Euripides Paper Essay

Of the plays that survived the classic Era of Greece, few survive knocked out(p) of the thousands that were pen in celebration of the Festival Of Dionysus. This festival was in honor of the owing(p) im individual of wine, a relatively new Olympian inheringe of genus genus genus Zeus and a mortal woman, Semele (Rachel coarse, Dale Grote, 1997). He was celebrated as non moreoer the graven image of wine hardly also of nature, fertility and after, the stage.            The Bacchae by Euripides is the most notable account of the Dionysian cult, and through its disturbing tale of demolition and exorbitant method of worship it paints a picture of extremism unlike other tales. It is come-at-able that Euripides, during his stay in the court of the fairy of Macedon, saw a religious sect of the cult whose ritual pr constituteices were extremist or it could be that Euripides was attempting to make a state of matterment closely the d anger of cultist hypothesizeing.            Dionysus was the s work on Olympian to have been born twice, once when Zeus killed his fork up with a thunderbolt then rescued the unborn child, inserted him into his make thigh for the rest of his gestation, and gave birth to him.            One home that runs through the Dionysian cult is rejection the Dionysus stories repeatedly tell of Dionysus entering a city, being rejected as a god and bringing destruction to his opponents.            It does appear that the authors of the classical plays in the Hellenistic Era either wished to come on worshippers to remain loyal to their gods or they wished to instill fear in the human beings regarding the vengeful nature of the gods if they argon not obeyed.An example of this is Euripides tale of Dionysus r withalge on Pentheus, female monarch of Thebes. As patient and devious as only a god could be, Dionysus lets himself be captured later on driving local women (including Pentheus mother) into overlord madness. Dionysus, disguised, is believed to be behind the women suddenly running into the forest from the city. Dionysus cannot be restrained, as he amply shows his captor Pentheus. level(p)tu completelyy Dionysis leads Pentheus (dressed as a woman) to his dying by the hands of his own mother, who does not recognize him in her state of madness.            The choir sings the praises of Dionysus, who is later able to show himself to Thebes for who he really is.            A recurrent musical composition in The Bacchae is justice, disguise, revenge, and the balance of power, all centered on a god and his followers opposing a mortal and the non-believers.            a great the same lines and also refle cting the religion of the judgment of conviction as well as portraying the continual battles that were waged mingled with city-states that vied for dominion, were plays written by Sophocles, Aeschylus, and later Aristophanes.            political relation were mixed in with religious rites and rituals, as is written in all of the plays examined. Similarity exists in stories of son against pay back, associate against sister, and a god dictating the actions of all the major players with the oracles being the messengers delivering prophecies and directions to the mere mortals. A marvelous intertwining of feelings, decisions, protocols, ethics and trick are exhibited by both mortals and gods in these works, but the gods tend to function the mortals to turn on each other rather than directly intervene.            In Prometheus Bound, Aeschylus exposes the revenge of gods upon a god, as opposed to Dionysus revenge on Thebes for rejecting him. Still, the theme of suffering is woven and fear is stricken into the audience as a prominent god who had created the mortals done so much for them is ruthlessly punished by Zeus.            Prometheus Bound is the second play of a trilogy, and uses no stage. In that, it is unique the entire play takes place in the balconies (ed. Alfred Bates, 1906, p.73). This adds to the feeling that a battle is being waged in the heavens, a common theme reflected in the mythology of the Greek pantheon.            Prometheus brought fire to mankind out of sympathy for their ignorance and darkness. At startle Zeus was angry, but when he smelled the aroma of the rich sacrifices coo male monarch over the fires he decided to bide his time to invite what would happen next. As in The Bacchae, Zeus is alternately portrayed as a gentle yet very vengeful god. &n bsp          Prometheus Bound illustrates the suffering of torture for a god who cannot die because he is immortal this would give pause to some(prenominal) Hellenistic person who might wish to become a god. At least domain can be freed from the pains of mortality through death, even if brought most by an angry god.            