At the end of class and all this reviewing, we had our first quiz. For those of you who missed it. Do not fret, you can still turn in an answer as all were allowed to take the quiz home. Unfortunately if missed class and did not inform me before class, your quiz grade will automatically be deducted 1 point from the 5 as the directions below indicate.
Good Luck Guys!
Dr. Layne
Directions (from the in-class prep): In the next twenty minutes you need to write out an answer to the question below clearly and concisely. Be sure to organize your thoughts so as to have a clear thesis statement supported by evidence. It might be helpful to organize your thoughts into an opening paragraph containing your thesis statement followed by two to three short body paragraphs which detail the reasons why you hold your particular thesis. Once “in-class writing” has been completed you will be allowed to take your answer home so that you may type it up and expand upon it. You may edit your answer for clarity and add further evidence to your paper. Finally, you will be required to staple this written draft to your “final” typed up and edited draft on Monday, Sept. 13. Final Quizzes need only be 1 page long of no less than 300 words but no more than 500. Please turn these two copies in along with posting your answer to the class blog. If you do not turn in your “hand written quiz” with your final copy, your grade will be lowered 1 point from the 5 total points possible.
Question: Pick from the Iliad, Prometheus Bound or the Bacchae. Discuss the worldview(s), (i.e. the cosmology, theology, axiology, anthropology etc.), that the author illustrates in their text and describe how the author criticizes the ethics/morality that may arise from such conditions/beliefs.
In Bacchae, Euripides criticizes the Greek worldview that the gods are above ethics, that women’s roles in society should be confined to that of objects of men, and that society must resolve the conflict between passion and reason. When Dionysus puts a spell on the women in Pentheus’ society, he does it to satisfy himself, to teach them a lesson for not recognizing him, and to obtain vengeance. Dionysus states his motives for his gruesome actions as follows: “seek to make atonement to me, for Semele, mine outraged mother…soon will I terribly show that I am born a God: and so depart to other lands making dread revelation of myself.” (2) In this statement Euripides makes clear that Dionysus is yielding to his own passion when he forces the women to worship him while under his spell. Therefore, when the women tear Pentheus to pieces while overcome by their outlandish desires it hints to the injustice of gods operating as they please and it causes readers to arrive at an underlying skepticism towards the Dionysus’ actions. However, even more than the brutal nature of Pentheus’ death is his mother’s sorrow once she realizes that she has killed her own son. Euripides raises his objections to the Greek world view that the gods are above ethic through Cadmus. In conversation with Dionysus, Cadmus states: “But your reprisals are too severe! Dionysus: Yes, because I am a god, and you insulted me. Cadmus: Gods should not resemble men in their anger!” Euripides challenges the ethicalness of the gods operating in their “freedom to” at the expense of others by revealing the motives of Dionysus and the extremely harsh impact of his actions to include the murder of Pentheus, the ruin of a mother, and the fall of the house of Thebes.
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Euripides also challenges the Greek world view on the absolute nature of gender roles in a given society. Euripides does this by having Pentheus dress in female attire to sneak a glimpse of the women in their erratic state and by the women becoming the more aggressive sex while under Dionysus’ trance. Pentheus begins to take on feminine characteristics once he dawns his womanly attire and the women begin to operate in a dangerous freedom once they indulge in a more masculine role. I believe that this is Euripides’ way of making a mockery of constraining gender roles that suggest that people should only operate within the role that society assigns to them. Through the transposing of gender roles, Euripides suggests that life is a flux and being stuck to a certain role can only turn out bad. Finally, Euripides argues against the idea that one must either follow reason or follow passion. Instead, he argues that one must find balance between the two and that nothing is constant. Agave becomes horrified and is full of regret once she realizes that in her freeness she has killed her son. Although she initially feels free, her lasting response reinforces the idea that one must find the balance that lies in between the pursuit of passion and the pursuit of reason. Euripides criticizes the Greek worldview that the gods are above ethics, that women’s roles in society should be confined to that of objects of men, and that society must resolve the conflict between passion and reason.
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In the Bacchae, Euripides gives his commentary on the struggle between rationalism and relativism. In contrast with the Platonic worldview of idealism, Euripides argues that reason is not the only necessary virtue. In this text, Pentheus represents pure reason. He rejects the observance of the worship of Dionysus and despises the way that the women of Lydia are behaving. He tries to isolate his mind from their immoral behavior and trusts that intellectualism will prevail. In spite of his attempts to oppose the majority, he still has no personal identity. He dresses as a woman to seek to understand the supposed “mysteries” of the female gender. Although Pentheus now sees both perspectives on the situation, he loses control because he has no awareness of his own identity. In the end, his lack of personal awareness makes him vulnerable to be dominated by Dionysus and ultimately destroyed by his mother, Agave. Through the character of Pentheus, Euripides shows that pure reason is powerless and leads to destruction.
ReplyDeleteEuripides also critiques the Sophist ideal of relativism. According to this worldview, man is the measure of all things. Morality is relative to the culture, which leads to man being completely free from society’s rules for ethical behavior. This belief system is represented by Pentheus’ mother, Agave. Along with the other women of Lydia, she participates in the pagan worship rituals of Dionysus. Similar to Pentheus, she has no awareness of her personal identity, but conforms to the culture around her. When she is released from the society’s oppression, she is overcome by passion and takes on the manly identity of a hunter. After murdering her own son, she grieves over the outcome of her irrational behavior. Through this character, Euripides shows that pure freedom has no value in itself. Without reason, pure freedom actually enslaves a person to obey his oscillating whims and desires. Overall, Euripides proves that a person should have a balance of reason and freedom in his life and a concrete understanding of his personal identity.
The Bacchae is a very controversial piece of literature when it comes to portraying Greek philosophy and the Greek worldview. It was unlike anything of its time due to the aspects of sexuality, role reversals, and violence. There are aspects of the Greek worldview that are portrayed through the book when it comes to the position of gods and how they appear to humans, however it is more controversial than not. Euripides deviates from the traditional Greek worldview by portraying a different view of the role of women in society, and sexuality in general; and by showing that there is a conflict between pride and reason.
ReplyDeleteThe way Euripides shows the role of women through Dionysus is interesting. In the traditional Greek worldview women are confined to the home and are basically just there to take care of the children and satisfy the men. Through Dionysus, Euripides shows a whole new side to women, he criticizes the worldview saying that women can be out of control just like men, if not worse. Another aspect of sexuality that criticizes the Greek worldview in The Bacchae is when Pentheus changes genders to spy on the maenads and Dionysus. It is the whole idea of a man being feminine, as Dionysus is. This is controversial because in Greek philosophy, a king and a god are in no way feminine they are masculine – strong and powerful. Euripides wrote about a whole new side of sexuality.
Another way the Greek worldview is challenged is the idea that too much pride can be an issue. This idea is portrayed clearly by Pentheus’ character. He obviously is not rational about any of his ideas, he is so filled with rage that some person claiming to be a god comes into his city and takes over his women. He was overcome by pride. Euripides shows that it is not always good to have pride because it can get you into a terrible situation, as Pentheus did with his gruesome fate.
The Bacchae was such an interesting book filled with so much action, it was so far ahead of its time. The way Euripides totally challenges the Greek worldview is inspired, showing different sides of sexuality through Dionysus and explaining through Pentheus that pride can not only hurt you but it can kill you. Euripides showed a different side to Greek life with role reversals, violence, sex and pride.
In the Illiad the author talks about how important honor is and how it is highly revered in society. It also talks about how revenge can corrupt ones sense of honor. Another thing the Illiad talks about is how some of the characters commit acts of civil disobedience. This is represented by the worldview of Axiology which is the study of value.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to honor people tend to show a form of respect to others. This honor can also be seen on the battlefield. In the Illiad Achilles represented honor which was the reason why he wanted to fight in battles. He wanted to make a name for himself because he knew his life was not going to last long and he wanted to do something to be remembered by. This changes when he realizes that being with family and friends is better than fighting and risk getting killed. This sense of honor may be a driving force to why soldiers fight because they are defending the honor of their home.
