This was the focal point of Ancient Greek perception of justice, and is demonstrated in the downfall of the House of Agamemnon. The downfall of the house of Agamemnon began when Cassandra begun to ramble prophecies about a curse on the house and indicates that "a great evil is plotted in this house" (Oresteia.1103). This downfall of the house was the case of Aeschylus' play Agamemnon. Cassandra expressed to the Chorus that they would see their king dead and indicates that she would die as well. Cassandra also predicted that a retaliator would come. After these forewarnings, Cassandra became submissive to her fortune, and enters the house. As they contemplated what to do, the doors open, and Clytemnestra appears, the wife of Agamemnon, upended over the bodies of her spouse and Cassandra. Clytemnestra then states that she has killed him to avenge Iphigenia , and then was joined by her lover Aegisthus . The death of Agamemnon embodied the Greek conception of divine justice. (Agamemnon suffered for the sins of his father, Aegistreus, the sins of the father had been passed down to his descendant, his son.) Just was the cause of the tragic hero's downfall, for the gods must chastise disproportionate pride and re-establish balance to a universe where man did not go too far beyond the boundaries set by the gods. It was the role of the divine to create balance through divine justice and retribution in the world; and it was the role of humans, not to obey this balance.
The ancient Greeks perceived the divine as the protectors and guides of their city-states, with the conviction that the gods were too disposed to help and protect those who honoured them (Pomeroy et al.84). The ancient gods and goddesses played a key role in the lives of heroes and ensured justice; this confirmed through Athena's role in Odysseus' journey home in The Odyssey. Athena's fundamental role in The Odyssey was to assist and ensure the success of Odysseus' homecoming, and guarantee that Ithaca remained peaceful and stable (24.
