Aristotle s The Oresteia And Sophocles The Three Theban...

The tragic self which appears in Aeschylus’s The Oresteia and Sophocles’ The Three Theban Plays, is a self which is caught between the choice of two evils and between following natural and civic laws. However, the philosophical self in Aristotle’s The Nicomachean Ethics focuses on choice as well, but the choice of the highest good such that the fundamental aim of the self is happiness and to become rational human beings. The topic of choice also relates to the discourse between fate and free will and which has more power in the decisions humans make. Greek tragic heroes have three common requirements: they are characters in which the reader sympathizes with, they have a tragic ending, and are rash and spirited in what they believe. Agamemnon, Clytemnestra and Oedipus are all examples of these tragic selves. For instance, in Aeschylus’s Agamemnon, the title character has to choose between success in the battle of Troy and the life of his daughter: â€Å"no stealthier than the death he dealt/ our house and the offspring of our loins,/ Iphigenia, girl of tears./Act for act, wound for wound!† (Agamemnon, lines 1552-1555). While his wife Clytemnestra has to choose between the two evils of avenging her slain daughter or allowing her husband to live. However, Agamemnon and Clytemnestra’s son Orestes whose choice is between matricide and avenging the death of his father: â€Å"As she bred this sign, this violent prodigy/ so she dies by violence. I turn serpent,/ I kill her. So the visionShow MoreRelated The Philosop hy and Psychology of Sophocles’s Antigone and The Eumenides in Aeschylus’ Oresteia2178 Words   |  9 PagesThe Philosophy and Psychology of Sophocles’s Antigone and The Eumenides in Aeschylus’ Oresteia There is a consensus among readers of the poetry or plays written in the fifth century that the plays succeed with inspiring profound movement on the audience. The methods or reasons for the reader to be moved by a text are often disputed. Specific to tragic works the concepts of philosophy and psychology are critical elements to understand the cause of the stirred emotions of individuals whoRead Moretheme of alienation n no where man by kamala markandeya23279 Words   |  94 PagesAntigone dies after defying King Creon. The play is set in Thebes, a powerful city-state north of Athens. Although the play itself was written in 441 B.C., the legend goes back to the foundations of Hellenic culture, many centuries before Sophocles’ time. All the scenes take place in front of the royal palace at Thebes. Thus Sophocles conforms to the principle of the unity of place. The events unfold in little more than twenty four hours. The play begins on the night when Antigone attempts to