The Tragedy Of Agamemnon By Sophocles Essay - 1800 Words

When discussing Greek tragedies, there is a theme of anger and revenge that is somewhat underling in many texts of this tragic nature. In Agamemnon by Aeschylus the main character Agamemnon faces these constructs head on mostly as a direct result of his decision to sacrifice his daughter. However, this is not the only case where anger and revenge is exhibited in the tragedy of Agamemnon as in truth it runs rampant throughout the text. Another tragedy that exhibits these traits is that of Medea written by Euripides. The central character Medea was abandoned by her husband Jason and resultantly she made a choice to pursue a revenge plot against Jason that entailed the murder of their children. An interesting parallel between these texts is the role that children played in these pursuits of anger and revenge. What this really shows about Greek tragedies is the strong role of family that is present when it comes to tragic events that are generally resultant of anger which can then lead t o revenge and thus death, hence perhaps why such works are referred to as tragedies. In Agamemnon, the main character Agamemnon was headed off to the well-known Trojan war when he encountered strong winds sent by the goddess Artemis. Rather than abandon the war and turn back Agamemnon made the choice to sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia to please Artemis so he could go on his way. However, by making this decision Agamemnon unwittingly planted the seeds of revenge in his wife’s heart that wouldShow MoreRelated Destiny, Fate, Free Will and Free Choice - Prophecies in Oedipus, Antigone, and Agamemnon1008 Words   |  5 PagesProphecies in Oedipus, Antigone, and Agamemnonnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp; Oracles, seers, and prophets are used in Greek tragedy to provide foreshadowing for the audience and characters. The seers wisdom is conveyed through the pronouncement of oracles or prophecies. They confer forecasts to principal characters that affect the characters future. Although not always believed, and often endeavored to be foiled, seers, oracles, and prophets in Greek tragedies foretell events that greatly affectRead MoreRole Of The Chorus : Viewer Or Participant?1567 Words   |  7 PagesViewer or Participant? Throughout the canon of Greek Tragedy, playwrights have told many stories with a wide range of characters. Tales of revenge, redemption, lust, greed, and pride, as told by gods, kings, heroes, and murderers among many others. Throughout all of these works, one aspect remains consistent: that of the chorus. This group, which interjects periodically throughout the play to sing in unison, is a feature common to all Greek tragedies. 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The three Greek heroes Oedipus, Medea and Agamemnon, who each killed a member of their family, carry most of the qualities that make up a tragic hero: being of noble birth, being surrounded by an extraordinary circumstance, and gaining self-awareness or some kind of knowledge through their downfallRead MoreAeschylus Oresteia and Prometheus Bound: Hubris and the Chorus1666 Words   |  7 PagesPlaywrights such as Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides composed plays to be performed and judged at competitions held during the yearly Dionysian festivals. Those plays were chosen by a selection board and evaluated by a panel of judges. To compete in the contest, Greek playwrights had to submit three tragedies, which could be either based on a common theme or unrelated, and one comedy. However, relatively few of these ancient Greek plays survive today. Known as the father of tragedy, Aeschylus introducedRead MoreMisogyny Pervades The Picture Aeschylus Sophocles Antigone1283 Words   |  6 PagesMisogyny pervades the picture Aeschylus, Aristophanes, and Sophocles paint of Athenian society. In their literature, however, female characters catalyze plot by challenging this picture. Such characters--from Sophocles’ Antigone to Aristophanes’ Lysistrata--face grim consequences for acting independently. Clytemnestra and Cassandra from Aeschylus’s Agamemnon exemplify this archetype of autonomy and destruction. When they confront injustice, male characters perceive them as vindictive and hystericalRead More An analysis of how dikh (‘justice’) and its associated values are1905 Words   |  8 Pages An analysis of how dikh (‘justice’) and its associated values are presented and translated in two passages from Sophocles: Electra. What broader issues are raised and how would these be investigated further? The concept of dikh, or ‘justice’ has many subtle meanings and variations in Ancient Greek ranging from the primary definition given in LS (Liddell and Scotts, ‘Greek-English Lexicon’, Intermediate, 1889, page 202) of custom to right, judgement, lawsuit, penalty and vengeance. TheRead MoreOedipus the King: A Victim of Fate Essay956 Words   |  4 Pagesplay, if Oedipus were clearly responsible for his own tragedy. The plays ongoing success was do to Oedipus innocence which immediately makes one think he can not be fully responsible and to blame. I do not believe Sophocles would have wrote the story, or I do not think people would have ever read it or studied it had it simply been a story of a criminals retribution. Sophocles himself believed Oedipus to be the innocent victim of an ironic tragedy, and built the play around this belief. This storyRead MoreAnalyse the Dramatic Uses of the Chorus in Greek Tragedy; in What Ways Do Traces of the Choric Function Occur in Twentieth-Century Drama?3335 Words   |  14 Pagesfull influence of Greek tragedy upon our modern theatre is incomprehensible, with the mainstays of theatrical convention largely demonstrating roots within Greek tragedy. The choric function is just one of these conventions. This ess ay hopes to explore various uses of the Chorus within Greek tragedies by Aeschylus and Sophocles, and then to analyse how traits of a Greek Chorus, and the choric function can be found within 20th Century Theatre. The Chorus in Greek tragedy was a large group (it is