One passage in particular reflects how rejection is a theme that repeats itself in Hellenistic plays, wrenching emotion from the audience and expressed in such a representation as to be all too common in tragedy Prometheus, arrange to the mountainside where a bird of prey arrives daily to eat his liver, cries out,The resistance of Zeus, and heldIn hatred by all godsWho tread the courts of ZeusAnd this for my great love,Too great, for mortal man (Bates, p. 76).            Along comes Hermes, in a effective scene, bids Prometheus to r eveal the marriage that exit produce the undoing of Zeus position. Prometheus adamantly refuses to reveal such a thing unless he is unbound.            Interestingly enough, Zeus had already had a warning regarding a child who would overthrow him after his liaison with the Titan Metis, Zeus was told that the unborn child would bring near his undoing. He turned Metis into a fly and swallowed her the child gestated inside of Zeus head and later emerged as the goddess Athena. Once again we find Zeus hatching a child within his own body, as Dionysus was.            Even in his suffering, Prometheus is adamant about justice. He had created mortals under Zeus orders, he had taught them everything. When Zeus saw the mortals becoming too powerful, able to reason and think for themselves, he saw his own position threatened. This theme is also reflected in different ways and with different scenarios in t he plays of the period.Essentially this is a political attitude, which codms to be misplaced among all-powerful and perfect gods, but as humans had godlike qualities, the gods also had very human qualities. Such was the relationship between the Greek Olympians and the Greek people, a mutual relationship of favors granted, sacrifices do and honors presumptuousness or withdrawn. What we know of this relationship is mostly from writers such as kor and Plato as well as the playwrights.            The Prometheus trilogy elaborated on the creation of man, the choler of Zeus, intervention by Prometheus, the advancement of mankind and the gift of Prometheus (the return of fire). This was followed by the punishment of Prometheus and the ill forget of the Olympians toward him. Loyalty to Zeus and the recognition that the gods were only as powerful as their mortal worshippers are reflective of politicians and celebrities of right forth a stat is only as stellar as the public allows it to be.            in conclusion Prometheus is freed and is reconciled amongst the Olympians, but for all he did for mortals, it appears that he was not worshipped, nor was he a patron god of any polis or temple. Apparently his fallibility made him unworthy of mortal worship. Unlike Dionysus, however, Prometheus did not exact revenge on those who did not recognize him.            Turning to more complicated matters, we shall now cheek at the Oedipus plays by Sophocles. This series reveals the role of fate and the irrevocable will of the gods, this time involving Apollo.            Running along common Greek themes of deplorable situations (such as Zeus killing Dionysus mother and realizing with horror that she carried his unborn child, Prometheus being abysmally tortured for loving his creations so much that he defied Zeus, and the horror of bedding ones own mother and bearing children by her), Oedipus the queen regnant by Sophocles brings about the role played by fate and the incontestible role of sight that mortals cannot escape even if forewarned and taking all precautions.            prophets and prophets relayed messages from the gods to mortals, and those whom had a shadow cast over their lives had no choice play out their lives in the manner decreed by the gods.            Oedipus was one of those people, sent away by his mother to be remove since it was predicted that he would kill his father a kindly Shepard took Oedipus to be raised in the court of the king and queen of Corinth. Oedipus was not aware of his straight parentage.            As a adolescent prince, Oedipus overhears a conversation announcing that he was not the adjust son of the king and queen, so he sought the advice of the Oracle of Delphi. This is where he learned of his destiny, which had been revealed to his mother years before. Another common theme of the Hellenistic Era is the accuracy of the Oracle of Delphi, who can see into the plans of the gods and will advise mortals as she sees fit.            