lecture Series Fund in memory of Basic Program Instructor George Anastaplo.

Lecture Description: 

The Oresteia is a trilogy of plays written by the ancient Greek dramatist Aeschylus.  The trilogy was first performed at the Festival of Dionysus in Athens, winning the drama prize in 458 BC.  Throughout the three plays, Aeschylus demonstrates his interest in the thoughts and feelings of women, who usually have little or no power in this male warrior culture.  Agamemnon’s murder of his daughter is poignantly described from her perspective.  Aeschylus also makes us share the horror of the enslaved prophetess Cassandra as she envisions the past innocent victims of the warring male factions in this family.  And in the final play, when we meet the ancient goddesses the Furies, we learn how it feels for them to be despised, vilified, and rejected by the younger gods.  In this lecture, we will be looking closely at Aeschylus’ depiction of several of these female figures in order to see how the playwright honors them. We will also explore how his female characters may actually hold the real power in the new world order that opens up at the end of the final play. 

About the Lecturer:

Cynthia Rutz received her PhD from the University of Chicago in 2013. Her dissertation topic is Shakespeare’s King Lear and its folktale analogues, a subject on which she has delivered several lectures. For several years, she worked with Mortimer Adler on his Paideia Project, an education reform project which encourages high school and elementary school teachers to help students think critically through Great Books seminars and coaching. Her academic interests include mythology, folktales, Milton, Willa Cather, and ancient Greek philosophy and literature. She joined the Basic Program in 1991, served as Staff Chair from 1999 to 2004, and is currently Director of Faculty Development at Valparaiso University. You can contact Cynthia at clrutz@uchicago.edu.

Who's Speaking

Cynthia Rutz

Basic Program Instructor

Cynthia Rutz received her PhD from the University of Chicago in 2013. Her dissertation topic is Shakespeare’s King Lear and its folktale analogues, a subject on which she has delivered several lectures. For several years, she worked with Mortimer Adler on his Paideia Project, an education reform project which encourages...

Cynthia Rutz received her PhD from the University of Chicago in 2013. Her dissertation topic is Shakespeare’s King Lear and its folktale analogues, a subject on which she has delivered several lectures. For several years, she worked with Mortimer Adler on his Paideia Project, an education reform project which encourages high school and elementary school teachers to help students think critically through Great Books seminars and coaching. Her academic interests include mythology, folktales, Milton, Willa Cather, and ancient Greek philosophy and literature. She joined the Basic Program in 1991, served as Staff Chair from 1999 to 2004, and is currently Director of Faculty Development at Valparaiso University.