Recent orders

Oedipus and His Destiny

Oedipus and His Destiny

Oedipus believes that an evil spell must have taken over his life following his past evil dealings with his family, including killing his own parents. Under the cloud of guilt and torment following the unnatural acts that he has committed, Oedipus sees everything happening in his life as a force of a dark power that so strongly influences his destiny. In the following discourse, the tragedy’s section including lines 1370 to 1685 is highlighted with respect to Oedipus feelings about his destiny. Oedipus talks of his past in a manner that perfectly fits his future as foretold to him, showing the impact of destiny in the play. Throughout the conclusion section of the tragedy, it is clear that if not cautious, perceptions on fate can determine what actions we partake into to direct us to our destiny.

Oedipus seems to have lost his track of events that brought him happiness and laments that his inability to discern where good things are makes him miserable. Belief in fate as foretold by a prophet that he’d kill his father and commit incest with his mother appear to be grave concerns on his fate-dependent destiny. In several instances, Oedipus recedes into self blame where he almost rushes to label himself worthless following all the predicaments that he has faced “…now I’ve exposed my guilt, horrendous guilt…, “(Sophocles, Oedipus the King, Line 1517). It becomes difficult for him to once again understand why all the anguish and agony have to fall on his path of existence. Despite the fact that has been through many difficult moments, Oedipus is particularly having trouble to come to terms with the death of his wife (who also happens to be his mother). From the beginning of the excerpt, it appears that something else was troubling the restless man when he enters into the scene. Apparently, his wife was also having some seriously tormenting moments of her life before she opts for the noose as a way to find relieve from her adversaries. The emphasis of her bitter gesticulations near her matrimonial bed must have a direct connection with the actions of Oedipus, who is also disturbed.

It gets clearer that Oedipus must have contributed to the trouble of the dead woman when he admits that that it won’t happen again that she could continue facing the hard life that he subjected her to. In Sophocles, Oedipus the King (Line1406), Oedipus laments and discloses his part in the tragic death of his wife by saying “you’ll see no more the pain I suffered, all the pain I caused!” His destiny in the unfamiliar path of anguish occasioned by a loved ones death is therefore illustrated as self inflicted pain following the disclosure of his role in troubling his wife to her death. However, the heat of the moment of lamentation conceals from him the importance of his actions in the determination of his happiness. His own undoing plays a role for his treads in grieve and loss. In his lamentation actions and words which sound like a sung dirge to the observers, it is clear that the revisiting the old good days they that had together is inevitable. It can only lead to further agony and misery as the Leader comments “Oh poor man, the misery, has he any rest from pain now?” (Sophocles, Oedipus the King, Lines1422-1423).

Understanding the destiny of a man who has had enough trouble with his life is translated as a dark power side of his life. Oedipus attempts to locate his destiny to no avail when he says “…my destiny my dark power…” (Sophocles, Oedipus the King, Line 1449). In a rejoinder to his reaction to the effect that his own undoing brought him the agony he bears, the chorus corrects him to avoid prejudicial comments about his role in his own predicaments. He is quick to label himself cursed by the heavens and points at his destiny as that of a good-for nothing cursed man. Oedipus pains a picture of his destiny to belong to a man, who is hated by the gods on a separate account that exonerates his undoing from the anguish. On a positive note on his life that he however terribly curses, someone rescued him from the wilds at a time he was about to be die. Any destiny cues for his life to survival can be demonstrated from the fact that someone offered to rescue him yet he is quick to curser whoever saved him.

By admitting his wrongs against his parents, Oedipus further justifies his guilt and fate for the reasons why he ought to die. But in a dramatic turn of eye opening events, Creon offers to discuss with him the destiny of a man who feels condemned by everyone. From Creon’s engagement on the condition that he has put himself into, Oedipus softens his stance to allow a better perspective of destiny of a condemned man to have meaning “Time is the great healer, you will see…,” Sophocles, Oedipus the King, Line 1665). Creon is however silencing him so that he could accompany him to the palace where his troubled life ends. It is clear that that he delivers himself following undoubted guilt that defines his final moments of his destiny. The chorus towards the end of the tragedy explains the following lack of space in the society for characters such as Oedipus offers a solution to his troubled life. Isolation from the society is not enough for such a man who incessantly makes confessions about his dark past. His destiny must end in a similar fashion that he subjected his victims to.

