Tradegy in Greek Literature

Tragedy in Greek Literature

When one hears the word tragedy, they might think of someone dying in a car wreck, being killed in a plane crash, or even a massive tsunami that wipes out nations. This type of tragedy is the most common, but when referring to Greek literature, a tragedy is an outstanding piece of drama originating in Ancient Greece. Greek tragedy originated in honor of the god of wine, Dionysus, the patron god of tragedy. The performance took place in an open-air theater. The work tragedy is derived from the word "tragedia" or "goat song." Aristotle said, "Tragedy is largely based on life's pity and splendor (Lucas).

Greek tragedy would not be complete with out a tragic hero. Sophocles, the great writer of tragedy, wrote of noble and courageous heroes with specific "tragic flaws" that lead the hero to his downfall. In Aristotle's analysis of Greek tragedy he states, "Greek tragedy has an effect on the audience called "catharsis," or purging of the emotions (Mcavoy)." The two specific emotions that Sophocles provokes are pity and fear. Sophocles wrote Antigone with a specific character in mind for this noble hero. Creon fits the image of the hero with the "tragic flaw." Creon is significant because he is the king. The hard decisions that Creon is faced with, is what makes him fit Aristotle's image of a tragic hero. Creon faced decisions that lead to a no-win situation. He believes that Polyneices should not be buried because he was a traitor to his family. This decision affected Antigone greatly, and Creon knew that the decision would be hard on some people. Family and burials are very important in society, and Creon is asking Antigone to not consider them, to only consider that Polyneices was a traitor to his home city. Creon is then faced with the knowledge that Antigone went against his will and law, and buried her brother. Again, Creon is faced with a hard decision. He must choose to kill his own family member and uphold the law, or punish her less severely and show that he is not serious about death as a punishment to his law. Creon doesn't want to show weakness, even for family, but he doesn't want to kill Antigone, who is not only his niece and sister, but engaged to his son. The final decision that Creon must make is whether or not to revoke his death sentence on Antigone. Creon would be doing