Achilles also represented how revenge can corrupt a good person, such as when he fought Hector. After Hector killed Achilles brother he sought revenge on him and relentlessly pursued him not caring about honor. After defeating him he disrespected Hector’s body and had it dragged along the battlefield. He also refused to listen to the pleas of Hector’s family to let him go. An example of how revenge can corrupt a good person can be seen in Fullmetal Alchemist where Roy tried to avenge the death of his best friend by trying to burn a man called Envy to death. He also threatened to attack another one of his friends if he got in the way. However, he was unsuccessful because Envy killed himself before the final blow was stuck. This was similar to what happened with Achilles except Roy did not succeed in killing his target.
Achilles had also committed acts of civil disobedience where he refused to follow Agamemnon. He tries to fight against Agamemnon’s authority and get others to join him. Achilles shows that one should fight against unjust authority or to fight for what you believe is right. This demonstrates that following what a king says may not make the people happy. Movies such as Robin Hood is a good example of civil disobedience. Robin Hood steals from a king who takes away the peoples money in the form taxes. He is breaking the law to help those in need similar to Achilles.
Euripides' Bacchae is an eloquent dramatization of the conflict that arises when civility and its opposition, civil disobedience, butt heads. Throughout the text, Pentheus, acting on behalf of civility, and Dionysus, acting out of civil disobedience, polarize the Greeks' traditional value system and in turn expose the destructive effect that dedication to either extreme can have on one's ethics. The first example of this destruction arises with the introductory monologues of the two characters.
ReplyDeleteIn both Pentheus' and Dionysus' first expressions in the play, their opening monologues, their opposing worldviews are expressed to the audience in addition to something just as extreme: both characters state a desire to kill each other. This desire is significant because it not only establishes that their worldviews are in total opposition to one another, but also that the opposition is so extreme that it would drive the two men to murder. The violent antagonism revealed in these monologues is evinced further in Pentheus' and Dionysus' actual encounters, the first of which results in Pentheus imprisoning a disguised Dionysus, and the second where a similarly disguised Dionysus convinces Pentheus to dress like a woman and subversively attempt to defeat Dionysus' maenads. While both actions taken by the sworn enemies are hardly physically violent, they reveal the ethically violent change that affects the characters, and thus their represented extremes, when they meet.
Whereas Pentheus was committed to civilly destroy the maenads with Thebes' army, after encountering Dionysus he completely reverses tactics and even his civil identity to achieve the same end. Similarly, Dionysus' committed civil disobedience is restricted by Pentheus when he is imprisoned, and the madness he imposed on Thebes' townspeople becomes uncontrollable in his absence. This uncontrollable ethical chaos, caused simply by the opposition of the two characters' worldviews, reaches its climax when Pentheus' mother, a Maenad, discovers Pentheus in a trance of madness and cannibalizes him. This encounter represents the final conflict that civility and civil disobedience cause in the play, and while it seems to support the notion that civil disobedience ultimately defeats the civility that opposes it, Euripides concludes the play in a way that also seems to criticize this assumption, with Pentheus' mother coming out of her madness to realize what she had done and immediately regretting it.
In essence, Pentheus' mother represents the ultimate example of the ethical destruction that occurs when two powerful characters, such as Pentheus and Dionysus, are pitted against one another in what is essentially a battle for control over society. Through this conflict, Euripides posits that neither extreme, civility or civil disobedience, should have exclusive control over one's ethics. By their intrinsic opposition to one another, either extremes' dominance will upset the natural balance of both and destroy one's ethical perspective, as evinced in the violence that the drama's characters exhibit.
In the Bacchae, Euripides criticizes the traditional worldview of the ancient Greeks. Women are expected to be housewives and always obey their husbands. A new god, Dionysus, comes into existence and arrives in Thebes seeking retribution because the citizens there do not recognize him. Most of the women are caught up in Dionysus’ new form of worship that empowers women to feel free. The activities of these Maenads include drunken orgies, sacrificing live animals by tearing them apart and an antagonism towards outsiders when they are in their frenzied state. The Maenads have a passion for Dionysus but a lack of reason. Pentheus too has a strong passion for what he believes to be justice but his lack of reason blinds him of seeing whom Dionysus really is, easily allowing Dionysus to lure him to his death. Euripides argues that there must be a balance between reason and passion in order to live a worthwhile life.
ReplyDeleteAs expected in a male-dominated society, the idea of women going off alone in the wilderness doing things the men do not know about generates much suspicion. Pentheus thinks that by arresting this ‘new leader’ he will end this movement. Like most Greek tragedies, the protagonist often has a fatal character flaw. Pentheus exhibits his enormous pride and hence lack of reason. He is so upfront with Dionysus in stating what he thinks of Zeus’ new son. There is no explanation for the freeing of a multitude of Maenads from the public prison, nor is there one for how Dionysus freed himself from bondage. Pentheus does not even stop to think about it; he just takes action. Upon confronting Dionysus again, he is goaded into dressing as a woman and sneaking into the Maenads’ camp to learn of what goes on during their rituals. The horrible twist is that Agave spots Pentheus first and leads the charge towards his seemingly safe perch. With the power of Dionysus Agave, her sisters and the rest of the Maenads knock him down and tear off his limbs one by one. Blinded by her supposed freedom and passion for Dionysus, it takes Cadmus to force her to her senses and realize that Pentheus died by her hand.
Michael Guiden
ReplyDeleteThe Worldview of the Iliad
The pursuit of honor, power, fame and immortality was a key determinant of the world view of the people of the Iliad. King Agamemnon elects to wage war on the City of Troy, using as his excuse for this invasion the abduction of Helen, wife to his brother, Menelaus, by Prince Paris of Troy. Honor demands retaliation for this violation of the obligations of a guest (Paris) to his host (Menelaus). In addition, Agamemnon is a highly ambitious ruler who seeks to dominate all the peoples and territories in his world. He is consumed by the idea that his honor as ruler requires him to be successful in war against other rulers.
Achilles seeks fame and glory as opposed to a long life. Agamemnon believes that his honor (and his success) will be enhanced by the presence of Achilles in the Achaean army, and Achilles recognizes that the war against Troy is likely to be his best opportunity for achieving immortality. Menelaus, clearly angry that his beautiful wife has been stolen or has gone voluntarily to live with another man, believes he can only reclaim his honor by recapturing his disloyal wife and killing the man she preferred to him. The Trojans, on the other hand, feel that they are honor bound to protect Helen and that they must therefore fight for the honor (and survival) of their city against the Achaeans.
These attitudes and beliefs concerning honor were integral to the worldview of the ancient Greeks as described by Homer. Simultaneously, all of these individuals and the peoples from which they come believed that the gods were intimately involved in their lives and supportive of their aspirations. They believed that worshiping specific gods and the support of the gods would help them achieve their goals in life. They are convinced that each man and woman has a destiny or fate known to the gods, but that men and women were still obligated to act on their own behalf and as honor and custom and religion dictated how they act.
Homer criticizes these worldviews by suggesting that men like Achilles, despite their capacity for greatness, were often blinded by ego and self-absorption. They experienced hubris, or overbearing pride and presumption, which could lead to their destruction. This certainly happened to Achilles and to the princes of Troy (Paris and Hector) as well as its king, Priam, and all of the women who were taken as slaves after Troy fell. Homer depicts a society that is intensely militaristic and violent, while deeply connected to a pantheon of gods and goddesses whose engagement with human beings was instrumental in spurring conflict.
