The tone of this passage is extremely affective. The Erinyes claim that they “suffer the insufferable”. This can be taken in two ways. First, it could be seen as the lack of honor and sacrifices from the people. From a deity’s perspective, not being honored is one of the worst possible things and without a doubt would cause the Erinyes acute pain. This is supported by the fact that Athena promises them honor and power through being honored. Another potential way to interpret this is that the “insufferable” is having their “age-old laws” and “ancient rights” taken away from them. They are clearly very fond of their perennial customs and thus it would cause them great pain to have them taken away. The forceful emotion of the Chorus is also carried across to the reader not only by the compelling language, but also by the repetition of Refrain I. The Chorus has twenty lines, after which it is followed by fifteen lines from Athena with a variety of reasons as to why the Chorus should accept her proposal. After Athena makes a robust argument, the Chorus simply rejects everything Athena says and repeats their first lines, exactly as they did the first time. This shows their pain and suffering and how much they want to maintain their old
The tone of this passage is extremely affective. The Erinyes claim that they “suffer the insufferable”. This can be taken in two ways. First, it could be seen as the lack of honor and sacrifices from the people. From a deity’s perspective, not being honored is one of the worst possible things and without a doubt would cause the Erinyes acute pain. This is supported by the fact that Athena promises them honor and power through being honored. Another potential way to interpret this is that the “insufferable” is having their “age-old laws” and “ancient rights” taken away from them. They are clearly very fond of their perennial customs and thus it would cause them great pain to have them taken away. The forceful emotion of the Chorus is also carried across to the reader not only by the compelling language, but also by the repetition of Refrain I. The Chorus has twenty lines, after which it is followed by fifteen lines from Athena with a variety of reasons as to why the Chorus should accept her proposal. After Athena makes a robust argument, the Chorus simply rejects everything Athena says and repeats their first lines, exactly as they did the first time. This shows their pain and suffering and how much they want to maintain their old