An ancient history resource article by Mary Harrsch © 2013
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| Orestes and Elektra by Menelaus after Praxiteles 1st century CE. Photographed at the Palazzo Altemps in Rome, Italy by Mary Harrsch © 2009 |
I see that a group of attorneys in Chicago are planning to put Orestes on trial for matricide on January 29th, 2014. They're only a few thousand years late! Talk about how slow the wheels of justice turn!
Following the tremendous success of the National Hellenic Museum’s Trial of Socrates in January 2013, Patrick Fitzgerald, Dan Webb, Patrick Collins & Bob Clifford take on another ancient Greek in the Trial of Orestes, son of Agamemnon, of the cursed House of Atreus.
The Trial will take place at the UIC Forum – 725 West Roosevelt Road, Chicago, IL 60607, Wednesday, January 29th, 2014 from 6 to 9pm. Reception to follow immediately after the trial. Tickets available through TicketMaster: $100 per ticket; student tickets: $50 (must present valid Student ID).
Judges Richard A. Posner, Presiding, Charles P. Kocoras, William J. Bauer, and a jury of distinguished citizens of Chicago, will decide the validity of these charges. Orestes will be defended by Dan K. Webb (Winston & Strawn) and Robert A. Clifford (Clifford Law Offices). Counsel for the prosecution will be Patrick J. Fitzgerald (Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP) and Patrick M. Collins (Perkins Coie).
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| A bronze sculpture of Aeschylus from the Archaeological Museum of Florence, Italy. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons |
The trial is based on The Oresteia, by Greek playwright Aeschylus (525-456 BC), a foundational literary work that examines the crucial place of law in society, depicting the movement from primitive retaliatory vengeance to civilized justice and a hopeful new order under the rule of law.
Consisting of Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Eumenides, the trilogy constitutes a deeply affecting study of crime and punishment, probing such irresolvable and vexatious issues as the nature of justice, the frequent conflicts between love and duty, the torments of moral decision making, our obligations to the gods, society, and ourselves, and the spiritual consequences of irremediable actions. Above all, the Oresteia shows us the burdens of a culture based on the lex talionis—an eye for an eye—and the blessings of a jury trial in a court of law.
 
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