The characters in Prometheus Bound know three things for sure: love, war and death. Thus, they hold these things as honorable and believe any subsequent consequences to be worthy. However, in these ideals, they disregard other tools for self-empowerment and instead, lose themselves to the idea of fate, which, they believe, lies in the gods’ hands. Prometheus steals fire from the gods for the benefit of man to have knowledge and thus allows them to find significance by themselves. This fact, however, is more significant in regards to Prometheus and the gods to say: Power and intellect is sought after and achieved through no fate, but through individual actions and intentions.
ReplyDeleteThe Titan Prometheus always knew his fate: He would be slowly, but brutally tortured for eternity in exchange for the empowerment and enhancement of mankind. Most would say Prometheus faced his fate like a champion, taking it beautifully, enduring a crucifixion-like suffering for the good of others. But in my opinion, if Prometheus will be titled as “brave” or “honorable,” he should not proclaim his sufferings like a baby crying for milk. It is his disregard to personal choices that keep him locked in his fate.
When Io enters, he makes a personal choice, maybe that he doesn’t realize at the time he makes. But he allows Io to know the future of her life and how her sufferings will be for good, bringing down Zeus’ tyrannical power over all the earth. That makes her life worthwhile and thus, shows Prometheus his sufferings are worthwhile, if he decides to let them be. Io decides to suffer instead of throwing herself off a mountain and from that revelation, Prometheus realizes his personal choice, his subjectivity, of telling Io her future, he has saved his own. Neither Might nor Violence shall keep him chained to the rock Zeus chained him to, because his intellect, in combination of his own power, will overcome them all.
Aeschylus is saying something to the people of his time. Men cannot just control by power and women cannot just control by intellect. Both are subject to the other: that is, power is subject to intellect, vice versa, and men and women are subject to each other. That being said, this must have sounded crazy for Ancient Greeks, seeing as they categorize society based on the power of men over ‘their’ women, and women controlling their husbands surreptitiously with intellect.
True self-empowerment derives from the combination of willpower and intellect; they cannot be divorced from each other. And when someone thinks they could obtain individuality and personal empowerment through one ideal alone, they will certainly fail. The certainties in life still remain love, war, and death, but the question is with whom do those certainties concern? Love with another, or alone; war with other or inwardly; and death for another, or from greed for personal benefit? Those are the ideals which Aeschylus is trying to establish in Prometheus Bound.
Thesis: The values of the two main characters of The Bacchae and how they relate to their individual view on humanity
ReplyDeleteWhile both Dionysus and Pentheus concern themselves with the controlling of women, they seem to insinuate different values upon them. Dionysus uses the loss of control as a means to exploit the women in his cult. On the other hand Pentheus acting out of his own fear of the female identity tries to inflict an extreme amount of control on them. Either way neither character seems to have much appreciation or consideration for what it means to be human.
Dionysus when we are first introduced to him emphasizes a “care free” spirit. His ulterior motives however are far less frivolous. While may come to represent the lack of control his actions seem to be anything but. His over all plan which he works to hatch from the very start is to vindicate his mother (and therefore himself) elaborates his very sinister and ruthless nature.
Clearly through his action Dionysus does not seem to think much of man kind in general as he sees no wrong in using the women in his cult to exact his revenge as such one can only come to the conclusion that he sees them as beings who far beneath him. This is also supported by his obsessive need for his divine lineage to be recognized by his human family. His need to hurt them shows that he feels nothing but disdain for them most probably stemming from how they treated him.
However unlike Pentheus who is of course fully human Dionysus never truly claimed to be a supporter of humanity, Pentheus is labeled “savior of mankind” in this piece and yet it seems obvious that he is only comfortable with those parts of humanity, which he is familiar with. The women in Bacchae represent Pentheus’s worst fears as such I would argues that the women also represent those parts of man kind that Pentheus feels he needs to wrangle with control and reason as such it seems he too does not have a lot of confidence in the nature of humanity or else he does not see it as force that is naturally good but instead needs to be cultivated.
Therefore to conclude, while both characters make their arguments based on their opinions of mankind. It seems neither see humanity as a positive force.
I chose Prometheus Bound because it inspired me, plus, I preferred it’s ending to both the Iliad and The Bacchae.
ReplyDeletePower is the subject of Prometheus Bound, a topic, which encompasses many social constructs, ethics, and conditions. For power is both tyrannical and political, intellectual and mystical. Aeschylus purposefully sets up two separate conceptions of power in the beginning of the text, one under Zeus’ mentality of brutal force, and the other following Prometheus’ more deliberate reasoning, free of action.
From the start there is an absence of power. Prometheus is “fated” to a rock, has been for 10 years. Theology is not working for the titan, once seen in the cosmology of ancient Greece as a symbol of absolute power. Prometheus, dramatically, vocalizes a clear idea of what isn’t in his control and he laments on it. Through Prometheus we see the tragic limit of rational thought. One can think things through, find wisdom even, but it isn’t much in the face of brutal action.
Zeus, on the other hand, is seen as some sort of mad tyrant who has no control over Prometheus. Dishonored in his requests to both Prometheus and humanity, thwarted by Hera or Prometheus in meeting his aims, the King of the gods has to resort to a sort of temper tantrum at the end of the text, hurling his lightening bolt at the unyielding titan. Force is fated to fall without reason. Brutality can overwhelm rationality but it cannot exist indefinitely without it.
The catch is that the power has been invested within humanity. When Prometheus stole fire from the gods to give to humankind, the fire, or energy, was the means through which people might exercise greater control in their own fates. With free will, mortals are the ones who best understand what is not in their control, and are therefore able to give themselves a destiny. And by the end of the text I think Prometheus realizes his own power too—within himself, subjective.
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ReplyDeleteBacchae is a Greek tragedy by Euripides in which the god Dionysus exact his revenge on the leader of Thebes, his cousin Pentheus for refusing to acknowledge his place among the gods. Dionysus puts the women of Thebes, including Pentheus’ mother into a sort of drunken trance. They go outside of the city and participate in bacchanalian celebration, sacrificing animals with spears, drinking wine that bubbles up from the ground, and participating in drunken orgies. They become known as the Maenads, the female worshippers of Dionysus. In reaction to this Pentheus outlaws the worship of Dionysus, disgusted with the behavior he has been informed of occurring just outside of town. Dionysus then, in disguise, convinces him to come and see it for himself while dressed as a woman, so as not to get noticed. He is spotted by the Maenads who in a fit of madness rip him to pieces. His mother later comes to her senses to find her sons head in her own hands and goes into exile, Dionysus’ revenge completed.
ReplyDeleteIn this play Euripedes is able to show the clash between platonic and sophist idealism in the Greek worldview, ultimately asserting that both, at their extremes, are ridiculous. Pentheus maintains a platonic outlook on life, which he displays with his stubborn adherence to the “rules” of society, his insistence on the illegitimacy of Dionysus, his disgust with the actions of his followers. He is a man of intellect but allows his knowledge to blind him. Tiresias warns, “Vaunt not thy power o’er man, even if thou thinkest that thou art wise (it is diseased, thy thought), think it not!” His concept of justice is challenged by Dionysus and when Pentheus finds himself at the ritual in drag he cannot help but to also begin to celebrate and loosen up, loosening his robe and exposing his ankles, he begins to enjoy himself and perhaps reevaluate his stance. However, he is then murdered by his mother and a mob of other women. Clearly Euripides is arguing that Pentheus should have been more open minded before hand, allowed for more sophist ideals, that virtue to some degree is in the eye of the beholder and other entities outside of his own ideal set may also contain some degree of validity.
