Vengeance In Sophocles Electra

Odysseus has no reason to save his men’s lives but for his own convenience. Finally, Odysseus is home and after a long journey in which he shows no heroic actions and yet proves to be nothing but a villain, he once again proves throughout his actions that he is a villain. Odysseus is finally home, on Ithaca, and is then helped by Athena and disguises himself as an old beggar. He proves then to be a villain by seeking his revenge for the suitors and maidservants that once betray him (696, summary). Another way in which Odysseus shows he is a villain is when he finally reunites with his wife Penelope and reacts with rage when she tests him. This reveals Odysseus is a villain because he reacts as if he was innocent and some way being betrayed by his own wife. Of course, though, he never tells his loyal wife Penelope about his love affairs with Calypso and Circe. In conclusion, Odysseus throughout his actions proves to be not only veil but a villain. He leads his men into trouble, kills the suitors and maidservants without mercy, and betrays loyal wife. This allows readers to truly see Odysseus other side. He was a villain and there is no doubt about it. However, think about his so called heroic actions and the way he made everything work out for his own benefits. He knew he was a villain and somehow still got away with

Euripides’ Iphigenia at Aulis provides important context regarding the sacrifice of Iphigenia and Clytemnestra’s past with Agamemnon. Clytemnestra is ashamed after talking to Achilles about the wedding between him and Iphigenia that he is unaware of. After discovering Agamemnon 's true intentions, she decides that she will no longer “let shame prevent” her from seeking Achilles’ help to stop Agamemnon because “whose interests should [she] consult before [her] child’s?” (Iphigenia at Aulis 24). Her concern for Iphigenia overpowers the indignity she feels because her child’s well being is greater than her own. Both women’s anger and desire for vengeance grow as their children are endangered or harmed as “vengeance makes grief bearable” (Medea 2.55). The playwrights show each as either a good or bad woman based on if their vengeful actions are ultimately in favor of their children or not.

The female characters portrayed in Aeschylus and Sophocles’ works have considerably different personalities and roles, yet those females all have the common weaknesses of being short-sighted and stubborn. They intensify the conflicts within their families while being inconsiderate of the impacts that they may bring to their nations and societies, which leads to consequences that they are incapable of taking responsibilities for. Clytemnestra and Antigone, two major characters in their respective author’s works, possess different motivations for their deeds in the stories. While Clytemnestra is driven by the desire of revenge to murder her husband Agamemnon, Antigone acts against Creon’s will and strives to properly bury her brother. Despite having different motivations and personalities, Clytemnestra and Antigone both commit

All Poseidon along with Polyphemus wishes is revenge. The number one rule is to never anger a god. Thankfully for Odysseus the other gods are on his side. Odysseus is human, so he too was battling pride. This pride Odysseus is battling is when you have the urge to be in people's faces and be superior. Odysseus and his men knew they were going to be in Siren territory. His men put wax in their ear. Odysseus on the other hand was tied up with no wax in his ear so he could hear the sirens. He wanted to be the only person that has heard them and not died. “ The San Andreas is considered “the ‘master’ fault of an intricate fault network,” the Geological Survey said”(Yan and Berlinger 3). Odysseus is seen as an amazing fighter. People have very high expectations. You could call him a master just like the San Andreas which is considered the “master fault”. Although Odysseus is a master of many strengths, his pride gets the best of him. No matter how strong and powerful you are, pride will always be there. You may think this wouldn’t be a problem for him, but it is. Odysseus is still human and has weaknesses as well. Just like us Odysseus struggles with

Odysseus believed he was in the right when killing the suitors “You dogs! You never imagined I'd return from Troy- so cocksure that you bled my house to death, ravished my serving-women- wooed my wife behind my back while I was still alive!” (Homer 22: 37-40). Odysseus was dead set on killing the suitors since the beginning. He even told them “. . . all your necks are in the noose-your doom is sealed” (22: 43), illustrating how he would kill them as to avenge his wife and his honor. In doing so he was perceived as a hero by the most prevalent male figures in Ithaca, displaying an excellent example of Kleos, “fame through having great honor and virtue. Earned pride.”

