American Journal of Philology

Abstract:

The Ghost of Clytemnestra is the first afterlife figure in extant Greek literature to call for vengeance instead of ritual burial. She goads the Erinyes to kill Orestes in order to rectify the wrongs she has suffered. Yet the living Clytemnestra has already proven manipulative, politically usurping, and murderous; her Ghost attacks her own son. Further, the Ghost's lack of substance (as eidōlon, psychē, or onar) distances her from the living world. On what ethical grounds, then, does the Ghost base her claims? How can a character so far beyond the boundaries of societal norms demand serious ethical consideration?