Destiny, Fate, Free Will and Free Choice - Prophecies in Oedipus, Antigone, and Agamemnon

1011 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Fate and free will in greek tragedy

The Damning Prophecies in Oedipus, Antigone, and Agamemnon

Oracles, seers, and prophets are used in Greek tragedy to provide foreshadowing for the audience and characters. The seers' wisdom is conveyed through the pronouncement of oracles or prophecies. They confer forecasts to principal characters that affect the characters' future. Although not always believed, and often endeavored to be foiled, seers, oracles, and prophets in Greek tragedies foretell events that greatly affect the lives of prominent characters. Cassandra in Aeschylus' Agamemnon, the Oracle at Delphi in Sophocles' Oedipus, and Teiresias in Sophocles' Antigone pronounce damning prophecies that, despite ignorance, evasion, or disregard, are inevitably fulfilled to the downfall and destruction of the characters.

The seer Cassandra in The Agamemnon foretells the downfall and destruction of Agamemnon. Cassandra delivers several predictions of Agamemnon's impending death. "Agamemnon's dead is what you'll see."[p77] "The room- it reeks! Drips red with murder." p80 She also sees her murder that is unavoidable. "So, then I go / To sing the dirge of my own demise / And Agamemnon's too within the palace." p81 Cassandra's visions are heard by the chorus who are skeptical of her claims. Her visions are not believed by Agamemnon because of a curse set on her by the Greek god Apollo.

Agamemnon is oblivious to her forecasts and believes he will live on and remain king. "So, overborne by you, I shall proceed / To tread the purple to my palace halls." Agamemnon infers that he will be able to safely return to power in his kingdom and is unaware of the treasonous plot calculated by his wife Clytemnestra and ...

... middle of paper ...

...t suicide in anger at Kreon. Lives are lost and Kreon is disgraced as a king. In spite of his avoidance the prophecy is realized.

Although not always believed, and often endeavored to be foiled, seers, oracles, and prophets in Greek tragedies foretell events that greatly affect the lives of prominent characters. Cassandra in Aeschylus' Agamemnon, the Oracle at Delphi in Sophocles' Oedipus, and Teiresias in Sophocles' Antigone pronounce damning prophecies that, despite ignorance, evasion, or disregard, are inevitably fulfilled to the downfall and destruction of the characters. Oracles, seers, and prophets from Greek tragedy correctly predict the destruction of important characters. Despite the characters' arrogance or avoidance, the prophecies are fulfilled. The characters' blatant contempt for prophecy contributes to the irony of their situations.

Show More
Related

  • Similarities Between The Odyssey And Oedipus

    846 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...information. Prophets or seers, like blind Tiresias, saw visions of things to come. Oracles, priests who resided at the temples of gods were also believed to be able to interpret the gods' visions and give prophecies to people who wanted to know the future. Oedipus was told he would murder his father (Laius) and wed his mother (Jocasta). Laius, Jocasta, and Oedipus all tried to prevent the prophecies, but their efforts to thwart the prophecies are what actually make it happen.

    Read More

  • The Significance Of Odysseus

    1388 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gods in The Odyssey often use prophecy to inform mortal characters of their fates. Once a mortal character is aware of his fate, he is responsible for accepting and fulfilling it, or otherwise facing punishment for his failure to obey the gods. One such example is Odysseus’ failure to execute Circe’s prophecy not to fight Scylla in order to save his shipmates, which results in his loss of six of his best men. Odysseus’ responsibility here for his men’s deaths at the hands of Scylla implores the reader to question Odysseus’ ability to lead his men. In another example, however, Odysseus’ shipmates fail to execute Tiresias’ prophecy as relayed to them by Odysseus, for which Zeus kills them all at sea. Their responsibility for their own deaths

    Read More

  • The Illusion Of The Control In A Virtual Setting

    1206 Words  | 3 Pages

    Virtual reality or VR has been around long enough that most have seen it or experienced it before. For VR to be truly effective and believable it must convince the user that they are the ones in control of whatever is going on, whether it be walking through a virtual city or behind the wheel of a sports car. If it were not believable that the participant is present in ...

    Read More

  • Comparing Oedipus and Job

    1014 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Oedipus The King, Sophocles presents a view of life fixed by fate. This fate, predetermined by the gods, is the sole factor in deciding human destiny. Tiresias expresses his understanding of the unchangeable fate of Oedipus, laid out by the gods, as he argues with the King about revealing the truth of all the Theban troubles. When Oedipus, frustrated by the lack of cooperation, insults Tiresias, he responds "I pity you, flinging at me the very insults / each man here will fling at you so soon."(322) Even more telling of the fated existence of Sophocles' characters is Jocasta's revelation of prophecies given before Oedipus' birth which foretold all that the gods had in store, which had indeed come to pass (332).

