Aeschylus was born in Eleusis, a Greek town near Athens, in 525 B.C. He was the first of the great Greek tragedians, preceding both Sophocles and Euripides, and is often credited with inventing tragic drama. Prior to Aeschylus, plays were primitive, consisting of a single actor and a chorus offering commentary. In his works, he added a
"second
actor" (often more than one) thus creating endless new dramatic possibilities. He lived until 456 B.C., fighting in the wars against Persia, and attaining great acclaim in the world of the Athenian theater.
Aeschylus wrote nearly ninety plays; however, only seven have survived to the modern era, including such famous works as Prometheus Bound and The Seven
Against
Thebes. Agamemnon is the first of a trilogy, called the Oresteia, which continues with The
Libation-Bearers and concludes with The Eumenides. The trilogy--the only such work to survive from Ancient Greece--is considered by many critics to be the greatest
Athenian
tragedy ever written, both for the power of its poetry and the strength of its characters.
Agamemnon depicts the assassination of the title character by his wife,
Clytemnestra, and her lover; The Libation-Bearers continues the story with the return of
Agamemnon's son, Orestes, who kills his mother and avenges his father.
Orestes is pursued by the Furies in punishment for his matricide, and finally finds refuge in Athens, where the god Athena relieves him of his persecution.
The events of Agamemnon take place against a backdrop that would have been familiar to an Athenian audience. Agamemnon is returning from his victory at
Troy, which
Palmieri 2
has been besieged for ten years by Greek armies attempting to recover Helen,
Agamemnon's brother's wife, stolen treacherously by the Trojan Prince, Paris.
(The events of the Trojan War are recounted in Homer's Iliad.) The play's tragic events occur as a result of the crimes committed by Agamemnon's family. His father, Atreus, murdered and cooked the children of his own brother, Thyestes, and served them to him;
Clytemnestra's
lover, Aegisthus (Thyestes's only surviving son), seeks revenge for that crime. Meanwhile,
Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia to gain a favorable wind to Troy, and Clytemnestra murders him to avenge her death.
Tragedies were Athenian, reflecting the taste and intellectual climate of mid fifth century Athens. The weight of history and heritage becomes a major theme of the play, and indeed of the entire trilogy, for the family it depicts cannot escape the cursed cycle of bloodshed from its past.
Aeschylus wrote this victory-winning trilogy in Athens, 458 B.C. His participation in a loosely organized political “group” is thought to have influenced his
Concealed weapons on college campuses have been a debatable issue for a long time now. “Statistically, colleges and universities are relatively safe environments for students, faculty, and administrators”, but will concealed carry affect this (Kirszner and Mandell, 626)?Supporters argue that being able to carry a concealed weapon lowers the percentage of shooting or accidents and that it is simply constitutional to have the right to bear arms. On the other hand, non-supporters believe that this will affect the way of learning in school, and raise anxiety. While it is true that having a concealed weapon can make the person holding it feel safe, we should not allow it because it may bring more negative rather than positive things into the college campuses.
The cultural identity that contributes to the poor health outcome of Senora Vasquez is that initially she doesn’t want to receive treatment from the hospital upon having a burned leg. Since they don’t have enough money to support the treatment Senora Benita has stop drinking the antibiotics and changed the dressing for only few times which makes the site become more infected. Prior to that, upon having the burns she put some lard or butter to the site and some herbs, which is not proven to be helpful in treating burn areas this lead to infection of the patients burn site. Also, self-care beliefs, the tendency of using home remedies, which was perceived as minor problem, was not given attention
Could anyone live with knowing his or her fate? Well that is precisely what is happening to Oedipus, King Laius, and Jocasta in the story of Oedipus Rex. These three people are caught in the grasp of fate and they don’t have a choice but to go along with the story. In Oedipus Rex by Sophocles the plot, setting, characters, foreshadowing, irony, and themes rely on one thing…fate.
Gun-control laws are a very controversial topic right now in the U.S., especially when it comes to allowing concealed-carry holders on college campuses. Nevertheless, guns should be permitted for concealed carry on college campuses if the carriers have concealed-carry licenses because mass shootings occur mostly in gun-free zones. There have been many incidents in which concealed-carry holders have disarmed attackers, and concealed-carry holders are overwhelmingly law-abiding citizens. However, the argument’s opponents believe guns should not be allowed on college campuses for various reasons, including: professors might be afraid to issue bad grades, a gun may go off by accident, college
are a reflection of his devotion to the ideals of an honorable Roman hero. A roman hero is one whose actions are guided by pietas and stoicism. Aeneas is fated to found the great Empire of Rome. On this journey, he endures many instances of great personal suffering yet continues to act in accordance with the fate, which has been imposed upon him by the gods, exemplifying his adherence to the standards of a Roman hero. Beginning in Book Ten, however, when the gods withdraw from human affairs, the death of a comrade, Pallas, ignites an ineradicable anger in Aeneas, causing him to perform actions in direct contrast with the ideals of a Roman hero. This withdrawal of the gods reveals Aeneas’ true character, as he acts according to his own will, exposing his ignoble nature. illustrates the pinnacle of Aeneas’s betrayal of Roman heroism. Rather than enact clementia , Aeneas chooses to indulge in his rage and kill Turnus, ignoring his invocation of familial piety and violating the characteristics of a truly pious Roman Stoic hero.