Oedipus was appall to hear his fate and, still believing that he was the son of the king and queen of Corinth, he sought to escape the horrible prophecy by leaving the palace. This is another case in point where it was believed that a mortal could not escape what the gods had decreed for their future, and it wasnt until philosophy took a gruelling stance in Greek society that the gods were questioned as omniscient beings that controlled the destiny of every person. In the case of Oedipus, had he kept his head and stayed in the palace at Corinth, the story would have been much different but even the reader of the plays will doubt that he could have changed his fate.            Oedipus traveled to Thebes, fell in love with and married Jocasta, cigaret of Thebes. Jocasta was the widow of broad Laius, who had been killed in a skirmish with a band of thieves just front to Oedipus arrival.            Oedipus and Jocasta had four children two daughters (Antigone and Ismeme) and two sons (Polynices and Eteocles). While the offspring of Oedipus and Jocasta do not appear significantly in Oedipus the King (Oedipus Rex), their existence is significant for the act that Antigone will later commit in a state of unbend intent, without regard for any punishment from gods or humans.            Eventually a pestilence strikes Thebes and the citizenry asks Oedipus for help. Oedipus replies that he has already sent the Queens brother (Creon) to the Oracle at Delphi fo r advise. Once again, great faith in the gods and the Oracle is demonstrated, and the Oracle is consulted in order to consult with the gods themselves such incidents as natural disasters and enkindles were undoubtedly initiated by one of the gods whom has been displeased, and only the Oracle had the authority to handle with the remedy for the situation. Also, Thebes reasserts itself as a city of major importance, politically, being the very city that rejected Dionysus.            Chreon returns to report that the Oracle at Delphi says that when the murderer of Laius is captured and expelled, the plague will end.            Oedipus sets out immediately to discover who murdered the King of Thebes, and ideate his horror when he finds out from a local prophet that it was he who had slain the king at the crossroads where the attack had occurred. The only survivor of the attack, a Shepard, is then i nterrogated Oedipus still wants to deny that he himself was King Laius murderer and Jocasta supports him by ridiculing prophecy and such fanciful thought.            The climax of the play occurs when the Shepard reveals that long ago he had taken a baby from the King and Queen of Thebes and passed it on to a Shepard of Corinth the babys mother had wanted it murdered because of a prophecy that it would kill its parents. The coin drops for Oedipus            Ah me ah me all brought to pass, all true O light, may I behold thee nevermore I affirm a wretch, in birth, in wedlock cursed, A parricide, incestuously, triply cursed (trans. F. Storr, 1912).            Oedipus later finds Jocasta inside the palace, dead from hanging herself. Oedipus immediately blinds himself and begs to be exiled. Once again we have Thebes expelling a man of prominence, but this time by the mans request. Where Dionysus had been twice born, Oedipus had been twice expelled from Thebes.            The plays depicted above are three great tragedies and hopefully it is clear that the myths and religious overtones occupying the minds and hearts of the Hellenistic Greeks have been demonstrated here to have a recurring theme.            We will now turn to a play of comedy that also has its own flavor yet displays the loyalty to the gods and abides by the principles of Greek society. As a departure from the woes of rejected gods and men, Arisophanes provides the audience with laughter as he resurrects Euripides and Aeschylus, olibanum acknowledging their greatness and praising Dionysus at the same time as the god of theater.            Binding together the power of Dionysus while poking fun at the god of wine and revelry, Aristophanes writes a slapstick style play in The Frogs. This play has it all gods, instructions, parody and politics, plus it contains references to the mythological hero Heracles, Charon (the ferryman at the river Styx), and a few Olympians plus the Nine Muses.            