    Read More

  • Space Exploration: The Space Race

    687 Words  | 2 Pages

    Unmanned space exploration has been something the United States has been doing since the early Space Race. Unmanned space exploration would be sending things like satellites and rovers up into space, with no human or animal on the vehicle. Unmanned vehicles travel to other planets, moons, asteroids, etc. and take pictures of their moons, of the surface, and give us information concerning the planet, information such as measurements to tell what the planet is like inside. Unmanned vehicles have gone to every planet except Pluto.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Virtual Reality

    1256 Words  | 3 Pages

    Virtual reality is a recent groundbreaking modern technology that involves head tracking and depth perspective. Virtual reality works by creating a 3D mapping of the environment to give a realistic

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Devices In Oedipus The King

    1002 Words  | 3 Pages

    Within these two passages, Teiresias is explaining to Oedipus that the Prophecy admitted he killed his father. Oedipus is denying the fact that he killed his father and looking passed the problem. In the play Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles, Sophocles uses rhetorical devices to explain to the readers that Teiresias may be blind, but is seeing through the lie that Oedipus is living, while striking him the truth; this is explained through imagery, metaphors, an allusion, and ethos appeal.

    Read More

  • The Tragedies of Agamemnon

    523 Words  | 2 Pages

    The next tragedy to take place is when Agamemnon and his men completely overlook all the warnings given by the chorus and Cassandra about the unrest in his house. The leader of the chorus...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Oedipus The King By Sophocles

    1141 Words  | 3 Pages

    Tiresias, from “Oedipus the King” by the Ancient Greek playwright Sophocles, is a blind prophet and whilst he is only on the stage for a little time he plays a major role by what he does and what he represents. Tiresias enters the play after being summoned by Oedipus to tell him of the murderer of Laius, the recent King. Tiresias for the sake of Oedipus does not tell him the truth at the start saying that “what will come will come. Even if I shroud it all in silence”. In is conversation, Sophocles, uses Tiresias as a turning point in the plot as it is the beginning of Oedipus’ downfall. As well as that Sophocles uses Tiresias to represent many of the key ideas in the play. Tiresias represents the idea of fate and how

    Read More

  • How Is Clytemnestra Justified In Agamemnon

    634 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Aeschylus’ The Agamemnon, Agamemnon and Clytemnestra have to make tough decisions throughout the play, decisions they believe are justified. The actions of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra are not justified because they are caused by their blinding hubris and desire for power. Agamemnon makes the choice to kill his daughter just so he could lead his troops to Troy. Clytemnestra kills her husband, not just for revenge, but for his position and power as king of Mycenae. They make selfish choices and do not believe they will be punished for them. By exposing their true motives, Aeschylus makes it clear they are not justified in their actions.

    Read More

  • Augmented Reality

    2129 Words  | 5 Pages

    SCOTT, T. (1996). Virtual Reality: A Historical Perspective. Available: http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~history/Tate.VR.html#2. Last accessed 8th January 2014.

    Read More

  • The Supernatural In Oedipus The King

    718 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the play Oedipus the King, Sophocles affirms that the gods ultimately have the final say to control one’s destiny; however, an individual is solely responsible for the decisions he makes. Approaching near the climax, Sophocles sets up a fundamental conflict of the play, the need for Oedipus and Jocasta to perceive the immutable state of prophecy through the consequences that deliver itself when the gods fulfill their plans for one’s destiny. The messenger even describes the omnipotent power of the gods, and witnesses the augury of death proposed by the supernatural, finally stating:

    Read More

  • Use of Irony in Oedipus the King

    310 Words  | 1 Pages

    Sophocles makes use of many situations involving dramatic irony. In fact, the entire play could be said to be an example of dramatic irony. The audience becomes aware of Oedipus’ prophecy from the very beginning of the play. The reading from the Oracle stated that Oedipus was destined to murder his father and marry his mother. Although Oedipus is unaware of his fate, the reader knows the tragic future of the character. This use of dramatic irony allows the story to avoid the typical Greek tragedy structure and keep the reader intrigued as the events unfold.

    Read More

  • The Future Of Virtual Reality

    814 Words  | 2 Pages

    Have you ever wanted to immerse in an imaginary world that you can interact with? Many developers are creating this technology called Virtual Reality. It is a new exciting technology that will impact the way we live, not only for entertainment, but for many different purposes in our life as well.

    Read More

  • What Is Virtual Reality Essay

    1419 Words  | 3 Pages

    You are 10,000 feet in the air, the skydiving instructor yells for you to jump, you push yourself into the open air, you freefall for 10 straight minutes as the air pushes against your face, as you land, you remove your virtual reality goggles and you are back in your cozy living room. Alright we may not be at this point yet, but this could be how we entertain and thrill ourselves in the near future; the full implementation of virtual reality into our daily lives. As soon as I found out about virtual reality, I was entirely intrigued. The idea that you could experience anything without having to leave your home enticed the adventurer in me. We will explore the history and progression of virtual reality and discuss the pros and cons of the emerging

    Read More

More about Destiny, Fate, Free Will and Free Choice - Prophecies in Oedipus, Antigone, and Agamemnon

Open Document