Odysseus only cares about himself and his personal benefits, like a villain. “With great power comes great responsibility” this quote is used by many heros and odysseus obviously shows no responsibilities, so his power is simply bad, or evil . When “trapped” on Calypso’s island he shows no attempt to escape and instead finds pleasure in being their. After 7 years on this island he finally decides to go home to has son which he has never seen and his dog who is nearly dead due to old age (not to mention he barely does anything with his dog and the first thing he says to his son is basically to ask him to risk his life for Odysseus's house). “ Don't waste your time on revenge. Those who hurt you will eventually get their own karma”. This quote shows that good people and heros should not seek revenge and should show mercy to their enemies however Odysseus obviously shows no interest in mercy… After killing many people and not letting a single person out which many heroes would have especially if the people did not directly mistreat him and believed he was dead which would be a logical thought he finally revealed himself to his wife. At first his wife did not recognize him which filled him with rage even though he should be happy that his loyal wife wants to make

Agamemnon is the first book in the Orestiean Trilogy written by the famous Greek tragedy writer, Aeschylus. Agamemnon is a story of justice and revenge. The story takes place in a city called Argos. It starts with Agamemnon, the king of Argos, away at the Trojan War. The city is eagerly awaiting the news of their king’s welfare and the outcome of the war. Watchmen are posted in the city, watching for the beacon that would report the capture of Troy and Agamemnon’s return. Beacons are set up from Troy to Argos; when one beacon is lit, the next one will be lit, until the last. The play starts when a palace watchman discovers the beacon and tells Agamemnon’s wife, Clytemnestra, the good news.

In each story that has been created, there has always been the main protagonist of the story, in this case, the hero. The hero of the story would be placed through trials and tribulations towards the victory that they desire. In the Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus returns home after battling in the Trojan War for ten years, losing all of his men in brutal ways, and coming home to see 108 men; the suitors, in his house, eating his food, sleeping in his house, and harassing his family: Penelope and Telemachus. After winning the challenge for Penelope’s hand in marriage and winning the kingdom, Odysseus and his allies murder all of the suitors but two of them. Before engaging the suitors, one of his nurses, the one that helped raised him as a child, informs Odysseus that twelve of the fifty other woman in the castle betrayed him by developing relationships with the suitors. Knowing this information; after murdering the suitors, Odysseus forces the twelve woman to clean up the blood and corpses of their lovers. After cleaning up the remains of the men, the woman are hung for committing relations with the men. Odysseus was treated horribly by a Melanthius, the man who taunted

In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus is away from his home, Ithaca, for twenty years. Despite the low odds of Odysseus ever returning home after such a time, those in Ithaca were expected to remain loyal to Odysseus as they awaited his return. While this was a daunting task, those who accomplished it were heavily rewarded, while those who didn’t were met with death. Upon his return, Odysseus promised Eumaeus, the loyal swineherd, that he would find him a wife, grant him property next to his own, and that he would become one of the “comrades to Telemachus, brothers from then on” (21.243). His own wife Penelope remained loyal for all of the twenty years of Odysseus’ absence, never once giving in to the many suitors who invited themselves into her home and spent years vying for her hand. While she probably would have been killed by Odysseus if she had been unfaithful to him, perhaps her greatest reward was just being able to be with her husband again and being able to live. The suitors, however, were not so lucky. Odysseus, along with the help of the goddess Athena, carefully plotted and executed the death of every suitor that entered his home and gone after his wife. With the help of his son, the swineherd, and the goddess, Odysseus took down every suitor, until “the suitors lay in heaps, corpse covering corpse” (22.414). The resulting death of every disloyal character in the epic

