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31 Aeschylus’ Eumenides was performed in 458 Bc, shortly after the reorganization of the Areopagus under Ephialtes and the new alliance between Athens and Argos in 462/1 Bc. Against this background, the play paints a singular portrait of Athens’ hegemony both military and judicial. The image of Athens as protector of suppliants in this play among others challenges Sparta’s much-touted military superiority by celebrating the mythical alliance between Athens and Argos, which Orestes formalizes at the end of his trial. Eumenides calls attention to Athens’ distinctive ability to assimilate what is “foreign” and to forge relationships of mutual advantage even among opposing parties. Athens’ gestures of acceptance are realized through two different forms of civic integration: Orestes’ repatriation in Argos and the Furies’ incorporation as cult divinities in Athens. Both Orestes and the Furies return the favor of their reception by making contributions to Athens that augment her power. Orestes’ offer of the Argive alliance expands Athens’ military reach, while the Furies play an equally important role in ensuring Athens’ dominance by serving Athena and her people. The advantages, which accrue to Athens as a result of the incorporation of these foreigners, jointly advertise her military and her judicial superiority. ORESTES AND THE ARGIvE ALLIANCE “Tragic allusions to contemporary events are not as a rule, taken on trust, but Eumenides contains three notable exceptions,” notes J. H. Quincey, in his discussion of the dramatic representation of the historical alliance in Aeschylus ’ Eumenides.1 Scholars now agree that Eumenides furnishes a mythical aetiology for the Argive alliance of 462/1. Led by Ephialtes and the radical democrats, the alliance with Argos was emblematic of the new course in Athens’ foreign policy.   AESCHYLUS’ EUMENIDES: HEGEMONY and JUSTICE CITY of SUPPLIANTS 32 In the late 460s Bc, the Athenians withdrew from the Hellenic League formed in 481 Bc against the Persians, renouncing their diplomatic ties with Sparta, and concluded a military and political alliance with Argos, Sparta’s avowed enemy in the Peloponnese.2 The rift was prompted by the conduct of the Spartans, who requested the Athenians’ assistance in quelling the uprising of the helots and the perioikoi during the Messenian War.3 Cimon had proposed the motion to dispatch an Athenian contingent, which Ephialtes and many democrats opposed. The Spartans later dismissed the Athenian force, led by Cimon, fearful and suspicious of their potential involvement in the revolt.4 It was this incident that led the Athenians to dissolve their alliance with the Spartans against the Persians (Th. 1.102.4). Concurrently, Cimon’s involvement afforded Ephialtes and many democrats who had originally opposed his motion the opportunity to ostracize Cimon while he was away (Plut. Cim. 17.3).5 For despite his military successes in northwest Greece and the Aegean, Cimon had maintained friendly relations with the Spartans out of personal conviction and as a matter of strategy.6 The Argive alliance put an end to Cimon’s philo-Laconian politics and defined Athens’ foreign policy through open enmity to Sparta. The Argive alliance in Eumenides, which is mentioned three times in the course of Orestes’ trial on the Areopagus (287–298, 667–673, 762–777), is granted such prominence because it was “part and parcel of the democrats’ program of reforms in domestic and foreign policy.”7 For critics, the two mythical aetiologies of the play, Orestes’ inauguration of the alliance and Athena’s foundation of the Areopagus as a homicide court in Athens, relate the new direction in foreign policy with the reforms of 462/1 Bc, which the democrats pushed ahead, thereby dismantling the aristocrats’ stronghold on the Areopagus Council.8 My discussion further demonstrates that the depiction of the mythical alliance with Argos strengthens Athens’ image as a hegemonic city.9 The protection that Athena affords Orestes against the all-powerful Furies affirms Athens’ reputation for helping those in need.The play adapts the coordinates of myth and plot to the requirements of hegemonic mythmaking, tracing its origins in the distant past. Orestes pays tribute to Athena’s leadership by offering the goddess an alliance with Argos as a token of his gratitude. The dramatic configuration of supplication acquires specific relevance in the context of the historical antagonism between Athens and Sparta that led to the breach of diplomatic ties in 462/1 Bc. For while Sparta’s authority was widely recognized among the Greeks due to her leadership of the Hellenic League, Athens’ power continued to grow with the result that neither...

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