Agamemnon's Pride: A Greek Tragedy

Oedipus’ pride and a heightened sense of confidence is very conspicuous throughout the play Oedipus Rex. From the beginning of the play, Oedipus accepts the idea that he can avoid the prophecy given to him by the gods. Oedipus is also seen interrogating Creon and attempting to banish him with Tiresias towards the end of the play because they are saying facts corresponding to the prophecy. He tries to become like a god himself by thinking he could control his own fate. Although Oedipus’ pride can be justified by his accomplishments of being king; the tragedy of Oedipus is the pure result of his overwhelming pride because he killed his father, mocked Tiresias, and blinded himself.

In book nine of the Iliad, Homer portrays Achilles refusal to Agamemnon as the circumstance of the Greek world’s structure being out of order. A world of system, where many warriors risk their lives in seek of honor. “Swift runner” (9.638) Achilles is conscious and aware that the Greek realm is stagnant and heading to its own doom. Achilles fights hard in battles in the name of “mighty king” (9.368) Agamemnon and in returns gets nothing. In addition, he also deeply feels the nihilism of the Greek culture and its order. Bernard Knox writes, “a pattern fixed from the beginning and not subject to change or on the other hand, the complete freedom and meaningless anarchy of an unpredictable universe” (Knox 40). Knox relates how uncertain universes

“A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you 're looking down, you can 't see something that 's above you.”

Throughout the play Oedipus the King written by Sophocles, there are many themes portrayed, however hubris appears to be a prominent trait. Oedipus, the main character displays such pride that impacts his ability to perceive and understand the past as well as interact with others. When pronounced King of Thebes, he is filled with pride from such honor. The citizens of Thebes glorify him and come to him for help and comfort in their time of need. However, Oedipus doesn't treat them with the same respect, referring to the townspeople as his "poor children" (Sophocles 65) even though they are all adults. Oedipus also believes he is more valuable than everyone else for "his suffering is greater" (Sophocles 67) and he "suffers the most" (Sophocles

Everyone is going to die. This is no secret to the audience of the Greek play Agamemnon. Rather than surprising us with the murders that befall at the hands of vengeance, the Greek playwright uses this common story to display the underlying theme that one must first suffer before they can reach the truth. To understand the significance behind the story of Agamemnon, one must understand the passions and how they relate to the human person, Zeus’s law of suffering into truth, and Aeschylus’s motives for writing Agamemnon and how he reflects Catholic teaching.

Pride is a vital facet in the multi-sided diamond1 that is human psychology. In Sophocles’(n.d.) Antigone, the famous philosopher demonstrates how the mind can be clouded so effortlessly and bear such tragic repercussions when influenced by pride. In this dismal sequel to Oedipus Rex, also written by Sophocles(n.d.), both sides of the moral battle have plenty of justification for their actions.

Odysseus displays his pridefulness in the Odyssey with his uncautious actions. He takes pride in his strength, virility, and quick wit. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus leaves home to Ithaca after the Trojan War. Odysseus is the king of Ithaca and he sails overseas to return home with his crew. He is known throughout the story for being prideful and heroic, but his pride is more harmful than helpful. Sometimes Odysseus lets his crew get into dangerous situations that effect their lives and slow their journey. He is hotheaded and often doesn’t think about how his actions will impact his future.

Pride. Pride can be a good thing in small amounts, such as taking pride in academic achievements, or having confidence in oneself. However, it can also be a fatal flaw if one possesses too much of it. Either way, it’s a character trait that many people possess. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus consistently exhibits the character trait of pride throughout his Hero’s Journey.

Examples of the common phrase “Pride comes before a fall” is shown in all types of literature. Characters have moments where they peak and become prideful, before hitting a stumbling block and ending up worse than when they start. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus is a wise man, until his pride gets the better of him.

