The Conflict in the Eumenides of the OresteiaIn the Eumenides, the third book of the Oresteia, there is a strong rivalry between the Furies and the god Apollo; From the moment of their first confrontation in the temple of Apollo at Delphi, it is clear that the god and the spirits are opposing forces. Their actions bring them into direct conflict and both are stubbornly determined to achieve their respective goals while at the same time interfering with or impeding the other's actions. There is also considerable personal animosity between Apollo and the Furies, especially from the former towards the latter. Because of the differences between the respective ideals they represent, their personal conflict is as intense as that caused by their actions. The nature of the rivalry is ironic because they possess very similar ideals in some respects; both seek to establish order and justice in the world (although they have separate and very different conceptions of order and justice) and, therefore, strive for the same goals, but neither realizes this truth. Apollo and the Furies despise each other. because their actions and even their very nature are diametrically opposed. In this play, Aeschylus describes Apollo as a noble and virtuous figure, based on two traits for which the god is well known: an interest in peace and justice and a tendency to passionately defend from harm individuals or groups of people who they love it. It's worth noting that The Eumenides isn't the only episode where Apollo protects someone from the Furies; there is a remarkably similar Greek legend in which Apollo orders a character named Alcmaeon to kill his mother (Grant 139), which he had arranged for her... middle of paper... ries. Each is determined to achieve their goal by blocking the other's actions. Their respective natures, in addition to their actions, also generate a strong mutual contempt between them. The work depicts Apollo as a seeker of peace and justice and, more importantly, as a defender of the weak, while the Furies are seemingly his antithesis: primitive creatures who incite murder and foment chaos within the Atreus family . However, the god and the spirits are also similar in that they wish to establish order in the world by granting justice to the mortals they protect, although their conceptions of justice and order are quite different, and this leads to the irony that they work to defeat. with each other without ever acknowledging that there is a common bond between them. Works Cited: Aeschylus. Orestia. Trans. Peter Meineck. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1998.