Electra is a tragedy by the ancient Greek playwright Euripides. It tells the story of Electra and her brother Orestes. The play tells the tale of how they reunite after several years (maybe eight) of being apart and consult how to revenge their father after their mother Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus murder their father, Agamemnon. Electra was written late in Euripides’ career, sometime between 410s and 420s BCE, although the actual date is uncertain since Sophocles also wrote his version of Electra and it is unclear whether it was first produced before or after Sophocles’ version of the Electra story. But it is certain it came 40 years after Aeschylus’ “The Libation Bearers” which was part of his ever popular “Oresteia” trilogy, whose

We learn why Clytaemnstra must kill her husband, therefore the actions are not clear. There is no clear recognition for the hero, Agamemnon’s death is unwitting, but Casandra recognises the impending slaughter and tells the audience and the chorus why we cannot understand

The poetic tone of Aristophanes' Lysistrata differs greatly from the poetic tone of the Greek tragedies we have read in class. However, after analyzing this Greek comedy, it seems to share some of the main characteristics of Euripides' Medea. Within these plays, we meet shrewd, powerful masculine women who use the art of manipulation to get what they want from others and to accomplish their goals. This theme of manipulation is employed through various means and techniques. The women of these plays also seem to contradict the stereotypical woman and have characteristics similar to the Homeric Greek warrior.

The only thing Odysseus truly desired for twenty years was to return home to his family. Although Odysseus was looking forward to his homecoming, when he finally arrives home he disguises as a beggar, which is an odd thing to do considering that he was already home. He disguises himself, as a beggar because he was not sure whom he could really trusts considering he has been away for twenty years. He also wanted to test all the citizens and Penelope, his wife, of her loyalty. I believe that Odysseus unconsciously knew that the notion of home that he knew before has not changed. Once he proves that he could trust his family, he is just there for one night. It seems he could never truly stay home and Poseidon’s curse is true. Also, Odysseus seems to come to realize that his true home is actually being in an adventure with his crewmen. Odysseus undergoes so much suffering such as near death experiences just to arrive home.

The Elizabethan era, an era filled with renaissance and was a flourishing time period in the arts of poetry, music, and literature. Shakespeare, arguably the most important writer of this time period captivated his audiences with innovative and provocative plays. A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Merchant of Venice are two of Shakespeares’ most famous romantic comedies, the characters of these plays enchant audiences with their passion and love for one another and the conflict that creates in this time period. The conflict in both these plays arise from the character’s personal desires, and the pressure to conform to social norms. The plot in A Midsummer Night’s Dream that this conflict is most relevant in is between the love circle of Hermia, Lysander, Demetrius, and Helena. In The Merchant of Venice Bassanio and Portia have their own agendas whether they are hidden or not the pressure of society and their own lust and desires lead to a conflict.

No blame is placed upon him by the people and they believe he "slipped his neck in the strap of fate" 217, only after which did his spirit become "black, impure, unholy" 218. The people of Mycenae, typically represented by the elders, and thus the Chorus have absolved him of blame in their minds. All their words about the leader are nothing but in praise of their king. They are nearly "faint with longing" for the return of their king, though we can also partly attribute this to a desire to be rid of Clytemnestra more than their wish to return to the rule of Agamemnon. They indeed emphasise the tyranny of the Queen ("she commands, full of her high hopes...manoeuvres like a man" 13). The sentry echoes the love for the King though ("My king, I'll take your loving hand in mine" 37), and the herald is similarly well disposed toward him, and he hasn't been under the yoke of Clytemnestra ("he brings us light in the darkness...Agamemnon lord of men"). The people absolve the King of blame over Iphigenia, and give him unconditional loyalty, but Clytemnestra rests it all upon his shoulders ("girl of tears...here you are repaid" 1554). She understands the grandeur of her action and the scale of it but believes that "what we did was destiny" 1692. Though, it is my belief that the honourable King of Mycenae was commanded by the fates to kill his daughter, and it was by no means his will to carry