Final answer:
In Aeschylus' Oresteia trilogy, civic justice replaces a personal revenge ethic, depicting a shift from vendetta-based justice to a formal legal system governed by reason.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to the editor, Agamemnon is the first of three plays that show civic justice replacing the personal revenge ethic represented in earlier Greek beliefs and mythologies. In Aeschylus' Oresteia trilogy, which includes Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Eumenides, a significant transition is depicted from vicious cycles of personal vengeance to the establishment of civic justice and the rule of law.
This transition reflects the societal changes in ancient Athens, where earlier forms of justice, often based on personal vendetta and family feuds, gave way to a more organized system of justice overseen by the state. The editor might imply that with the character of Orestes in the trilogy, Aeschylus explores the transformative power of reason over violence, the superiority of divine principles over human ones, and the establishment of a civilized society where reason and justice prevail over primal and emotional responses.