Tragic Heroes
Tragic heroes are found throughout Greek mythology and folklore. They are called "tragic" because their stories are tragedies. The two Greek plays, Antigone and Oedipus, are good examples of tragedy. These plays, written by Sophocles, are very different and yet they share one similarity...tragic heroes. There are certain criteria that must be met for a person to qualify as a tragic hero. He (or she) is usually of noble blood, but not a god. To be a tragic hero, one must experience hamartia, peripateia, anagnorisis, catharsis, and usually a punishment. He begins by making a mistake, one that anyone in the same position could make. The mistake is usually a flaw of character or judgement that seems to be the right decision at the time. More often than not, the mistake is not recognized as an error or flaw. This is called the hamartia, or tragic flaw. The hamartia can be anything...such as an action, a character flaw (such as bad temper), a defiance of or disbelief in the gods, or a simple error in judgement. After the hamartia has occurs, which is usually unknown to the hero, it sets in motion the series of inevitable events that follow. The tragic hero then begins to go through the motions, or results of his hamartia.
In Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, Oedipus is the Ruler of Thebes. From a young man and on, he has always feared the prophecy he received from the Oracle at Delphi. The prophecy revealed to him that he would kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus's hamartia begins here. Anyone in this situation would try everything in his or her power to avoid this from happening. This is exactly what Oedipus does. He should know not to try to go against the oracle because it is blasphemous toward the gods. But who would stand by and wait to kill their father and marry their mother? Oedipus goes to Delphi to make sure he knows who his real parents are, so he can avoid the prophecy. Of course, on his way, he meets Laius at the crossroads and kills him. Some might say that Oedipus's tragic flaw is killing Laius, but his tragic flaw begins when he tries to evade his fate. Oedipus goes on to become the king of Thebes and marry Laius' former wife, Jocasta, by answering the Sphinx's riddle correctly. Unknown to him, he has already fulfilled the prophecy he has tried so hard to avoid. This is Oedipus's peripateia, his reversal of fortune. Although at the time, he thinks everything is good and right, but he has already sealed his fate; it's only a matter of time before he realizes it. An interval of time passes in which Jocasta and Oedipus have two sons and two daughters together. When a plague falls upon the city, Oedipus sends a messenger to find out why. The messenger reports that the plague in Thebes is due to Laius' murder never being avenged; Oedipus immediately sends for the only witness to the murder. Then he announces the murderer is to be condemned to exile upon apprehension. The investigation goes on and Oedipus begins to suspect himself. Finally, the blind prophet Tiresius comes and convinces Oedipus that the prophecy has come true. He goes to his wife, Jocasta, and tells her his prophecy. Now she, too, also knows the truth and can not live with it; thereupon immediately killing herself. Indirectly, this is Oedipus's punishment for his hamartia, for trying to elude the prophecy. The tragic hero now recognizes what has happened due to his actions and decisions; this is his anagnorisis. This is the moment when he realizes that he has, in fact, done everything he tried so desperately hard to avoid: killing his father, marrying his mother, and that the murderer of Laius he's been seeking is himself...he's condemned himself to exile. Oedipus, realizing how terrible the sins of killing his father and allocating an incestuous marriage with his mother are, cannot bear to look upon his children. His children are a direct result of his disgusting incest, the most malicious and offensive crimes to be committed to the gods and to his self. In an
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Approximate Word count = 1865
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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