"The Eumenides" was, overall, one of the most interesting and intriguing stories I have read in a literature class. Most stories are hard to grasp and don't make much sense in modern-day times. "The Euminides," however, caught my attention and never let go. It tells the story of Orestes, who killed his mother in order to avenge the death of his father. Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus, kill Agamemnon--then Apollo urges Orestes to kill her as a form of revenge. Orestes feels the need to avenge his father's death, but he also feels the guilt of murdering his own flesh and blood. He choose to murder his mother because it followed reason.
             The fact that Orestes was plagued by the decision between duty and guilt made his character seem to be in a very human-like predicament. his duty is to avenge Agamemnon's death. The dilemma is that his own mother is the one who murdered his father. The rational side of himself says that he must do what is right--avenge his father's death, no matter who the murderer is. The guilt that Orestes feels is natural when you put yourself in his shoes. Both perspectives have their own validity. No matter which one he chooses, he would have been punished.
             In "The Eumenides," Apollo and the Furies represent opposite extremes. Neither represent good or bad, although I tended to side with Apollo in the story. I guess that's because he was swaying Orestes, the main character's, actions. Apollo is a young Olympian god, the Furies are aged pre-Olympian goddesses. Apollo is the god of the sun, while the Furies represent night. Apollo defends the males, or Orestes, while the Furies defend the females, or Clytemnestra. they are extreme opposites in what they represent and what they believe is just. I'm so used to good versus evil stories that it's hard to not want to pick a side, when two such conflicting ideas are represented.
             The theme of "The Euminides" is basically that all of the sufferin...