How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #4
(Chorus of Furies): "Lord Apollo, hear me in my turn. You are yourself no mere accomplice in these things, but you have been the single agent completely, as taking the whole responsibility."
(Apollo): "How so then? Extend your speech that far in length."
(Chorus of Furies): "Was it your oracle's injunction for the stranger to kill his mother?"
(Apollo): "It was my oracle's injunction to bring vengeance for his father. Of course!"
(Chorus of Furies): "And then did you promise to give refuge to the murderer with the blood still fresh on him?"
(Apollo): "It was also my order to turn to this temple in supplication." (198-205)
Here, the Furies take Apollo to task for helping Orestes in his revenge plot. Or, rather, instead of helping him, they think he has "been the single agent completely, as taking the whole responsibility" (199). If that's so, then it sounds like Orestes didn't have any free will when he killed his mother. But then why are the Furies hounding him so much? Is it just because Apollo is too strong, and they want to pick on somebody smaller than their own size? (This sounds convincing to us.) Or do the Furies simply not care whether Orestes acted freely or not? Is their attitude simply "You did the crime, you do the time"?
Quote #5
(Chorus of Furies): "This role was allotted, spun off
by Fate in a piercing blow, for us to possess securely:
mortal men whose own wanton acts cleave fast to them,
these are ours to accompany until each comes down below the earth;
and after death he is not too free." (334-340)
Here the Furies offer an interesting new perspective on the idea of free will. They show how the free will of people later in life becomes limited by the actions they committed earlier in life, which then "cleave fast to them." Now, if anyone warns you against "closing doors on yourself," you can tell them that they are hounding you like the Furies. Still, just because they're the Furies doesn't mean they don't have a point, right?
Quote #6
(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)
Even in modern courts of law, "necessity" is a standard criminal defense (426). For example, if you were charged with burglary because you had to break into a pharmacy after hours to get medication to save someone's life, you could claim that you were acting out of necessity, instead of free will. Compare Athena's views here with those of the Furies from the previous section. Is it just a coincidence that Athena's matches up more closely with modern notions of responsibility?