The call for balance versus extremes is made with the issue of gender. The maenads defy Pentheus’ ideals for how a woman should act. Not only are they disregarding their obligations to society by participating in orgies and bacchanalian celebration, the maenads are described as almost manly, they throw javelins and rip apart animals with their bare hands. However, rather than being a productive force, they become a force just as oppressive as the societal rules they are trying to escape. By killing Pentheus at his most vulnerable, a role reversal takes place. He, in drag, has become objectified as they were in Thebes, now that they have set different rules he is oppressed, and destroyed, rather than accepted. In what appeared to a sophist argument; that they should be accepted and allowed to celebrate Dionysus without oppression, the maenads instead also became extreme and oppressive. In the end Euripides is arguing for balance between the two extremes, where Platonic idealism harbors a tendency for close mindedness, sophism eventually leads to nihilism and destruction. Balance is key.
The Iliad is one of the most famed of Greek literature. It speaks of the greatest war that ever was, and is stacked with some of the most critiqued and honored characters in history. Achilles, the greatest warrior to ever live, son of a god and threat to Zeus, is a very important character. Agamemnon, King and proud ruler, is what spurs one of the most influential changes in history in Achilles The axiology of the Greeks is questioned in the form of Achilles and hector. The axiology of the Greeks is all about honor. Any act done, task completed, or hardship overcome is done for the honor. But is that always the case? Achilles character in the Iliad is the first to question this axiology. Achilles was the greatest warrior to ever live, and was assumed to have fought for honor, just like any Greek. Such is not the case. After a large argument with Agamemnon, his King, Achilles refuses to fight the war. That is until his friend Particles is killed in battle and Achilles dawns his armor once more. At this moment, it becomes clear that a new axiology has surfaced, and that axiology is a value for life over honor. Later on in the story, yet another character exudes this belief in life over honor. Ironically it happens to be the character that spurred the change in Achilles, and that is Hector, slayer of Particles. When faced against Achilles, Hector makes a last second change of heart and flees for his life, because he valued that over honor. Through Achilles and Hector, the Iliad criticizes normal Greek axiology and shows a new idea in the rise.
ReplyDeleteIn The Illiad, Homer critique’s the Greek worldview that it is better to have honor and die than to live life without honor. I will argue for this point via two events in the story: first, the soldier’s reactions to Agamemnon’s trickery early in The Illiad when he says he had a dream about them losing; the second being Hector going out to battle.
ReplyDeleteIn the traditional Greek worldview of the Bronze Age, honor was what men lived and died for. It was considered better to die honorably in battle than to die old without any honor. So when Agamemnon had a dream about them winning the next day, he decided to trick his soldiers to see if they were loyal to him. He tells them instead that his dream prophesied defeat. Instead of crying out that they would go anyway, they ran towards the boats as a mob. The man with the greatest honor on the Acheans’ side, Achillies, even longs to go home from this long ten-year battle. This is Homer’s way of showing the emotional and psychological wear and tear that war has on people, and no amount of abstract honor can defeat the weariness and longing for home.
The second event I will use to illustrate Homer’s critique is the reaction of the Trojan people to Hector going into battle. Instead of his family and city being proud of him, they lament and beg him to stay in the city. Hector defends his choice by saying it is his duty to his people to go and fight, but none of the people he oversees sees it as his duty. If anything, they say that his duty is to stay with them and oversee his city and family. Again, the abstract view of honor has no real place when a city is about to lose a great leader, and a family loses one of their own loved ones.
I chose Prometheus Bound because it’s a good example of the battle between intellect and power and also fate and freedom. In the story Zeus is all about power and being in control of everything. On the other hand, Prometheus is all about intellect but he lacks power. Prometheus has the ability of knowing others fate, even his own. In the story Zeus doesn’t want man to have significance of freedom so Prometheus decides to steal fire from Zeus and the gods and give it to man and by giving man fire he also gives him knowledge and importance.
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning Prometheus is chained to a rock and tortured by Zeus because he wanted to do the right thing and give man power and knowledge. Prometheus goes on and on about his fate and his sufferings even though he knew what his fate was. Still he complains to any one that will listen. Prometheus is considered “honorable” and “brave” but in my opinion a brave man would not go about his days whining even if they are locked and tortured. A brave man would face the consequences because in the end he knew what he did was necessary and right.
After a lot of unwanted complaints, Io enters and soon learns that Prometheus knows her fate. She begs him to tell her but he is hesitant at first. He finally decides to tell her. He says she will be the one to take down Zeus but she will suffer in the process. Prometheus tells her not to throw herself off of the rock because her sufferings will be worthwhile and he too realizes that his sufferings are worthwhile. In the end Prometheus accepts his fate knowing that what he did was right and that he has played a major part in the take down of Zeus.
In Prometheus Bound, the worldview that with great power comes great responsibility and might/brute force doesn’t necessarily prove to be the victor in all situations seems to be evident here. One must combine the elements of force, pure freedom, and intellect in order to obtain a reasonable and just way of ruling. Power- who has it and lack of it is crucial in this piece of literature as it shows that depending on how you look at the situation, it is highly debated about just which character has power and ends up having power throughout the course of the story.
ReplyDeletePrometheus is tortured and deemed powerless after having aided mankind by giving them fire and thus helping them find their identity. Zeus doesn’t like this and disapproves of Prometheus’s actions, so being that Zeus has the power of a crazed tyrant and Prometheus doesn’t it can be inferred that Prometheus is powerless and Zeus is powerful after banishing Prometheus to pay for his sins. However, we see that Prometheus is in control and does have power in terms of how fate is concerned. He realizes that his power comes from his freedom in the fact that he knows his own fate and he is accepting of his own fate. His power is the intellect and the fact that he knew what was going to happen all along and by helping the humans, it shows that Zeus is not as powerful as he once thought he was.
By Prometheus telling lo her fate and her going crazy over it, he ends up helping her and mankind in another way that couldn’t have been imagined. He gives her hope and understanding that she is still in control of how she handles her situation and how the suffering of her life is worthwhile. This enables him to look at the situation from a different viewpoint and understand that his life is worth his suffering as well, and that intellect is more important than might because he now has a clear sense of what’s important in life. He has come to grips with reality and knows that he has created his own identity, identity for mankind, and now has value.
Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound criticizes the belief that we are predisposed to accept or reject fate. Prometheus Bound also criticizes the belief that might is right. The text depicts that the individual with physical strength and authority does not always act justly and for the betterment of all. Also, Aeschylus shows that intellect is needed alongside might.
ReplyDeleteAeschylus presented the notion that we can gladly own our actions and not be held captive by either our situation or by those who put us in bondage. Also presented is the idea that we do not have to submit to fate. When Prometheus realized the good he stood for, he sees he has an identity, and with identity comes hope. With hope, Prometheus gained a freedom from physical bondage. During his suffering, Prometheus reminded himself that Zeus will need his wisdom one day and his suffering will end. In the beginning of Prometheus Bound, Prometheus did not own his present situation and acted weak. Prometheus stated, “Ay to my friends, I am a sight for pity” (Aeschylus 11). In the end of the text, Prometheus owns his fate. This becomes apparent when Prometheus describes the powers Zeus may exert on him and still leave his belief unshaken, “Let my body be cast, caught in the whirling waters of destiny. For with death I shall not be stricken” (Aeschylus 46).
Zeus, the most powerful of the gods, wanted to destroy humans. Prometheus disagreed with Zeus and gave humans the gift of fire. Prometheus stated that he stopped humans from foreseeing doom and did this by giving them blind hope. With fire, humans gained an identity followed by hope. Aeschylus’ text indicates that individuals in power do not always act in accordance with what is good. Prometheus represents intellect and helps to show the audience his rulers’ poor judgment and error. Zeus’ plan to kill humans would have been ethically wrong. Without intellect or Prometheus, humans would have been destroyed. Without humans the world would be a different place. I believe that without humans’ example of morality, the gods would lose all sense of morality.
