The myth of Orestes, who, after killing his mother, is persecuted by the Erinyes, tells of a new social and legal order, ending the archaic rule of blood revenge and beginning the rule of democracy in which reason prevails over arbitrary violence. In this reworking of the drama, the new rule sanctions male-patriarchal power and order based again on the abuse of power and exploitation of the earth. Calabria, both beautiful and desolate, once part of Magna Grecia, provides the ideal setting for illustrating the contradictions of present day society.