It appears that Oedipus is subconsciously driven by events such that he fails to weigh their implication over his life until when it is to late. By lack of self control regarding the life and others’ suffering, Oedipus finds himself the judge over his omission and commission. Control over his actions is the only way for Oedipus to position himself in the society without brushing shoulders with the authorities. Even if there are mysterious forces over the life of an individual, they must not derail our judgment to focus on what we need to do to avoid trouble and shame. As such, it clearly presented that the destiny of every man could be directed by fate if they so agreed as Oedipus did. Fate clearly takes charge of Oedipus destiny since he chose to follow that belief and tragically, every thing falls as he feared of. His pride is magnified by the fact that he belongs to the royal family yet his undoing severely torments him.

Works Cited

Sophocles Oedipus the King, New York, NY: Filiquarian Publishers, LLC, 2006. Print

Odysseus manly conduct and resourcefulness in ancient Greek society

Name:

Instructor:

Course:

Date:

Odysseus manly conduct and resourcefulness in ancient Greek society

Odysseus was also known as Ulysses. He was born in the Ancient Greece. He was a Greek legend and a king of his hometown Ithaca as well as the hero in Odyssey, the Greek epic that was a sequel to the Iliad (Montiglio 56-9).

Ancient Greek society was mainly made up of free people and slaves. Slaves were used as servants and laborers for free people who were mainly rich landowners, called aristocrats meaning best people. Their system of Government was known as oligarchy which was the rule by the few whereby slaves secured no legal right. For years, the Greeks engaged in a civil war with the Trojans whereby Achilles and Odysseus emerged foremost warriors in Greek mythology. They possessed outstanding qualities like strength, military skills, pride, bravery and honor which the ancient Greeks prized as manly virtues because of their noble task of transforming them into victory from the tyrannical error.

As the Trojan War began, Odysseus was reluctant to join the war which was a dispute over the kidnapping of a beautiful Greek woman (Helen) by the Trojan Prince Paris. Instead, he sold ornaments as a travelling merchant to the women of the royal household at Skyros. Among the ornaments he sold, were weapons such as a shield and spear. Later on, he took a move of manhood by joining the Greek forces in order to redeem his people since it had been foreseen by a seer that his people would never defeat the Trojans without his help. Odysseus was therefore a hard working fellow. He decided to be a travelling merchant displaying ornament to the women of the royal household in order to acquire a living. Besides, he became keen and clever and recognized that he had found Achilles who was being looked for immediately just as the girl admired the shield and spear. He was persuasive too as he persuaded Achilles to join the Greek forces in order to redeem his people against the Troy.

Odysseus was a hero. He was a hero of the Odyssey struggle which was the arrival to his home in Ithaca from the ten year Trojan War. He was among those who hid in the Trojan horse hence his heroic deeds of a manly warrior. He was an ideal hero for his endurance and reverence towards the gods hence managed to overcome his flaws for him to be crowned a hero. Besides of his cunning and resourcefulness, he too had pride towards his allies and human failings. His mighty deeds and all human weaknesses made him popular and favorite with storytellers and scholars. An example is the Ulysses done by Alfred, Lord Tennyson which was the best known poem of the 1800s and James Joyce’s novel (Ulysses) which used Homer’s adventures pertaining Odysseus (Van 71). A hero should overpower his or her enemies and become an individual of respect and virtue at all times. Odysseus had to do this at all times until he became the outstanding hero among his people. After sometime, he became proud of himself but later realized that this was his weak point and therefore became humble. Often, he never boasted about who he was either but humbled himself among his people.

