Sophocles

the murderer. Just like his cleverness, his anger leads him to his fate. He is angry at Teresias and refuses to listen to her warnings because she puts him down by saying, “You blame my temper but you do not see your own that lives within you” (Sophocles 24). For the rest of the conversation, Oedipus is angry because he wants to save the city and she makes him doubts in himself. In the end, the fate of the city fades in his memory. He then gets angry with Creon who is Oedipus’ family member and…

What is fate? How can fate control our lives? Should we believe in fate? In the play, Oedipus the King illustrated by Sophocles and the movie, No Country for Old Man, directed by Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, there is a similarity of the theme of fate due to free will. On the other hand, Sophocles expresses that Oedipus was fated with pride that kept him blind from seeing the truth. Whereas, the director of the movie conveys that a person gets to make choices in life but at last life ends in…

Gods, and showed great courage and strength in one’s actions. When reflecting upon heroes from the works we have read, the first two that came to my mind were Sophocles 's Antigone, and Homer’s Odysseus. These two characters exhibit heroic actions throughout both works, and stick to their ways by portraying perseverance and confidence. Sophocles’ Antigone is about a passionate woman who arrives in Thebes to see that both of her brothers are dead. Her brother, Polyneices, is not being granted a…

including those of Niobe and Danaë. These stories of Niobe and Danaë are incorporated to foreshadow Antigone’s fate of being left to die in a rocky vault. Sophocles introduces the goddess Niobe, a queen who was punished by the gods. In the play, Antigone refers to Niobe as “Tantalus's daughter” and the “stranger queen from the east” (Sophocles 916). Niobe had twelve…

Unseen and Uncontrollable Forces of Fate The thought of fate, and fulfilling one’s destiny have been around and present in the world since the beginnings of people; the thought that all are predestined to do or become something, and that certain destiny is unavoidable. Most often, a knowledge of one’s tragic or unpleasant destiny tends to push people towards fulfilling or becoming it. Although one might do all that they can to avoid undesirable fates, the Greek plays of “Medea,” and “Oedipus”…

big ego. The one with confidence has more of a humble personality and has assurance with every challenge that waits upon one. Confidence overpowers cockiness. The cocky trait is heavily represented in the story “Oedipus the King” (c. 430 B.C.) by Sophocles. In the story, Oedipus the king of Thebes has the cocky trait and it results in torture for life. Oedipus’s arrogant personality shows throughout the story as he tries to find the killer of the former king of Thebes, his father. Oedipus tends…

Sophocles tries to tell the readers that they should have blind faith in the prophecies of God instead of adamantly trying to conquer the light (knowledge). Oedipus spent his entire life trying to escape the terrible prophecy that was made at his birth, however he still unknowingly fulfilled it. Sophocles brings about the concepts of pre-determinism and free will that were prevalent in his society, into…

Oedipus and the Gods An important part of this classic tragedy that Sophocles wanted the audience to recognize is how the characters perceive the gods. Does the play reflect reverence or irreverence towards the gods? At the beginning of the play, Oedipus clearly lacks respect for the gods and acts as if he is higher than them, which makes it seem like the story is supposed to make believe people the gods aren’t as amazing as they think they are. The story actually reflects reverence toward the…

Whether Sophocles or Ovid wrote about Ajax, both authors captured to describe two complete sides of Ajax. In this case, Odysseus (Ulysses) was in both stories to “reflect” on the infamous Ajax. In Sophocles, Odysseus feels utter respect, aside from despising him, and complete sorrow towards Ajax. The reason towards these mixed emotions falls down to how Odysseus can resemble himself in Ajax, both physically and mentally. “He’s excellence moves me to do it… for I myself will someday reach the…

Oedipus had more of a painful burden to bear than Willy, when Oedipus finds his mother, wife, hung by her own hand out of a “fury of passion”(Sophocles 72) leaving Oedipus to deal with her blood on his hands along with the sin of “monstrous children”(Sophocles 72). Oedipus realizes that he is unworthy to see with his eyes that “that failed to recognize”(Sophocles 73) the…