The Greeks' Tragic World View
The Greeks had a tragic world view. I believe that a tragic world view is a view of the world in which there is little hope for any progress; everything grows, matures, and dies. The values taught by such a tragic world are bravery, fate, humanism, and reasoning. There are many examples of the teaching of these values in the Grecian literary works. Examples of such works are: the epic poetry of Homer, The Odyssey and the Iliad; works of Sophocles, Oedipus Rex and Antigone; works of Euripides, Media and The Trojan Women; and Plato's retelling of the trial of Socrates, The Apology.
The epic poetry of Homer had lasting impact Grecian society. It came to be the basis of Greek religion, teaching honor and bravery, as well as the elements of tragedy. The Iliad teaches that no one is invulnerable. The Iliad expresses the truth that " 'wicked arrogance' and 'ruinous wrath' will cause much suffering and death." This is shown in The Iliad in the quarrel between Agamemnon an Achilles. The Odyssey also teaches the same truth when Odysseus shouts his name to Polythemus. Dr. Owen Duncan said that The Iliad teaches another important lessons is the theme that "pride leads to disaster, yet not to be proud, is not to be Greek." This was illustrated when Achilles challenged Hector to a battle to the death, and Hector accepted although he knew he would be defeated.
Sophocles, one of the most celebrated playwrights in Greek history, played a large role in instilling the value of fate into Greek life. Sigmund Freud talked about "the Oedipus complex" in his book, The Interpretation of Dreams, saying:
Oedipus Rex is what is known as the tragedy of destiny. Its tragic effect is said to lie in contrast between the supreme will of the gods and the vain attempts of mankind to escape the evil that threatens them. The lesson which…the deeply moved spectator should learn from this tragedy is submission to the divine will and realization of his own impotence.
As Freud expressed, the trilogy of Sophocles (Oedipus Rex, Antigone, and Oedipus at Colonus) brought the aspect of fate or destiny into light. Fate was evident because although the actions and feelings of the characters were an integral part of the tragedy, nothing could change one's destiny or fate.
Many Greek playwrights use the self-realizations of their characters to accentuate the themes of their tragedies. Sophocles, for one, uses the character change of Oedipus, simultaneously with the plot, to underline the theme of his famous work, Oedipus the King. As Oedipus grows in alarming self-knowledge, he shifts from a prideful, heroic king at the inception of the play, to a tyrannical man in denial toward the middle, to an apprehensive, doomed man, humbled by his tragic fate by the end.
At the very core of Sophocles' tragedy, Oedipus the King, lies emotional confusion. Sophocles purposely creates within his readers this sense of emotional confusion and self-awareness through his use of both disquietude and pleasure.
Sophocles' tragic tale of Oedipus presents the reader with a very bleak view of mankind and the world in general. According to the story, every person is predestined to enact a role scripted by fate, a "mysterious power" that rules even the greatest of Greek gods (Hamilton, 27). In this tale, the source of this fate is not as clear as its function.
Oedipus’s tale of patricide and incest is fixed in the public consciousness, having been immortalized in the present era by Freud’s concept of the Oedipus Complex. Before Freud, however, much of the fame of Oedipus was due to a series of plays by the great Greek tragedian Sophocles. Instead of capturing the public’s attention with a salacious psychoanalytical concept, Sophocles enthralled theater audiences with the story of a man and his fight and ultimate failure to avoid fate. In Oedipus the King, according to Rudnytsky, the question of free will versus determinism plays a central role but is ultimately left up to the audience as the play shows both sides (108). Sophocles
Oedipus the King, a tale of one man’s hubris, paranoia, and willingness to sacrifice his own happiness for the happiness of others. Does one man’s fate designate who he will become? Is it possible to change the fate we are given? Or no matter how hard we try, deep down, it is our qualities that force us to make our fates a reality? In Sophocles’s play Oedipus the King we see a man who tried his hardest to change his own fate at all cost, but because of his human qualities he actually forced his fate upon himself.