In Prometheus Bound, Aeschylus presents the reader with a world in which there is an intersection of fate and free will. The protagonist Prometheus demonstrates both a sense of victimization at the hand of the gods (Zeus in particular) and later a sense of empowerment, destiny, and the subjectivity and freedom on each individual. This idea of control by the whims of the gods is certainly an element of the theology of the work. Additionally, the character Prometheus is a crucial element in the cosmology as seen in Prometheus Bound. As a Titan and giver of the practical arts Prometheus has an impact on the order of the universe ; however, he is also punished for having this impact.
ReplyDeleteAeschylus seems to be writing in an effort to criticize the order of the world at this time—in particular the role of the gods. Aeschylus also points out that Promethus’ role in the cosmology is that of empowering human beings and giving them hope. Throughout Prometheus Bound, Aeschylus writes of Zeus’ tyrannical power both over Prometheus and Io. Zeus violates the friendship of Prometheus and subjects him to torture because Prometheus himself has empowered humans instead of destroying them. Zeus, like all the gods we have studied, exhibits human-like capriciousness, but he too can be a subject of fate. This idea of fate is recurring in Prometheus Bound—Prometheus realizes that it is his fate and his necessity to give blind hope and the practical arts to humankind, and he also holds a prophecy that Zeus’ own son will overtake him. In revealing this prophecy and describing Zeus’ torture of both Prometheus and Io, I feel that Aeschylus is attempting to make the point that the rule of the gods is not always acceptable and that perhaps true empowerment rests with the reason and hope of humans. Aeschylus makes Prometheus the paradigm of this idea of empowerment through reason instead of pure might. Aeschylus makes the point that no pure force alone, neither reason or might—fate or free will—can bring good to the world
Aeschylus exudes several messages throughout his text, Prometheus Bound; the most prominent is the idea that in order for the world to operate smoothly, justly and without chaos, there must be a degree of balance. Aeschylus demonstrates this by mocking the amount of power or authority Zeus and Prometheus each have. He shows that in order for the world to run smoothly, there must be a balanced presence of both intellect and force.
ReplyDeleteInitially Zeus and Prometheus are perfectly compatible and are able to easily defeat the Titans, together. It is obvious that without Prometheus’ wits, Zeus would have gotten nowhere in the battle and vice versa. This shows that when intellect and force work together, success can be achieved.
Prometheus then wants to spread his wealth by giving humanity fire leading them to develop identities. He does this without Zeus’ blessings. This plan backfires as the humans abuse their new skills and use them for unjust tasks. Zeus is not pleased with Prometheus’ actions and punishes him by chaining him to the top of a mountain, losing Prometheus as a friend, advisor and partner in his now tyrannical power. Prometheus originally perceives this as a loss of complete power and freedom and wallops in his fate. After Io comes and seeks knowledge concerning her fate and future Prometheus realizes that he has not lost all power and that he was wrong to initially give everything up to fate by drowning in his sorrows. Prometheus now embraces his fate and realizes that the gift of wisdom gives him some sort of power or freedom no matter if he is chained up or not, no matter if it is not the same level of power he possessed alongside Zeus.
On the other hand, Zeus is taking advantage of his newly achieved reigns as new rulers typically do. He has no tolerance for anything without a purpose (humanity) and rules with brute force. He wants to be the only one with any sort of power, obstructing him from realizing other peoples’ and things’ nature. He rules tyrannically, giving no one and nothing a chance for any potential in the world and shatters any threat to his power, anything with any power at all. This represents that force can overcome wisdom, but we soon discover that it cannot last for long on its own.
After Prometheus’ transformation he foresees that Zeus will fail without him after all as power can overrule intellect, but it can’t sustain. Without Prometheus’ intellect, Zeus will lead in the wrong direction and end up inevitably defeating himself (being overthrown by his own offspring). Prometheus cannot guide the world in the right direction without Zeus’ acting on his intuitions. Without force, Prometheus’ power of intellect is nearly worthless.
Without one another, Zeus and Prometheus, power and intellect have no successful effects. In order for the cosmos to be aligned they must coexist. The world cannot run on pure force or pure intellect, but instead a combination of the two.
In Prometheus Bound the idea of might is right is embeded in the story, however when reading the story, readers learn to realize that might is not always the correct way to deal with situations. Force must be able to join with intellect to succeed. The cosmology that Zeus came freom was pure force and might. Ouronos and Chronse, titans that controlled the world by tyranny, did not want to come into the light or understand the way to survive and rule. Zeus relized in order to defeat the titans and become king of the gods, he must team up with intellect, who was Prometheus. Force needs intellect to comeinto realization to have a trule free world and intellect will acknoqledge hte power in the other. The author of Prometheus Bound shows the force of Zeus and the tyranny that he went back to after he bounded Prometheus because Prometheus gave fire to man, which allowed them to survive and not be destoryed by Zeus. However, Zeus does whatever pleases him, but he must realize that he is always under threat. If he still had Prometheus at his side, he would have came to konwledge of the fate that awaits him. With knowledge comes power. Neither can control the world with just force or with just intellect, but into other to have peace among the gods and people, they must be together.
ReplyDeleteIn Bacchae, the author discusses the Greek worldview of Gods. In this text, Euripides tries to exemplify the difference between the power of humans versus the power of Gods. Euripides also shows that there has to be a balance between control and freedom in order for a society to be healthy. In Bacchae, I feel that Euripides tries to show that even though humans are thought to be free, they are not the ones who have control. Control lies in the hands of God.
ReplyDeleteThere are two contrasting characters, Pentheus and Dionysus. Pentheus is the ruler of the city who represents control and rationalism. Dionysus is the God of wine, sex and theatre who represents freedom. Pentheus sees Dionysus as the irrational one and also refuses to acknowledge Dionysus as a God. Pentheus believes that rationality and intellectualism will prevail over complete chaos that Dionysus seemed to have created. Even though the majority of the citizens were for Dionysus, Pentheus believed that rationality would eventually be the winner. For example, when Pentheus’ refuses to believe the Stranger and Tiresias when he tells Pentheus of Dionysus’ miracles, it shows Pentheus’ continuous reiteration of the power of his authority and the fact that he can implement it. In the Stranger’s scene, it was the first time that there was a noticeable limit to Pentheus’s authority because he could not punish the Stranger for his beliefs. Also when Dionysus causes the earthquake, the collapsing of the palace also symbolized the crumbling of Pentheus’ authority. Dionysus started off as showing his powers as peaceful and benign but he starts to put forth his fearing side. Also, when Pentheus cross dresses, he somewhat loses his identity as a man and as a king. Pentheus is also lost in the sense that even though Dionysus clearly states his death, Pentheus fails to believe it. In my opinion, the cross dressing of Pentheus somewhat symbolized towards his death. He was a pawn played in the game of chess by the Gods. Pentheus’ curiosity towards the maenads basically gets the better of him towards the end. The whole entire time during the play, Pentheus wanted to know why the maenads were acting the way they were and why everyone was so engrossed in believing Dionysus. When Pentheus falls down and reaches out to his mother to stroke him, it was very tragic to see that the bond between a mother and a son did not exist due to the power of the Gods. Because of Dionysus, Agaue was part of the crazed maenads. She failed to see her own son because she was intoxicated with Dionysus’ power.
In all, I feel that Euripides tries to explain that Gods have the sole power. Humans have no authority to deny Gods or deny their powers. Euripides goes through the Bacchae giving symbols and examples of what can happen to someone when they refuse to believe in a certain God and also refuse to believe in their powers. Gods played an important role in society for the Greeks. I feel that Euripides conveys that worldview through Bacchae.
