Divine Intervention In Electra

In Euripides’ play, Heracles, and in Sophocles’ play, Electra, there is constant interference from gods into human lives. By having both an understanding and a basic background of the timer period and location in Greece are key in understanding why the gods interfered with mortal lives the way they did. The divine intervention in both stories can be compared and similarities can be drawn from both. The exploitation of the deus ex machina demonstrated by Apollo in Electra and Hera in Heracles, whether for personal gain or simply for their own entertainment is a prominent motif that cannot be overlooked. The play Electra written by Sophocles took place in the city Argos, Greece. It was here that the prince Orestes and princess Electra’s mother …show more content…
The Gods Castor and Pollux have an ongoing rivalry with Apollo, since they want to go against him for misguiding Electra, they decide to punish the siblings. Electra is punished by being forced to marry Pylades and return to Phokis, while Orestes must wander around for twenty years while being chased by the furies, then can be judged by Athena to see if he is innocent. In Heracles, Hera was seeking revenge against Zeus and did so in a way to ruin Heracles’ life. She killed all of his family. By abusing her power to gain revenge against her husband for one affair when there are rumored to be hundreds of previous affairs, she attacked one innocent person instead of going after Zeus himself. Not once does this man’s true father show any sympathy towards his son until the son is about to murder the mortal that raised him. Iris was a part of the problem for obeying Hera’s wishes and making Heracles. Hera took advantage of her powers and sought revenge on Zeus through Heracles. The divine intervention in this story illustrates how the gods are only looking to boost their egos and think their lives are more important than …show more content…
Since she took her personal matters into her own hands, she decided to punish the product of the infidelity by having Lyssa inflict insanity on the man. After the Gods watched Heracles kill his own family, only when he is about to kill the man who raised him does Zeus, Hercales’s real father, step in to calm down his son. The Gods used their own personal lives and problems motivate their actions against the innocent, disobeying the virtue that they were given. They used malevolent power for their own goods This idea can be related to politicians who often use their power for selfish reasons instead of helping those in need. It seems as if the Gods were amused by punishing others, finding entertainment out of others’ suffering. The actions of these God’s throughout the writings during this time period could also be seen as the primitive dictate of questioning power and religion, proving that the citizens were finally beginning to notice that the highest order of power may not have been acting