New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1870-07-05
GREEK RELIGION.
III
IT'7TTs
Munich, Mai 10 l6, 1870.

BosToN, May Not the author of Gates
Ajar" listening in her pleasant dreams TO heavenly
pianos ever drew half to the celestial regions OF
looked into them with half disllusionzed ana WIDE
open eyes the Grecan Thought in the time OF Homer
To Homer and his Greeks Olympus but the upstairs
"the second story" OF the lower world where men
quarrel and drink and love- and conrive. Just over
head the gods doing all these things ALSO and as MI
Weiss beautifully expressed 1t In his last lecture the
svery laughter of their banquets is overheard through
the thin flooring Of chdke faith, their Varlahces ana
their DEGREES come peang down the staircase"
Homer believed as do that justice ought to rule;
but he do that apparently it does not rule; and
he explained the strange vagares Of things by endowng
the powerful gods with human passions and showing us
their Devices each for protecting his or her own aVore
and getting ahead of each other. Beyond and above
even the gods he conscious OF certain fate winch
perhaps was but another for rotrbutive justice,
according to whose award all affairs must some day adj
lust themselves; but meantime tn gods had a long
tether Between them and men there was this great diff
ference, which the old Orphic line emboded-Iears are
the food Of laughter Of the gods While below all
was tragic carnestness above the same struggles ana
contrivances gorned by the golden sunshine OF
splendid and inexhaustible Humor. This was Homer's
way OF recOncng with his poetic the apparent
trviaty Of these pickering and plotting gods, whose
sports Fate regarding with unWinkmg eye.
The gods cannot plot and cOunteract each other,
foment disputes, set Greek against Trojan and Iroah
against Greek without clarifying it all with the radiance
of their genial emperaments The cadences Of their in
exhaustibe laughter ring down to Us from the worlds
YOUTH Just long ago, they rang down to Homer re-
concng him to the tragedy below by the comedy above
But though the gods were always disposed to laugh
when things at their worst they were at no time
emancipated from the control of Fate which was never
altogether personifed, embodied in any single god,
but was rather the occult law Of the great universe ITSELF
The Greek mind had underneath all itspoetry rgdsene
of Justice which followed deeds with their results, and
which Zeus himself, though he might soften It's blowS
could not absolutely turn away or control. Ihey sa"
some net OF deprayy entail family long series
of fatefu circumstances, running like scroua III the
blood and their minds-at that stage imaginative ana
perceptve rather than phlosophical-were profoundly
penetrated by sense Of tragedy Of something uncon
troa and not TO De ayerted which lay in wait TO pun
s or possibly destroy Thus the Greek suffered the
tragedy which he witnessed for IL embodied his sense OF
his own relation TO destiny and the chorus in Greek
play was always the expression Of the natural comment
of the audience its hopes its fears its shuddcrng sense
Of doom.
II was the general conviction OF the Greeks that the
gods applied themselves to carry out tho DEGREES of the
Fate they could not have resisted If they would and
so in the great tragedies religious sense Of Destiny
mderlies all the action. Take illustration the
Trilogy OF Esclylus, composed Of three plays, which
were probably acted three successive days. 1.-THE
Acamemnon," "Tbc Lbation-Bearers" and THE
Enmenides" II is a story OF the phnccly family Of
PeOps and the AtdG and the thread Of Fate begins far
back the days when the division between celestial and
terrestrial was slight that Tantalus, King Of Phryga
quite II home at Olympus. one day lac made BAN
Duct the gods at which he served mp the wecookcd
body Of his own Peops Al the gods and goddcsses
steadily refused to paTae OF this dish except Ceres who
had eaten one shoulder before she noticed the refusal Of
the Others or knew upon what she feeding. The
Celestial powers Overwholm Tantalus with sudden de
sructon restore Peops to e make himas good as new
with patent shoulder In place Of the one Ceres had
dgested keep him at Olympus for his education, and
finally make him the founder OF powerful family. He
gives his to the Peoponnesus and is ancestor Of
the Aride who derive their from Atreus the father
Of Agamemnon Aureus kept up the reputation Of the
by stealing the golden fleece from his brother
Thyestes Thyestes fees from his brothers court leav
ing his behind him. Some time afterward he re-
turns, humble suppliant for protection. Aureus pre-
tends to welcome him, but, thus showing himself true
descendant of Tantus up the feast of welcome
for Thyeses two Of the OF the latter Thyestes thus
banGuets unknOwingly his flesh and blood, but
aerward discovering what had been done he ees again.
this time taking with him his remaining Egisthus
who yet in his time to bring back faeful crime
and vengeance into the household
The play OF "a gamemnOn" begins with the eXpecta-
ton OF the kings from Troy. The beacon lights
which that Troy is taken flash from hight To
hight, and watchman hastens 10 Clytemnestra. the
queen, to tell her the glad dings She pretends to re
king will, she fears, mmask her own guilty liason with
Egsthus, the son Of Tbyestes who has now become
which had fallen TO the lot OF Agamemnon was the
prophecies Cassandra, OF whom, Notwithstanding her
st when the king she meets him with pretended
joyfulness; and thfows Ems avnd his neck He Is
cold and unresponve and she token OF Cassandas
love for him in the face OF the prophecies Then
enters into her heart and the chorus divlnng with
subtle instinct her mood lifts up boiling antiphOne which
Cyemnestra interrupts by asking CassandIa to enter
The seeress nauses on the Threshold seeing with clair
yOyant eyes that doom has gone in before her. Cytem
with the chorus Then the queen and Fsihus conTive
the murder Of AgamemnOn, while the chorus waits out
side in an awful expectation. Soon Cyemnestra reap
pears and cries out "Thou vaunest that the deed was
mine But reckon not that am the spouse Of Agamem
cruel ban1ueter taking The likeness of this dead mans
wife, hath visited him with his vengeance, and for the
slaughtered infants has paid ull.grOwn victim" Then
the play closes with the desire OF the chorus that Orest
the son Of AgamemnOn may RETURN and lie the avenger
Of his father the slayer of Egisthus and the queeu
Lbation Bearers because II opens with scene where
Electra tho daughter OF AgaInemnon, appears with
her father Just At the time Of the bation Orestes ar
ryes and Is encouraged by his sister in his idea Of
geance. The chorus also confirms his intention, and
urges him on: An oracle has melted him as well TIL he
feels that he 0beying the voice OF the gods Disguised
ders AglSthus and then at his side. his mother For
moment he reoices that justice has been done. Then
suddenly he feels his mind torn by the Furles whom his
mothers dying had invoked. His conscience sbud
ders at tho memory Of his deed aud the Fures scourge
nm nom city TO city in The vain pursuit Of peace
the pacaic ones" because at last even the Furles
lent. Hitherto ali the actors Ia the awful drama had
been criminals, but orestes had been gultess OF all
blame up 10 the matcide, Ia which he driven on by
the very force Of destiny Justice rccoed from the idea
OF prosecuting him fOreyer-nOr 1t needfu that the
guilty blood he had shed should be further avenged
on him. Minerva undertakes TO pacfy TIC Furics, and
under her guidance they up their abode Athens,
To preside tho ways vice aud virtue And thus,
at Tho end thc bitter tragedy sofens and Justice is bIent
with nofcy. g. N.