Explain How Greek Ideas Of Hubris Lead To The Destruction Of Characters In Oedipus And Agamemnon And If Surrendering To Fate Would Have Altered The Outcome Of The Plays.
Essay Preview: Explain How Greek Ideas Of Hubris Lead To The Destruction Of Characters In Oedipus And Agamemnon And If Surrendering To Fate Would Have Altered The Outcome Of The Plays.
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In ancient Greek time it was thought that the gods had decided everyones fate a path of how to live their lives and that they fitted everything together like a puzzle and that if someone defied the way of things were suppose to turn out it would disturbed the whole puzzle. So Greeks felt that someone who committed an act of hubris messed up the way everyones life should go so these people in turn were exiled or cursed.
In most Greek tragedies there is an act of hubris towards the gods, this bends the play into a different direction and usually affects the outcome. In both Agamemnon and Oedipus hubris is committed by the main characters and this leads to the consequences of the play, although in Oedipus he tried to defy the gods to save others, whereas Agamemnon ignores the consequences and defies the gods to make himself look good. In both plays the families have a long line of curses that have been passed down through generations these also contribute to the outcomes of the plays as the cures are carried down to the children. I will discuss how hubris changes the outcome of the plays and how if the characters had surrendered to their fate it would have changed their futures. I will explore how the acts of hubris effect other characters though out the play and how curses are carried though generation due to acts of hubris.
In the play Agamemnon there is already a long history of hubris and curses, such as Agamemnons father boiled his brothers children and served the o him on a plate. Agamemnon chooses to ignore these family curses to keep his pride and show that he is not afraid of the gods even thought he is. He does think about what he is doing and what consequences it could have and he some times doesnt want defy the gods but he fells that his pride is the most important thing and commits the act of hubris any way. Agamemnon is told his fate by his sex slave Cassandra she told him that his wife would kill him but Cassandra is cursed in that no one believes her prophesies so Agamemnon doesnt believe her either and takes no precautions about his wifes murder plot. In the play it is made known that Agamemnon has killed his daughter as a sacrifice for good winds on his voyage to troy which is an act of hubris. He then walks over a carpet of crimson robes that his wife has laid out for him although it is clear he does not want to he says
“Hurry, and while I tread his splendours dyed red in the sea, may no god watch and strike me down with envy from on high. I feel such shame-
To tread the life of the house, a kingdoms worth of silver in the weaving.” This shows that he is fearful of the gods but he puts his pride in front of this fear and hopes the gods will not see. He is also by saying this contradicting himself as he is hoping the gods will not see him but at the same time he is praying to them to keep them from seeing so they are looking to him as he prays this could be that Agamemnon wants the gods to see he committing this act of hubris but he wants them to see he is praying not be seen so they forgive him this could be so he feels powerful knowing the gods can see him.
Oedipus on the other hand is young and foolish and does not understand the full extent of the consequences. He wants to live a happy peaceful life so he defies the gods to do so but he also is doing so to save his father and mother although he doesnt know that they are not his biological parents. Oedipus real parents were told by a farmer when he was born that he would kill his father and marry his mother so the parents ordered the baby to be left on a mountain with nails through his feet this was an act of hubris its self the servant couldnt leave the baby so took it to a king in Corinth. Oedipus hears the prophet about him self and flees Corinth believing that the couple looking after him are his real parents this was another act of hubris although he is doing so for the right reasons. He ends up back in Thebes where he was born and gets into a fight a crossroads and with out realising kills his father yet another act of hubris he then goes to the city of Thebes and marry the queen Jocasta his mother although neither of them know this. The story later becomes clear when the try to find Lauis (Oedipus father) murder and all the evidence points to Oedipus he realise