Throughout the tragedy “Sophocles: The Oedipus Cycle” translated by Fitzgerald and Fitts made up of three plays known as “Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone”. Oedipus was given a fate since before his own physical beginning that was extremely cruel of the gods. Through trying to evade this prophecy given to him it subsequently lead to the completion of it. Son of the god Dionysus, and biological son of Laius, Oedipus is not only a victim, but also a hero. It is patently shown that Oedipus follows what is called “The Hero’s Journey”.
In Oedipus the King, one of Sophocles’ most popular plays, Sophocles clearly depicts the Greek’s popular belief that fate will control a man’s life despite of man’s free will. Man was free to choose and was ultimately held responsible for his own actions. Throughout Oedipus the King, the concept of fate and free will plays an integral part in Oedipus' destruction.
In Oedipus The King, Sophocles presents a view of life fixed by fate. This fate, predetermined by the gods, is the sole factor in deciding human destiny. Tiresias expresses his understanding of the unchangeable fate of Oedipus, laid out by the gods, as he argues with the King about revealing the truth of all the Theban troubles. When Oedipus, frustrated by the lack of cooperation, insults Tiresias, he responds "I pity you, flinging at me the very insults / each man here will fling at you so soon."(322) Even more telling of the fated existence of Sophocles' characters is Jocasta's revelation of prophecies given before Oedipus' birth which foretold all that the gods had in store, which had indeed come to pass (332).
Oedipus Rex (the King), written by Sophocles, is the tragic play depicting the disastrous existence to which Oedipus, an Athenian, is 'fated' to endure. With a little help from the gods and the 'fated' actions and decisions of Oedipus, an almost unthinkable misfortune unfolds. Athenian perfection can consist of intelligence, self-confidence, and a strong will. Oedipus, the embodiment of such perfection, and his tragedy are common place to Athenians. Ironically, the very same exact characteristics that bring about the ominous discovery of Oedipus' fate: to kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus' 'fated' decisions entangle everyone whom is of any significance to him within a quagmire of spiraling tragedy. Sophocles uses the riddle of the Sphinx as a metaphor for the three phases of Oedipus' entangled life, the three phases of human life, and to describe how every life-changing action or decision can influence other lives.
Jevons, Frank B. (1997) “In Sophoclean Tragedy, Humans Create Their Own Fate.” In Readings on Sophocles, edited by Don Nardo. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press
The great Sophoclean play, Oedipus Rex is an amazing play, and one of the first of its time to accurately portray the common tragic hero. Written in the time of ancient Greece, Sophocles perfected the use of character flaws in Greek drama with Oedipus Rex. Using Oedipus as his tragic hero, Sophocles’ plays forced the audience to experience a catharsis of emotions. Sophocles showed the play-watchers Oedipus’s life in the beginning as a “privileged, exalted [person] who [earned his] high repute and status by…intelligence.” Then, the great playwright reached in and violently pulled out the audience’s most sorrowful emotions, pity and fear, in showing Oedipus’s “crushing fall” from greatness.
In Ancient Greece the existence of gods and fate prevailed. In the Greek tragedy King Oedipus by the playwright Sophocles these topics are heavily involved. We receive a clear insight into their roles in the play such as they both control man's actions and that challenging their authority leads to a fall.
In “The Oedipus Legend” Bernard M. W. Knox talks of the advantages accruing to Sophocles as a user of myths in his dramas:
Jevons, Frank B. “In Sophoclean Tragedy, Humans Create Their Own Fate.” In Readings on Sophocles, edited by Don Nardo. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1997.
Oedipus Rex is considered to be one of the greatest tragedies. It has all the hallmarks of Greek tragedies. This includes the downfall of the character of high status or power, the hero’s suffering because of hamartia, and his hubris that causes the error. Oedipus, the tragic hero, was prideful. It could be argued that because of this trait; he makes the mistake of trying to escape his fate; thus making sure it would come true. Although Oedipus was flawed, this is not the complete reason for his downfall. The gods, not surprisingly, had a hand in Oedipus’ horrible fate. Apollo engineered the events that would ultimately end in Oedipus’ catastrophe.