Aeschylus’ portrayal of the worldviews in Prometheus Bound develop throughout the plot. The two main views of intellect and might is right are together early in the history of the gods. As Prometheus Bound begins we learn that a separation of might and intellect is taking place. Zeus and Prometheus’ partnership is now separate in this play, but prior to this play they conquered the universe. They each possessed qualities that complemented each other. Prometheus’ intellect and knowledge assisted Zeus in applying his strength properly to victory.
ReplyDeleteAeschylus continually criticizes the axiology of these two worldviews throughout the play. Force and power are seen by the gods to be right. Imposing your view on another supposedly makes your claim correct or valid. In other words, force is to be reckoned with. Power without intellect leads to childish behavior and eventually to unethical behavior. Zeus imprisons Prometheus because he saved humanity from Zeus’ wrath by giving man fire and blind hope. Prometheus is powerless until the end of the play. Aeschylus points out that intellect is seen as impotent. Early on his intellect did not save him from imprisonment. Prometheus and his relationship with Io liberates the two of them.
Aeschylus continually criticizes the impotence of intellect and the irrationality of might. Force plus intellect is needed to make ethical decisions and carry them out. The separation of the two created calamity in Prometheus Bound. Zeus lost his ability to crush man and Prometheus lost his freedom as a Titan. Together, Prometheus and Zeus were unstoppable, but separated they were their own worst enemy. Much can be accomplished when reason and might are on the same team.
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ReplyDeleteThe Illiad is a great epic because of the strong connection between Greek worldviews and the plot of the story. Not only does Homer provide great insight on these worldviews throughout the tale, but he also is very critical of the Greeks in certain conditions and situations, particularly in times of war. From the cosmology to the axiology of The Illiad, worldviews become visible throughout the plot and are criticized as the plot unfolds.
ReplyDeleteThe cosmology of The Illiad is directly related to the most powerful beings such as Achilles the great warrior, Hector the great protector, and Agamemnon the powerful king. These three figures are important because their actions are extremely influential and constantly watched. The theology shows the importance of the gods to the Greeks, especially Zeus, Aferdites, Apollo, and Athena who have direct connections to the war. The axiology refers to an important ethic that stresses the established order and the Greeks’ strong emphasis in honor. The common notion for soldiers is to die fighting which will grant honor and glory in the afterlife. Moreover, honor is an important reason why Achilles fights in the war and why Hector defends the city alone instead of fleeing with his family. The metaphysics of the story focuses on war and strife while the epistemology is death which explains why soldiers long to die in battle with honor which will grant them immortality. Finally, the anthropology focuses on the notion of Thomas Hobbes and shows man as brutish, nasty, and rude. An example of this anthropology would be when Achilles disrespects Hector’s body after their duel.
Homer is extremely critical of these worldviews and ethics, especially the axiology of honor. He shows this criticism through Achilles’s horrid revenge of Patroclus and through Hector’s cowardice as he runs away from Achilles in battle. Both acts contradict what both soldiers strive for: honor. In this criticism, Homer shows that it is better to live for concrete elements such as family or friends than to live for intangible objects such as honor. Homer also criticizes the importance of social order and the hierarchy of inherited command. Homer pushes this criticism with Achilles’s is act of civil disobedience as he challenges Agamemnon’s power and authority during the war. From this scene, Homer encourages the Greeks to refrain from automatically submitting to power simply because it has been inherited or established.
The value of pure force is questioned within the Iliad, Prometheus Bound, and the Bacchae. In each text, pure force is seen as power. Along with this power, force illustrates a downfall without proper intellect. Force must be paired with reason or its power is lost. Pure force blinds those who obtain it to the reality of their situations.
ReplyDeleteHomer proves this point with his representation of Achilles. Achilles is portrayed as the strongest warrior of the Trojan War. After the death of his friend Patroclus, Achilles’s rage consumes him. This rage converts his rational force into a blinding force causing him to loose all moral value. Achilles’s mistreatment of Hector’s corpse represents his loss of reason and in turn his heroic status. Achilles’s pure force blinds him and he unravels into a monster consumed with rage and physical instinct.
The cosmology presented within Aeschylus’s Prometheus Bound also looks to unravel pure force. The origin story from the text asserts that Zeus defeated the Titans due to Prometheus’s reason and wit. Aeschylus affirms that order comes from a combination of force and intellectual power. Aeschylus upholds this viewpoint later in the text, using Zeus as an example. Zeus is the strongest of his peers and enslaves Prometheus with his pure strength. Although Prometheus is persecuted during the tragedy, it is Zeus who will be overtaken if he does not turn to Prometheus’s reason again according to Prometheus’s prophecy. In this prophecy, Aeschylus emphasizes that one is powerless in his or her own power when without reason.
The maenads of Euripides’s the Bacchae are a clear example of pure force becoming self-destructive and monstrous. Dionysus frees the maenads of society’s definition of women during the tragedy. The women become powerful when they reject the social constructs and move out to the hill acting as warriors and hunters. This pure force however backfires as the force turns to violence and destruction in the case of Pentheus’s death. Pentheus’s mother, Agaue, exemplifies this tragic flaw of pure force. Agaue’s force turns to chaos as she kills her own son and comes home with his head in her hands boasting. She is blinded of her horrid actions until after her father, Cadmus, brings her back to reality. Euripides illustrates through her grief the tragedy one’s own pure force lacking reason can create.
Euriphides’ Greek tragedy The Bacchae presents the punishment of Agave and Pentheus, king of Thebes, for their refusal to view Dionysus as a legitimate god. Pentheus, also Dionysus’ cousin, represents the existing Platonic world view of the time period, whereas Dionysus represents the conflicting world view of Euriphides and new age thinkers of the time. Platonic world view was focuses on reason, sophistry, and moral relativism; however, The Bacchae outwardly challenges these philosophies. For example, Pentheus is viewed as a stubborn leader stuck in the ways of the past and being afraid of the maenads and their rituals. On the other hand, Dionysus and the maenads are also shown to be frivolously sexual and drunk which is not the perfect social order either. Therefore, what Euriphides is displaying is that neither extreme is the solution. When a fusion of the two world views comes together to make a moderate solution, the society functions at its best.
ReplyDeleteAnother world view that Euriphides challenges in The Bacchae is the idea of moral relativism. Moral relativism suggests that there is no objective truth; that every truth is subjective and dependant upon the person who is distinguishing the truth. Moral relativism also greatly emphasized the argumentation and rhetoric of debate rather than the content. Moral relativists often played devil’s advocate and just for compensation or the honor of winning an argument. However, Euriphides does not tell the story of Dionysus just to rebel against Platonic philosophy for fun. I believe that Euriphides was making a bold social commentary with his tragedy inspiring the people of Greece to look for moderation and understanding in their social order and world views rather than blind obedience to the gods or stubborn refusal. Through his tragedy Euriphides is questioning the classical idea of the theology as well.
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ReplyDeleteIn the Greek poem, The Iliad, Homer criticizes the Greek’s glorification of war and challenging the society’s over-emphasis of honor. While the Greek culture glorifies physical dominance, Homer ironically displays a discontent for the animal-like nature that soldiers learn to acquire from war. Homer’s illustrations lead him to be perceived as pacifistic, compassionate, and honorable. These qualities are made apparent in the way he portrays the gods, Agamemnon’s mind games, and the gruesome death of Hector.
ReplyDeleteAlthough not different form the general Greek views, Homer portrays the gods as egoistic immortals whose morality is no more superior to the average man’s. While it is perceived that the gods dictate the outcomes of for the war, their reasons for allegiance is less than admirable. They appear to have little empathy for the mortals they dictate, barely bothered at all by the gruesome slaughtering they choose to aid. While the gods indifferently view men as simple and intellectually and emotionally inferior, Homer appears thoughtful and compassionate. Following a death, Homer makes a point to tell something unique or special about the victim and their background. He understands the complexity and value of life. His maturity and social awareness is exemplified throughout this work. It is apparent that the gods manipulate the war to appease conflict they have amongst themselves. Homer’s reasoning overshadows the questionable and confusing allegiances and struggles the gods choose throughout the poem.
