Notes on: - ancient religious concepts, beliefs and practices, the role of the gods, fate & free will, prophecy & prophets, religious rituals & acts, importance of the polis (city) - including position & role of men, women & slaves in society, political ideas & ideals, importance of family relatio...
- Religion a central part of Greek life – gods’ favour to a city was believed to be essential to its
prosperity
- Lack of vision between religious and political authority
- Tragedy performed as a part of a religious festival
Portrayed gods who audience would worship in daily lives
- Reflected what Athenians believed and provided space for them to consider theological issues
- Tragedy’s handling of religious matters – significant impact on how religion was perceived in Athenian
public life
The role of the gods
- Modern perspective – most striking feature of tragic theology is uncaring attitude of gods
- Plato’s republic – Socrates finds portrayal of gods troubling and bans it from ideal city
- Fundamental belief in Greek religion that the gods were more concerned with honour than humans
are
Explains need for worship
- Failure of heroes to honour the gods – often responsible for their downfall
Pentheus’ disregard for divine power would not be tolerated – Greek audience would not expect
Dionysus to be merciful when treated with contempt
- Punishments from Greek gods are not limited to the wrongdoer
Oedipus – whole city affected by plague for harbouring murderer of Laius
Bacchae – all women driven mad by Dionysus
Cadmus – suffers because of Pentheus’ actions
o Says that Dionysus’ actions were excessive – Dionysus says ‘yes, for I am a god, and I was
insulted by you’
- Gods’ power and anger surpasses that of humans – will punish transgressions against them with
disproportionate violence
- Bacchae – argument whether it represents a criticism of traditional views of the gods and to what
extent we should see tragedy as an upholding or as questioning this form of theology
- Put little emphasis on whether a human has transgressed intentionally
Oedipus has committed terrible crimes in ignorance – character assume killer of Laius was a
wicked man who acted out of viciousness
Oedipus’ identity being unveiled is horrifying and no one doubts he must be punished – ignorance
makes his fate horrifying
- Sophocles – highlighting gulf between our instinctive feeling that our intentions make a difference and
the traditional divine focus on our actions
Power of play derives from understanding that ant of us might act in ignorance but the
consequences will still remain
Fate and free will
- Oedipus – makes us question to what extent his actions make any difference since he is fated from
birth to kill his father and marry his mother
- Double determination as an important principle in tragic religion
Idea that any action is simultaneously capable of two explanations – one on the human level and
one on the divine level
- Oedipus on a human level – fate seems particularly unfair since he takes steps to avoid it
Could say that Oedipus has no free will – tries to prevent the oracle coming true
- Oedipus also made the choices that led him to kill his father and marry his mother
Killed Laius in response to being provoked by his rude behaviour
, Oedipus has a tendency to lose his temper when he does not get his way – rudeness to Tiresias,
aggression with Creon and threats to torture the old shepherd
- Oedipus’ intelligence and dynamism that lead to his doom – defeats sphinx led him to becoming king
of Thebes and marrying Jocasta
See characteristics in pursuit of truth
- Names apollo and himself for who led him to blind himself – emphasises divine influence and human
will acted together
- Bacchae – Pentheus seals his fate by ignoring the warnings he is given
Prophecy and prophets
- Most Greeks probably believed in prophets – aware that they could be unreliable and that humans
could make mistakes when interpreting the gods’ message
- Oedipus’ fate foretold by two oracles – one given to his parents and one to him
Prophecy to Jocasta and Laius comes out of nowhere
Prophecy to Oedipus is an answer to a question he did not ask
- Not told why the gods inflicted this fate on Oedipus – unclear whether prophecy is presented as a
warning that could be avoided or simply a prediction
- Jocasta – questions truth of oracle
Says it came from servant of apollo rather than apollo himself – mortals cannot tell which
prophecies are truly inspired by the god
- Trustworthiness of prophets explored through Tiresias
Recognised by audience in both plays that he provides wide advise – characters discover it too
late
- Oedipus and Pentheus – accuse Tiresias of making money by prophesising a certain way
Fears reflect anxiety about religious authorities abusing their power
- Conflict with Tiresias – reflects a clash between political and religious forms of authority
Religious rituals and acts
- Greek religion focused on action rather than belief
- Believed that the gods cared that humans paid them proper honour rather than that they were
fervent believers
Significant that Pentheus fails to acknowledge Dionysus’ divinity and seeks to prevent his worship
- Chorus describe Dionysiac worship in their odes – emphasise joyful nature of worship, importance of
dance, music and wine
- Worship of Dionysus by maenads – practiced in real life ancient Greece
Little known about what was involved
- Pentheus – sees rituals as pretexts for women to indulge in drinking and extra-marital sex
First messenger corrects him – gives us an insight into true nature of Dionysiac worship
- Dionysiac worship – presented as beautiful but also in opposition with normal life
Audience face challenge of how society can incorporate Dionysus’ rituals without losing what
makes ordered living possible
- Oedipus – idea that certain actions could cause one to become polluted
Someone in state of pollution was unacceptable to the gods and required religious purification
- Tragedy focuses on drastic forms of pollution – in particular when caused by homicide
- Oedipus – not only polluted himself but bring pollution to the whole city
Importance of the polis
- Greek thought – human ability to live in a community was one of the most important thing that
distinguished them from animals
- Aristotle – argued that humans are designed to live in a polis
Tragedy interested in how people should live together and should handle conflicts that arise
- Polis made up of individuals
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