Even today, this play is extremely funny for those who are familiar with Greek mythology and would be enjoyed even by those who are not, if acted well.            In The Frogs, Dionysus is tired of the absence of the absence of meaty dramas in theater and feels that this is a reflection on his honor. He decides to travel to infernal region to fetch Euripides and bring him back to Earth. His servant Xanthias accompanies Dionysus.            In order to break in in the underworld, Dionysus dresses as Heracles and consults Heracles for advice and directions before setting off. Once in the under world, Dionysus is assaulted by the inhabitants seeking revenge for things Heracles had done during one of his journeys to Hades, and Dionysus begs Xanthias to change costumes. No looklyer is this done, Persephone (daughter of Demeter and Queen of Hades) invites Heracles to a banquet. Dionysus insists on donning the lion skins again in order that he may attend the banquet, but as soon as he changes, angry people assault him once again. He is finally so afraid he reveals who he really is (reminiscent of reveal himself to Thebes in The Bacchae).            Once it is known throughout Hades that Dionysus is present there, an argument breaks out between Euripides and Aeschylus over who is the better playwright. Insults are traded as thence            EURIPIDESDont talk to me I wont give up the chair,I say I am better in the art than he.DIONYSUSYou hear him, Aeschylus why dont you speak?EURIPIDESH ell do the grand at first, the juggling trickHe utilise to play in all his tragedies.DIONYSUSCome, my fine fellow, pray dont talk to big.EURIPIDESI know the man, Ive scanned him through and  through,A savage-creating stubborn-pulling fellow,Uncurbed, unfettered, uncontrollable of speech,Unperiphrastic, bombastiloquent.AESCHYLUSHah sayest thou so, child of the garden  queanAnd this to me, thou chattery-babble-collector,Thou pauper-creating rags-and-patches-stitcher?Thou shalt correct it dearlyDIONYSUSPray, be stillNor heat thy soul to fury, Aeschylus.AESCHYLUSNot till Ive made you see the sort of manThis cripple-maker is who crows so loudly.DIONYSUS train out a ewe, a black-fleeced ewe, my boysHeres a typhoon about to burst upon us.AESCHYLUSThou picker-up of Cretan monodies,Foisting thy tales of incest on the stage-(Internet Classics Archives, 1994 2000).            In the end, a trial is conducted to see who the King Of Tragedy really is it is decided to weigh the writings to see whose was heaviest. Aeschylus turned out to have the meatier scripts, so Dionysus took him to Earth instead of Euripides, even though in truth Euripides was regarded the better of the two at the time (Alice Fort, Herbert Kates, 1935).            In both comedy and tragedy, the ties to the gods and the themes of conflict, murder, revenge and long-suffering are present in Hellenistic plays. The ancient Greek society was rich in imagination and devout in its worship of the gods eventually the Greek socialization would spread throughout the Persian Empire and rule until the Roman conquest.            In conclusion and to display a part of the beauty of devotion to the gods, an evoke from Callimachus Hymn to Artemis, which expresses the reverence typical of the Greek attitude toward their gods          &nbs p Lady, may my true friends and I be among those, Queen, and may I always care about song. I will sing Letos wedlock, Apollo, and always Artemis your labors, dogs, archery, and chariot that lifts you lightly-behold-on your way to Zeuss heavenly abode (Callimachus, Jean Alvares 1998).ReferencesAristophanes. The Frogs. The Internet Classics Archives, MIT. 1994 2000, 18 December 2005. http//classics.mit.edu/Aristophanes/frogs.htmlBates, Alfred (ed.). PROMETHEUS BOUND A summary and analysis of the play by Aeschylus. The Drama Its History, Literature and Influence on Civilization, vol. 1. London Historical publication Company, 1906. pp. 70-78.Callimachus. Hymn III To Aretemis. Montclair State University, Jean Alvares. 1998 2003, 18 December 2005. http//www.chss.montclair.edu/classics/HYMNART.HTMLGross ,Rachel and Grote ,Dale. Dionysus. Encyclopedia Mythica. 1995 2004, 16 December 2002. http//www.pantheon.org/articles/d/dionysus.htmlStorr, F (trans.). Oedipus the King. Harvard Universi ty Press, Cambridge, MA and William Heinemann Ltd, London. 1912, 17 December 2005. http//www.online-literature.com/view.php/oedipus/1?term=king%20oedipus