Moral Authority

Today in our discussion group, we talked about whether what Orestes did was revenge or justice. However, the issue came up of what standard we have to define those terms. Speaking from a biblical perspective, the standard that we have to discern between justice and revenge is God and the fact that He is righteously just. That simple fact is an absolutely uncompromising objective lens in which moral law can be defined in the absolute. The problem with this approach in The Libation Bearers and other instances in greek mythology is that an absolute authority in which morality can be discerned is absent. The gods in greek mythology we see are actually very human in many of their characteristics. They commit decidedly human acts such as adultery and rape. The issue then presents itself, even if Apollo commanded Orestes to undertake this quest and kill his mother, was he justified in doing so or was it simply an act of vengeance on his own part? This problem arises purely because of the lack of absolute moral authority of the gods. If the gods command humans to go and enact vengeance for past wrongs, then they are no better than humans taking revenge on one another. As we see in The Libation Bearers,  even when Orestes follows the will of Apollo, it doesn't stop or even halt the ongoing cycle of revenge.  If there is one thing that can be concluded from all this, I would assert that it is simply that revenge brings no resolution, only further destruction.

PS. i commented on Molly's