When Agamemnon decides to play mind games with his troops, their lack of enthusiasm shows the way Homer views the war as an unfortunate waste of life. While Agamemnon believes his troops will choose to die with “honor”, they gladly choose not to battle with little grief over the perceived defeat of a war they spent many years fighting. The men would gladly choose to live and loose the war, then to die fighting at one another’s side. Agamemnon’s leadership is depicted as foolish, sadistic, and egoistic.
After killing Hector, Achilles behavior is so animalistic and barbaric that the character that Homer describes is one with very little morality. The man who displays the most leadership on the battlefield, the war hero, is one that no compassionate human would admire or strive to be like, as he lacks integrity. Homer describes his final moment of glory as a disturbing hunt by a vicious wolf. Achilles leads his men to a disgusting scene driven by their awful immunity to violence. Hector’s nobility, diplomacy, and self-control shines in this Book while Achilles disturbs us with his inability to control his self-centered rage. This is an Achilles unlike the civil disobedient character we meet in Book 1. The way in which we see the respectful, diplomatic character get destroyed and mutilated illustrates Homer’s view that there is no true morality or humanity in battle. Homer’s view of a war is that of misfortune, lacking any form of conscience or morality.
In Prometheus Bound, the worldview that the author illustrates, is that the one who holds the power has control. In this case, Zeus was the one in control he punished Prometheus, for betraying him. Prometheus was shackled to a rock for the rest of his life. Prometheus lacked power and could not escape the wrath of Zeus. The author also focuses on how Prometheus allows his destiny to consume him, rather then him taking control of his destiny. It is until Io comes into the picture that Prometheus realizes that there is greater suffering going on around him.
ReplyDeleteBefore Prometheus’s betrayal, he and Zeus were on the same team. They both joined forces to overthrow the Tyrants. They were successful because they embodied two key elements that were needed in order to accomplish such task; power and intellect. Zeus’s motive for doing all of this was to have power at his disposal and also to eliminate the humans from the picture. Zeus believed that the humans lacked significance and need to be destroyed. Prometheus, however believed that the humans could be significant, they just need a little guidance and push to get them going. So, Prometheus took it upon himself to give fire to the humans and with it the humans would discover their identities. Zeus was livid when he founded out that Prometheus had betrayed him, so he punished him forever.
It is also interesting that the author of Prometheus Bound, portrays Zeus in the first half of the book as the “all powerful god“ and towards the end one can see, how threaten his power is. Prometheus, on the other hand, is the intellectual being, who can only do so much because he lacks power and he is consumed by his fate. Io’s suffering opens Prometheus eyes and he sees the reality of the world around him. Prometheus realizes that once a “god” has it out for you there isn’t anything that one can do. One must accept it and move on and that’s the true vengeance for being punished by a god. Prometheus and Io characters do this , they accept their destiny and no longer let it consume them. Its clear that the author is trying to demonstrate to his readers that power and intellect go hand-in-hand. One can not exist without the other and if it does it slowly begins to crumble. The author also focuses on Prometheus and Io’s suffering. One can say that this was done in order to open the eyes of its audience. The authors intentions were to demonstrate that there is agony all around and sometimes ones gets so wrapped up in ones insanity, that they forget that there is a whole world around them.
Euripides’ tragedy Bacchae explores the faults of two worldviews popular in the author’s time, contrasting them through character use and ultimately demonstrating the negative implications of such worldviews through those characters’ demises. Platonism is a worldview equating wisdom and rational thinking to virtue, idolizing reason and knowledge as societal “goods” whereas emotion-driven thinking and supposed irrationality should be eradicated. The character Pentheus is Euripides’s Platonist character, embodying rational thinking within the text by wanting to uphold the city’s of Thebes’ laws and by persecuting the Bacchae, a group he identifies as “mad”. Euripides is criticizing Platonism through Pentheus by creating a plot where the character’s rationality is what ultimately leads him to disembodiment and literally losing his head. By persecuting the Bacchae, Pentheus is blinding himself from their perspective, and only gains a dualistic vision by submitting to his own curiosity for the matter—however, it is too late for him, as the Bacchae tear him apart on Dionysus’s bidding.
ReplyDeleteEuripides did not writing this play only against Platonism; through the madness—and their submission to that madness—of the Bacchae, Euripides is criticizing Sophist thinking. Sophistry claims that “man is measure” subscribing to relativism and a sort of subjectivity. No act can be evaluated fairly by another, it is only the person acting on their own cultural rights and wrongs, and situational ethics. The bacchae of the text are seemingly declaring a specific freedom through their endeavors; they are leaving their roles as docile women, caring mothers, and submissive daughters, to become their polar opposites. They are now hunters, in the text, women with physical, warrior-like power that borderlines supernatural. They have shed the Platonist ways of thinking—the Pentheus ways the women have been brought into through their living in a controlled society—and become the epitome of chaos and irrationality. As a reader, it is their side of the story that seems easy to point out as “wrong” and “bad” because they are acting without rationality, and seemingly without consciousness. However, the characters of the play, sans Pentheus, speak out for this Sophist-like behavior. Cadmus and Tiresias chastise Pentheus for his blind persecution and call him the one submitting to madness. The Bacchae are defended through the text because they are breaking from their bonds into this seemingly spiritual nature—so why should anyone, including the reader, judge them for that?
However the case, their actions are just as blinding as Pentheus’s rationality is. The Bacchae rip apart Pentheus, confusing him for a lion. They are not necessarily freed by their craze, only willing to believe they are free. It is all a ruse—how could becoming the opposite of one’s role in society be freedom, if not just inversion? They are not breaking down any barriers in society or their feminine roles, but merely acting the opposite. They are inverting themselves—which is arguably perverting them rather than freeing them.
Euripides view of The Bacchae is the difference between control and freedom in a society that is controlled. The axiology view of this context is the values of the society of Thebes and their judgments upon others. The anthropology view is the social relationships and social sciences based from the axiology the society holds. Euripides puts the world view of axiology and anthropology as an idea of control/power and freedom. Control and freedom are based off the social construct and the values and judgments the society expects. Euripides criticizes the social construct placed in society.
ReplyDeleteBefore Dionysus the social values and judgments were determined by Pentheus. Pentheus was the King of Thebes and therefore had the given power to say what was right or wrong and the values that placed in affect were controlled by him. Even the women in Thebes had lost control of their identity. Life should have both control and freedom. They are controlled by their society’s standard to up hold a certain gender role and have no freedom to decide on their own identity. Pentheus didn’t want the women or anyone else to be in control of their own identity and so he was threatened by Dionysus. Euripides criticizes that the society of Thebes is controlled by one dictator. When Dionysus is introduced he represents the God of wine and in my view freedom. Euripides tries to prove a point that there should be equilibrium between the two characters Pentheus and Dionysus. Too much control in a society gives no identity to individuals because everyone is uniformed to be the same way.
When the Greek women conform outside their normal uniformed identity Euripides is criticizing the anthropology view that most Greeks had about women. Women obviously were not very powerful in Thebes during this time. Pentheus clearly does not view women as equal to men because he was amazed by their new identities. Dionysus gave women the power to express their freedom without any control. The problem that Euripus pointed out was that sometimes even too much freedom can blind someone. When Agaue killed her son, she didn’t realize it until she stepped out of the free identity. There should always be equilibrium between control and freedom. Dionysus offers both because he wants Pentheus’s crown but he is still always be the god of wine.
