Sphinx

“Civilization never stands still; if in one country it is falling back, in another it is changing, evolving, [and] becoming more complicated” – Arthur Keith. This is the case of Ancient Egypt and the Roman Empire, two magnificent civilizations wrapped in a twisted fate. It was when the Roman Republic defeated Egypt’s army that it became a prosperous empire. Even though Ancient Egypt existed thousands of years before the start of the Roman Empire, both civilizations strikingly shared common…

shepherd who in turn gave the baby to King Polybos, who raised the baby, Oedipus, as his own son. Many years later, after a chance meeting and an argument, Oedipus killed King Laios, who he did not know was his father. After solving the riddle of the Sphinx, he was allowed to enter the city. He married Jokasta, the king’s widow, and became King Oedipus. The prophecy was…

Tragedy can strike at any moment. That is what the many insurance commercials say. If tragedy strikes, the victim is not automatically considered a tragic character though, at least not in the classic sense. Aristotle put forth a notion that a tragic hero must possess three characteristics, and Oedipus, being a person of high estate, acquainted with hamartia, and falling from his position and happiness would easily be considered an Aristotelian tragic hero. Aristotle, in his book, Poetics,…

A man’s life is a journey that has been pre-destined by the gods. There is always a human will towards a desire, but in the end destiny plays its own course, and makes sure that the will leads the way to the fate. No matter how much the man wants to assert his own will, in the end a man is powerless against his fate. As per the ancient Greek theatre, Sophocles play’s normally have emphasis on individual characters, the role of chorus has always been reduced, there are complex characters who are…

Jennifer Liu Ms. Toerien IB English HL August 16, 2015 1) Write a summary of the main events of the play. Oepidus was aware that a curse was placed on Thebes. The city was blighted by disease and countless of citizens were dying. The curse would only be lifted when the murderer of the former king, Laius, was punished. Oepidus sent Creon, his brother-in-law, to ask for advice from the god Apollo through an oracle. Oepidus started to look for answers to Laius’ murder. Numerous ways were used,…

Sophocles’ Oedipus the King is a play that has confounded many scholars throughout the ages. There is debate over Sophocles’ purpose in writing this play–what message was he trying to get across? Almost as is important is the controversy over Oedipus’ guilt–was he really guilty? Two particular scholars attempt to explore these questions–P.H. Vellacott and Edwin Muir. In “The Guilt of Oedipus”, Vellacott argues that Sophocles wrote the play with a deeper intention to portray a just punishment for…

After solving the riddle of the Sphinx, Oedipus becomes the ruler of Thebes. Here he shows that he genuinely cares about his people as he promises to kill the man who has caused the plague over the city, which is believed to be a good deed. After Oedipus learns that he is the murderer…

Great rulers only come once in Greek lifetime. Oedipus and Creon were both good rulers for Thebes, yet at the same time were men tragic of ill created fates and downfall. Oedipus was swift with action and had courage that could last a life time, while Creon was simplistic in nature and had a good head on his shoulders. Both kings, however had character flaws of stubbornness, as one tried to change and outrun his fate, while the other could not see past his nose, unable to make the right changes…

How successful is Wells’ recipe? Discuss with examples of science fiction that both follow and break with this advice. The Wellsian rule states that science fiction should only contain one surprising element in order to 'domesticate the impossible hypothesis '. It would therefore be easy to assume that because some successful forms of science fiction do not adhere to 'Wellsian rule ' then Wells ' theory must be wrong. This essay will show that rather than Wells being ‘wrong’, he was…

In the play, “Oedipus Tyrannus” the author, Sophocles, illustrated how fate and free will could determine one 's destiny. Sophocles revolve the core of this play around fate and free will. Sophocles is a well-known tragedian who wrote more than one-hundred Greek dramas for Greek festivals. His plays have entertained countless people in Greek carnivals while made his intended audience to become acquainted with Athens’ government, social forms as well as its’ religion. In this play the main…