How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #4
(Chorus of Furies): "We are Night's eternal children, and in our home beneath the earth we are called Curses."
(Athena): "I know your descent and your names in their meaning." (416-418)
Here, just like people tend to do in ancient Greek literature, the Furies identify themselves by their parentage. So, what's your guess: is Night a god or a goddess? If you guessed goddess, you're right: Night ("Nyx" in Greek) was thought of as a female divinity. Now, of course, if Apollo were pressing his case at this point, he might try to argue that the Furies' can't really be Night's children, because mothers aren't parents. The fact that the Furies identify themselves in terms of their family relation to their mother shows that they still stand by the more sensible view of parentage, rather than being swayed by Apollo's bogus argument.
Quote #5
(Athena): "Is it flight like that with which you howl and harry this man?"
(Chorus of Furies): "Yes; he saw fit to shed his mother's blood."
(Athena): "When no necessity overcame him, or did he fear someone's rancor?"
(Chorus of Furies): "What can be great enough to goad a man into killing his mother?" (424-427)
Here, too, we see how the Furies take family relations much more seriously than Athena does. The Furies seem to be implying that there is no possible excuse that could justify killing one's own mother. Athena doesn't seem to agree. Maybe just because Athena didn't have a mother she can't understand? What do you think?
Quote #6
(Chorus of Furies): "In all things I say to you:
respect the altar
of Justice; and do not,
with an eye to profit, insult and kick it down
with godless feet, for retribution results;
an end is appointed and waits.
Let a man therefore rightly put first in honour
the reverence due to parents,
and respect attentiveness
to a house's guests which does them honour." (538-548)
Once again, we see how the Furies are deeply concerned with family. Here, they put emphasis on the "reverence due to parents" (546) as one of the most important ways in which human beings can "respect the altar / of Justice" (539-540). When the Furies lose their case, does that mean that Aeschylus thinks people shouldn't respect their parents?