An analysis of how dikh (‘justice’) and its associated values are Essay

An analysis of how dikh ( referee) and its associated value arepresented and translated in two passages from Sophocles Electra. What broader issues are raised and how would these be investigatedfurther?The concept of dikh, or referee has many subtle meanings andvariations in Ancient Greek ranging from the primary definition givenin LS (Liddell and Scotts, Greek-English Lexicon, Intermediate,1889, page 202) of custom to right, judgement, lawsuit, penalty andvengeance. The OCD (Hornblower S, Oxford Classical Dictionary, 1996,Page 469) consultation to Likh describes it as the, personification of legal expert and the daughter of Zeus that, reports mens wrongdoing toZeus.Sophocles rendition of the tragic play Electra forms a useful focalpoint for the analysis of how dike and its associated values arepresented and translated. As Kitto (Kitto, H.D.F, Greek Tragedy,1997, Routledge Page 131, Section 4) pointed out, this plays,central difficulty is a problem of dikh (Justice). The play itse lfexamines both the desire for justice by the children of the murderedAgamemnon as well as the careens of justice by his wife(Clytaemnestra for his murder). All of this takes fanny under thewatchful eye of Apollo, the God of both reason and prophecy, both ofwhich play a part in the story that is told.The first extract is that of the argument between Clytaemnestra andElectra (Sophocles, Translator Watling, E.F., Electra and otherplays, pg 84-56, lines 518-543) concerning her justification for themurder of Agamemnon. In this extract we are presented with aselection of references to justice and how Clytaemnestra explains howshe was right in her murder of her husband. At line 518 (Ibid.,) shecomplains at her portrayal as an unjust tyrant, presumably implyingthat she was not within her right or custom to kill him. Betweenlines 524-526 (Ibid.,) she says that justice and duty are tiedtogether and that her duty was to seek justice whilst Electra failedin this area. At line 535 (Ibid.,) sh e says, why should he not bebrought to justice for killing what was mine?. In modern terms thiscould be considered simple revenge, or dikhn. She is does not justifyher action because of tradition or precedent, purely because he tooksomething of hers. In lines 539-541 (Ibid.,) she argues thatAgamemnon love might ... ... study ties in perfectly with the idea of moral dilemmas, duty andespecially justice. In Electra we find our idea of our own valuesand those of the period to be challenged, this study may assist here.Williams. B, Moral Luck, 1981, CambridgeWilliams. B, Problems of the self, 1973, CambridgeWilliams. B, Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy, 1985, CambridgeWilliams work covered a wide black market of ethical and morals areas andhis research is relatively recent. Moral Luck, though not directlyrelated will almost certainly have a few useful ideas concerning fateand possibly justification.Plato, Translator Guthrie, W.K.C. Protagoras and Meno, 1956, PenguinBooksPlato discus ses the idea of virtue in great depth in the Protagorasand this could shed further light on the ideas of virtue, honour, dutyand possibly justice.Aeschylus, Translator Fagles, R, The Orestia, 1977, Penguin BooksEuripides, Editor Ferguson, J , Medea and Electra, 1987, BristolClassical PressAnother version of the story of Electra would be of great use,especially by other tragedian, in this case Euripides. This versionis written as more of a melodrama.