There are many themes in the Odyssey that are very important to the time period it was written in. Bravery, pride, and loyalty were the most popular in all of Greek Stories told in this time period. Achilles showed all of these things and so did Odysseus. Odysseus showed bravery because he left his child and wife to go fight and defeat the Trojans. As he is on the boat he says to himself how he can fight alone without the Greek goddess Athena. He shows his bravery because he wants to take on the fight alone. Bravery also comes into play when Poseidon tries to make his journey difficult back home to his family. “All the gods pitied him, except Poseidon” (Homer 291). This shows how all the gods wanted the best for him expect Poseidon. With him doing this Odysseus shows his bravery by continuing with the journey. Odysseus shows his bravery at when he is stranded in the ocean but uses his “strong hands to cling to the rocks until the skin was ripped off” (Homer 354). Odysseus is brave and swims to shore while his hand are being cut open.

The different characteristics of different people can cause certain people to be negatively affected because of the actions they take. This is shown in Antigone, which is a tragedy about how pride can get the best of you and if law or moral code is more important. Sophocles showed the reader that not all the decisions made by people by his or her conscience because in hindsight it is not the most intelligent resolution. When Creon does not take the advice of Haimon or Tiresias he obstinately refused because he believed his thoughts were always correct. In like manner, Creon had no real reason to make the law against burying Polynices because no one in the country wanted it but him. Furthermore, King Creon did not go through with his law because Antigone wanted to die and his felt that if she died feeling that way, it would not feel that he would be pleased that his law worked. No matter who assumes major leadership, the abuse of power is inevitable because power always corrupts.

“Oh my children, the new blood of ancient Thebes, why are you here?” said Oedipus when addressing his people during his first appearance (1-2). Flamboyant, yes, well in Oedipus the King, the main character Oedipus is a boastful and pompous character faced with troublesome pasts and future predicaments. In actuality, he is king of Thebes and the rightful ruler, but when a plague strikes he is quickly led into a misfortune of events that ultimately leads him to dig his eyes out in attempt to relieve him from the truth he discovers. It then becomes a revelation to distinguish the characteristic fault which leads Oedipus through such tragedy. Only to become apparent, Oedipus’s excessive pride is the main culprit behind his tragic ending. In

illustrated the struggle between men and women, democracy at play and the rise of a tyrant. With the theme tyranny in mind, we look to find examples that illustrate the former. The most appropriate example of tyranny is the famous carpet scene between Clytemnestra and Agamemnon. It begins with Agamemnon returning from the Trojan war along with Cassandra, is greeted at the palace with a long red carpet presented by Clytemnestra his wife. The carpet symbolizes tyranny in it’s imagery through colour, betrayal and logic.

According to Solon’s theory of excess wealth, excess wealth leads to koros—an inability to achieve satisfaction. This, in turn, leads to hubris—a crime of humiliating others. When Agamemnon returns home to Argos from Troy, he arrives with numerous riches that he earned fighting the Trojan War. Affirming Solon’s theory, Agamemnon is no happy with monetary wealth alone, as he seeks intangible power in his personal life as well. His koros influences him to assert his dominance over his wife, Clytemnestra, by silencing her. (Agamemnon: 913-915) Because of Agamemnon’s inability to be satisfied by his existing wealth, he decides to walk on a tapestry that Clytemnestra lays out in front of him. (Agamemnon: 944-957) This act is a terrible mistake, as the tapestry represents great wealth, a symbol of Agamemnon’s high socioeconomic status. By walking on it, and thus ruining the tapestry, Agamemnon commits a great crime out of greed that shows his ignorance of socioeconomic disparities in an ancient Greek society where most people could not dream of possessing such a treasure. Agamemnon commits this transgression because the tapestry’s value seems miniscule in comparison to his accumulated wealth. Because of his ceaseless drive to assert his

Agamemnon states, “The girl I will not give back; …far from her own land, and being in bed as my companion…” (1.29-31) He is simply the cruelest and abominable character in the Iliad; telling a daughter’s father that he will never see her again and that she will be his partner in bed until death. The lack of compassion needed to say such a thing to a grieving father remains incomprehensible. He also said, “Never let me find you again, old sir, near our hollow ships, neither lingering now, nor coming again after.” (6.106-120) He explains to the father that if he ever sees him again, he will kill him on sight. Agamemnon’s strength and leadership abilities could promote him to be a great leader, but he fights for the wrong