Ethical Cause and Effect in Both Works and Days and The Eumenides

      How does the view of ethical cause and effect in history in Works and Days compare with the furies' view in The Eumenides?

      Works and Days by Hesiod provides an interesting comparison to Aeschylus' Eumenides, since both works of literature deal with many of the same themes of revenge, honesty, hard work, and ethics. Works and Days attempts to teach the reader what actions will lead to a good life (as well as what actions will lead to a poor and unhappy life). Eumenides, although it uses much the same concept, is more focused and candid in its warnings of a bad life rather than promises of a good.

      In Works and Days, Hesiod admits that it is morally permissible to take revenge on someone if they have wronged you. Eumenides agrees with this idea, as two major characters of the play use revenge to get back at those who have wronged them. Clytemnestra's husband sacrifices their daughter, so in revenge Clytemnestra commits adultery with another man and later kills her husband. Her son Orestes, once he finds out what his mother has done, takes revenge on her by killing her. Eumenides deals with which revenge was correct. According to the Furies, who play a major part in Eumenides, it was Clytemnestra's, and they spend most of the play trying to get Orestes punished for his revenge against his mother.

      Honesty is dealt with in both Works and Days and Eumenides. Hesiod believes that being honest is one of the actions that will result in a good and happy life. Morally speaking, being honest is the right thing to do under any circumstance, and this is illustrated in Eumenides when Orestes decides to be honest in the face of the Furies' condemnation about why he killed his mother.

     Hard work is also an important part of both pieces of literature. Hesiod points out, through many different examples, how hard work will pay off and lead to a good and happy life. Hard work, he says, will make one comfortable at the very least and may even lead to wealth, if applied correctly. He gives ideas on how to apply the principles of hard work to one's life, explaining in detail how to make the most of one's resources and labor. Hard work certainly paid off for the Furies in Eumenides. Although their primary goal – which was to have Orestes punished for the murder of his mother – was not achieved, they succeeded in becoming revered gods of Athens, an outcome which the city had offered to them as a sort of compromise.

      Works and Days and The Eumenides are filled with many such similarities and contrasts. They are fascinating complements to each other, and of course, they are outstanding works of literature in their own right.