On the other hand, heroes should fight the odds and overcome physical challenges which come on their way. Odysseus passed through many setbacks which in one way tested his intelligence and strength. To tackle with obstacles, he used more of his mind rather than physical force. He therefore become calm and had to bear with many challenges in order to finally go back home to Ithaca. Also, he obeyed the gods to the latter and his cleverness together with determination granted him an opportunity to be a real hero. To become heroic, Odysseus did change his attitude in the end for the better (Worman 42-3). Odysseus always showed respect to the gods more so appreciating their control of fate and realizing that he also required help if he was to get back home in Ithaca and to his beloved family. He therefore showed caution, keen observation and instinct to the gods in order not to annoy them. Odysseus was human as well and often moved to tears whenever he did wrong. He took many human roles of carpenter, lover, warrior, beggar and a storyteller. Besides he displayed human qualities like boldness and brutality.

Odysseus was a modern man, survivor who always struggled, suffered and dealt with the fate and task handed down to him by his people in order redeem them from war. Just as life is for everybody, Odysseus journey was totally unpredictable since it was rich with people and places. His leadership skills always kept the battle for Troy moving as they invaded their opponents. He could be ruthless at times as well as tricky besides being a great fighter for redemption of his people. It was his plan of attacking the Troy using the wooden horse that bore fruits. Such deeds made him to have a good reputation due to his high level of intelligence which was a major characteristic of his heroic status. He struggled with life just like any human being does by having emotional pain besides of being intelligent and heroic. The pain and trauma he goes through are the characteristics of a common man. He had his bad days too and was not a perfect hero. Sometimes he could be simply, “wretched and miserable “(62). He really missed his own home while on the island and as a result he could be hurt psychologically and even give up with the battle. Odysseus did not at all succumb to the exhaustion of twenty years of obstacles a thing most modern men would (Van 87).

Odysseus circumstances would also be compared to cinematic action heroes like James Bond, Clint Eastwood, Sylvester Stallone and Tom Cruise in that they both followed the same path of struggle for their acquired success. They managed to beat the odds and stand out bright in the society due to their hard-work and high level of intelligence. For instance, James Bond started just as a simple actor and little did he know that later on, he would be a neutral figure, an anonymous and blunt instrument admired by many including a government department. He too became inspirational in his fictional creation just as Odysseus was inspirational to his Greek soldiers. Tom Cruise as well is a well-known American film actor and producer who has grown to greater heights and won three Golden Globe Awards. He contributed positively in the society especially for his support in the church of scientology for his scientologist faith. He depicted responsibility for his family just as Odysseus. The adjective Polymetis can also be applied to the characters as well due to their heroic deeds in their cinematic field (Dimock 67).

Aphrodite Venus is the goddesses of love. She was beautiful and kind but sometimes she preferred revenge. Her beauty made others jealous but all the gods and mortals liked her. Aphrodite Venus was seen as the most beautiful woman by the Olympians just as Odysseus was depicted heroic by Greeks. She was as well described to be a dove, scallop shell, apple and mirror.

In conclusion, Odysseus is actually an ideal of manly conduct and resourcefulness in ancient Greek society. Due to his heroic acts driven by his high level of intelligence, he therefore remains to be admired by Greece people and a figure of importance for hundreds of years.

Works cited

Dimock, George E. The Unity of the Odyssey. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2010. Print.

Greek-English Lexicon, Liddell & Scott (1893: Oxford, Oxford University Press)

Jong, I. J. F. Space in ancient Greek literature: Studies in ancient Greek narrative. 2012.

Montiglio, Silvia. From Villain to Hero: Odysseus in Ancient Thought. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2011. Print.

Paideia: The Ideals of Greek Culture, Werner Jaeger, trans. Gilbert Highet (1945: New York, Oxford University Press)

Van, N. T. The unknown Odysseus: Alternate worlds in Homer’s Odyssey. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. 2009. Print.

Worman, Nancy. The Cast of Character: Style in Greek Literature. Austin, TX: Univ. of Texas Press, 2002. Print.