Classic Greek Tragedy Review

Inheritance of Curse:
- Oedipus inherits Laius' curse and marries his own mother, Jocasta.
- Antigone is trapped in Oedipus' family.
Heroic Blindness:
- The hero or heroine is heedless of the damage they cause to others.
Family Bonds:
- Birth family exerts a strong hold on its members.
- Antigone's statement about having only one brother highlights the complexities of familial relationships.
Patrilineal Influence:
- A hero or heroine embodies their father's attributes.
- Oedipus succeeds Laius and fulfills a prophecy involving his parents.
- Antigone possesses many of Oedipus' characteristics.
Lethal Trap:
- The natal family becomes a source of danger for its members.

Retributive Justice:
- Emphasis on punishment of the offender (death) rather than rehabilitation.
Offenses:
- Violation of quid pro quo (reciprocity).
- Violation of marital vows.
- Failure to worship a god.
Deus ex Machina:
- Euripides' use of the deus ex machina device signifies strong determinism and divine mercilessness.
Central Moral Issue:
- The punishment is related to the offender's central moral issue.
- Jason's lust for political power.
- Hippolytus' rejection of lust.
- Pentheus' rejection of irrationality.
Gendered Roles in Revenge:
- Women (Medea, Phaedra & the Nurse, Agave & her sisters) are the instruments of revenge, while men (Jason, Hippolytus, Pentheus) are the offenders.
Restoration of Cruel Balance:
- Revenge aims to restore a sense of balance, albeit through cruel means.

The Moment of Knowing:
- Quote from Jorge Luis Borges, “The Aleph” (1949): “Any life, however long and complicated it may be, actually consists of a single moment—the moment when a man knows forever more who he is.”
Apollo & Dionysus:
- Both Oedipus and Pentheus are politicians who unknowingly harm their city.
- Both heroes achieve self-knowledge by understanding the meaning of their names.
- Both heroes harm members of their own family.
- Both heroes come to know the value of moderation.
  - Oedipus: Knowledge of the right kind.
  - Pentheus: The place of the Dionysiac in one’s life.
- For Oedipus, the self is a riddle; for Pentheus, the other is a riddle.

Oedipus = “He of swollen feet”
Antigone = “She who ends her family”
Medea = “She who calculates/devises”
Hippolytus = “He who is undone by his own horses”
Pentheus = “The grieved one”
- Quote from The Bacchae, 1244-5: “This is a grief so great it knows no size”

Key time-related events:
- Oedipus exposed by the Theban shepherd on the mountain-slope and saved by the Corinthian messenger.
- Oedipus at the crossroads.
- Creon at the tomb.
- Theseus back at home.
Luck, (mis)fortune, accident, death: Time-related events beyond human control.

Methods of suicide among ancient Greek women: hanging or stabbing
Examples:
- Jocasta, Antigone, Medea, Phaedra, Agave commit suicide, either literal or metaphorical.
- Antigone wishes to bury Polyneices and ends up buried alive.
- Ismene wishes to die with Antigone.
- Medea takes her dead sons with her to give them proper burial.

Quote from The Bacchae, 1117-21: “No, no, Mother! I am Pentheus, your own son, the child you bore to Echion! Pity me, spare me, Mother! I have done a wrong, but do not kill your own son for my offence.”

Two Mothers: Comparing Medea and Agave
- Barbarian vs. Greek
- Deliberate act vs. ecstatic act
- Perception of sons as human vs. perception of son as a beast
- Silent sons (small children) vs. speaking son (adult ruler)
- Use of sword vs. sparagmos
- Private act inside the house vs. public act on the mountainside
- Solo act vs. communal act