College campuses are more dangerous than ever because of the past decade; guns have not only been manufactured in excess, but availability and ease of accessibility. According to James Cool (2008), a supporter of guns on campus, reasoned why the increase of weapons occurred recently; “Our nation was founded … during the same time that modern firearms were invented and became readily available due to the Industr...
References to eyesight and vision, both literal and metaphorical, are very frequent in all three of the Theban plays. Quite often, the image of clear vision is used as a metaphor for knowledge and insight. In fact, this metaphor is so much a part of the Greek way of thinking that it is almost not a metaphor at all, just as in modern English: to say “I see the truth” or “I see the way things are” is a perfectly ordinary use of language. However, the references to eyesight and insight in these plays form a meaningful pattern in combination with the references to literal and metaphorical blindness. Oedipus is famed for his clear-sightedness and quick comprehension, but he discovers that he has been blind to the truth for many years, and then he blinds himself so as not to have to look on his own children/siblings. Creon is prone to a similar blindness to the truth in Antigone. Though blind, the aging Oedipus finally acquires a limited prophetic vision. Tiresias is blind, yet he sees farther than others. Overall, the plays seem to say that human beings can demonstrate remarkable powers of intellectual penetration and insight, and that they have a great capacity for knowledge, but that even the smartest human being is liable to error, that the human capability for knowledge is ultimately quite limited and unreliable.
In the play, Oedipus the King, blindness is used metaphorically and physically to characterize several personas , and the images of clarity and vision are used as symbols for knowledge and insight. Enlightenment and darkness are used in much the same manner, to demonstrate the darkness of ignorance, and the irony of vision without sight.
Even though Oedipus is a hero, we should not admire him, as the intentions for his actions are self-centered. This distinction is necessary to help us better understand the difference between being a hero, and a hero worth of admiration. It is important to know that somebody’s admiration must ultimately stem from the intentions of their actions rather than the results of their actions alone, so we can act accordingly in the future.
When a person is accused of a crime they are either found innocent or guilty. This is the basic idea of justice and it is what many feel needs to happen if someone has done something controversial. In the play The Oresteia by Aeschylus, the story of Clytemnestra guilt or innocents is questioned. She does many things that people are not too happy with and those controversial actions throughout the story, mainly in the first part Agamemnon get her into the trouble. As we explore the case that builds against her innocents by exploring the killings of Agamemnon and Cassandra and the boastful expression about the killings.
Aristotle defined a tragic story as the adventure of a good man who reaches his ultimate downfall because he pushed his greatest quality too far. Sophocles advocates the definition in the tragic play Oedipus Rex. He develops the play with the great polarities of fame and shame, sight and blindness, and ignorance and insight to show Oedipus’ experiences in search for knowledge about his identity. Through his search, Oedipus pushes his quest for truth too far and ultimately reaches his doom. Oedipus’ reliance on his intellect is his greatest strength and ultimate downfall.
The "subprime crises" was one of the most significant financial events since the Great Depression and definitely left a mark upon the country as we remain upon a steady path towards recovering fully. The financial crisis of 2008, became a defining moment within the infrastructure of the US financial system and its need for restructuring. One of the main moments that alerted the global economy of our declining state was the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers on Sunday, September 14, 2008 and after this the economy began spreading as companies and individuals were struggling to find a way around this crisis. (Murphy, 2008) The US banking sector was first hit with a crisis amongst liquidity and declining world stock markets as well. The subprime mortgage crisis was characterized by a decrease within the housing market due to excessive individuals and corporate debt along with risky lending and borrowing practices. Over time, the market apparently began displaying more weaknesses as the global financial system was being affected. With this being said, this brings into question about who is actually to assume blame for this financial fiasco. It is extremely hard to just assign blame to one individual party as there were many different factors at work here. This paper will analyze how the stakeholders created a financial disaster and did nothing to prevent it as the credit rating agencies created an amount of turmoil due to their unethical decisions and costly mistakes.
In the play, Oedipus the King written by Sophocles, the protagonist Oedipus finds himself in many conflicts, most of which seem to be a result of a combination of the actions he took. The play addresses that Oedipus is his own worst enemy, who is too determined to find out who he is and too proud to listen to the Gods. He thinks he can get out of following through on his own fate. So, because of that he doomed himself.
Oedipus is a story about a few basic human emotions. Among them are rage, passion, humility, and guilt. The Ancient Greeks understood these emotions well; their society was based upon the logical emotions, but always threatened by the violent ones. Oedipus was at first told that he was destined to kill his father and marry his mother. Fearful of himself, he fled showing a lack of humility away from his home, thinking that his problems would be solved. Later on, he gets into a tumultuous fight with a passerby on the road to Thebes. Enraged, he kills the man and his servants; this turned out to be a big mistake. After saving the city of Thebes from the Sphinx, he marries and then passionately sleeps with the queen. Towards the end of the play, he realizes that he has indeed killed his father and married his mother, thus echoing the lack of humility that first drove him away from his adopted parents.
Oedipus Rex”, by Socrates, is a play that shows the fault of men and the ultimate power of the gods. Throughout the play, the main character, Oedipus, continually failed to recognize the fault in human condition, and these failures let to his ultimate demise. Oedipus failed to realize that he, himself was the true answer to the riddle of the Sphinx. Oedipus ignored the truth told to him by the oracles and the drunk at the party, also. These attempts to get around his fate which was determined by the gods was his biggest mistake. Oedipus was filled with hubris and this angered the gods. He believed he was more that a man. These beliefs cause him to ignore the limits he had in being a man. Oedipus needed to look at Teiresias as his window to his future.