Justice or Revenge? Aeschylus for the 21st Century

Aeschylus’ The Eumenides, the final play in the Oresteia trilogy, has been described as the foundation stone of Western metropolitan civilization. It confronts the question: what does a community do with violent, shattering crimes? Can cool and rational legality tame vengeful passions? Is revenge ever reasonable? What kinds of crimes force us to reconsider our legal systems? These and other questions will be explored by writers, historians, classicists, philosophers, and other members of the Einstein Forum’s board of advisors.

Program

• Jul 1, 2021
  • 7:00 PM Susan Neiman: Welcome
  • 7:10 PM Daniel Kehlmann: Einsteinian Interlude
  • 8:00 PM Carey Harrison: From the Shield of Achilles to the Hill of Mars
• Jul 2, 2021
  • 2:00 PM Glenn Most: Just How Just is Aeschylus’ Justice?
  • 3:00 PM Stephen Holmes: Justice, Identity, Revenge
  • 4:00 PM Lorraine Daston: Unnatural Crimes and Artificial Justice
  • 5:00 PM Wendy Doniger: Cutting the Red Cord of Vengeance. The Oresteia and the Mahabharata
  • 6:15 PM Konstanty Gebert: Can Furies Retire? Do Furies Die?
  • 7:15 PM Susan Neiman: Crime, Memory, and Justice
  • 8:15 PM David Shulman: Alternatives to Revenge

For further information and registration, please visit this website.