Knowledge and power in Prometheus Bound are the two most prominent forces at work determining the worldviews presented in the story. Unlike in the Iliad and Bacchae, Prometheus Bound introduces a new phenomenon to man that continues to be crucial even in today’s values- hope. Prometheus gives the gift of hope to mankind after he is bound for being disobedient to Zeus. The fear and reverence man had towards the immortals illustrates the impact that fate had. After Prometheus defies Zeus by giving mortals fire and medicine, Zeus has him bound for his actions. Status and power are important in Prometheus Bound because it determines what happens to most of the characters including Io, who Hera, for the time being, turned into a cow.
ReplyDeletePrometheus values hope. His gift to man is blind hope because he hopes to free them from Zeus’s crazes. Fate prevents free will, and Prometheus was able to provide man with the power of choice.
During the war between the Titans and Zeus’ army, Prometheus sought out both Zeus and Kronos to offer knowledge, as this would be the deciding factor in the war. After Kronos declined his offer, Prometheus joined in alliance with Zeus. This says something about the value of war, and the desire to be on the side that is victorious, whether or not it be a side with values that one necessarily agrees with.
Prometheus becomes a source of freedom for humans. He offers freedom from obstruction. Prometheus is the savior in this text, as he saved Zeus from a Titan victory and he saved humans from tyrannical obstruction that Zeus was imposing. Prometheus is able to provide man with freedom, which is more purposeful and gives a sense of going somewhere. The worldviews in Prometheus Bound surround the importance of having hope and intellect.
The worldviews in the Iliad focus on wisdom, courage, piety, and prudence. Of these four items, courage is seen to be the most important worldview. In the Iliad, Achilles kills Hector for burning and gutting his men’s ships. While this was courageous, it seems as if Achilles had an unfair advantage over Hector because the goddess Athena was assisting Achilles in battle. In addition to this, Achilles and his men stabbed and mutilated Hector’s body after he was already dead. Then they tied his feet to a chariot and dragged his lifeless body through town. When Achilles did this, he was totally enraged at the time. Thus, it is unknown whether he thought what he did was ethical, however, he and his men probably did not care because everyone participated in mutilating and ridiculing Hector after his death. In my opinion, this was “over-kill” and it also made Achilles look like a bully rather than a hero. However, Hector did have a choice in this ordeal and he could have avoided fighting with Achilles altogether. His parents were stressed out before the battle and told Hector to not wait for Achilles. They instead wanted him to hide or leave town in order to avoid battling with Achilles—a more strong and powerful man than he.
ReplyDeleteHomer, the author of the Iliad, shows us that people during the time of polytheism used gods and goddesses to explain things that could not be explained; like thunder being created by Zeus. The author does not state his point of view in the story, thus it is difficult to say how he criticizes the ethics of Achilles killing Hector. Despite the fact that Achilles was somewhat cruel in the killing of Hector, Achilles did what he believed was right—which makes him courageous. In his mind he thought it was crucial to do away with Hector because he was an unjust leader, and he did things that Achilles found unethical. And knowing that he would not live a long life, Achilles does this in order to be honored whilst living.
In Prometheus Bound, the worldview of Greek society is that the gods have complete power. This power is physical control over man and also control over man’s fate. The text questions the importance of physical power and gives the message that through knowledge, man has his own power and the ability to determine his own fate.
ReplyDeletePrometheus represents knowledge over physical force. Zeus’s may have the ability to enslave Prometheus, but Prometheus has the ability to know the future, giving him control over the god. His intellect is not only intimidating to Zeus, but it is what gave Prometheus the ability to overcome him and give man the gifts of fire and blind hope. Prometheus’s intellectual abilities also give him empathy towards others, such as when he tells Io of her future in order to give her peace of mind. Although knowledge is what caused Zeus to punish him in the first place, the gifts that come from intellect are more bountiful than that of physical force. Not only did he give gifts to mankind to allow for their growth, but he also gives himself the gift of empathy.
Towards the end of the story, Prometheus is able to gain freedom through his intellect. Freedom in this case, is not physical, but the ability to determine and accept one’s own fate. Although Greek society may believe that the gods have control over man’s fate, Aeschylus shows that this is untrue. Even in the beginning, Prometheus has control over his fate when he chooses to save mankind, knowing that his actions will be punished. Furthermore, when Zeus tries to force Prometheus to reveal the identity of the one who will overthrow him, Prometheus once again refuses to give in and accepts his suffering. The choices that he makes allows him to determine and accept his own fate, regardless of the physical strength that Zeus holds over him. Aeschylus expresses that fate is determined not by the gods, but by the actions of man. The ability to choose and the power of knowledge give man freedom from the force of the gods.
Megan Devine
ReplyDeleteWorldview and Ethics
In The Bacchae, Euripides represents Pentheus and Dionysus as complete polar opposites of Greek thought. Although Pentheus and Dionysus share a common heritage, they could not be more different in their general ethics and outlook on life. While Pentheus prides himself on being wise and ruling Thebes rationally and by the book, Dionysus is one to let loose and rely more on pleasure to rule. The relationship between Pentheus and Dionysus reflects the contrast between civilized, rational thoughts and uncivilized, emotional thoughts.
Dionysus first appears in The Bacchae as the Lydian stranger whom Pentheus is questioning after the sudden outbreak of Dionysian rites which have the women of Thebes in a divinely drunken haze. Pentheus views this drunken insanity as a threat to the mores and legal codes of Thebian society and does not believe that Dionysus is a true god. Dionysus’ return to Thebes is meant for revenge because of Pentheus’ disbelief and through three exchanges, Dionysus eventually leads Pentheus to his demise at the hands of the maenads, including his own mother. Pentheus yearns to end this chaos, but after a cowherd describes the scene is also curious to see the madness up close. Pentheus’ curiosity gets the best of him and he takes Dionysus’ advice and dresses in drag to get a closer look at the maenads. Stripped of his masculinity and authority, Pentheus in his most vulnerable state is ripped apart by the maenads as ordered by Dionysus. His mother, Agaue, still in a maddened state, brings Pentheus’ head to the palace boasting about the lion that she beheaded. After Cadmus brings her out of this stupor, she realizes what she has done and is consequently exiled from Thebes.
This story exemplifies the need for balance and harmony in a society in order for it to truly work. Euripides’ uses the idea of gender to explain this through Pentheus’ outrage and arrogant wisdom about the maenads. Pentheus feels that his authority and power over Thebes is threatened by these women who are neglecting their domestic duties and acting completely out of the social order. If Pentheus would have been more accepting of these Dionysian rites in the first place, or just accepted that Dionysus was in fact divine, he may have lived on as a much better ruler. Pentheus’ death in his most vulnerable state exemplifies how vulnerable the women of Thebes were in everyday society. The need for balance and harmony in ethics and ruling is what Euripides is calling for through The Bacchae.
In the Iliad, Homer’s main characters include Agamemnon, the unjust king of Mycenae and commander of the Achaean army, Achilles, the greatest Achaean warrior, and Hector, the king of Troy and greatest warrior of the Trojan Army. The characters demonstrate the worldview of the Greek value of honor and Homer’s criticism that it leads to unethical and immoral behavior. This value of honor leads the two warriors, Achilles and Hector, to prize the glory of war above life and family. When they finally realize their errors, it is too late for them to avoid their fate.
ReplyDeleteAchilles’ pride is damaged by Agamemnon and he became full of rage and displays civil disobedience by refusing to submit to an unjust leader. At this point, Achilles seems to value life over glory. It is only because of his friend’s death that he goes back into the war for vengeance and to defend the honor of his friend; he realizes that his relationships are more important than anything else. He redirects his rage to Hector who killed his friend. Achilles is above ethics when he returns to the battle field, acting not for glory but out of love for his friend and hate for the enemy. His superhuman behavior breaks off his ties with humanity, and his mutilation of Hector seems to be outside the realm of right and wrong. Achilles thus concludes the play, having acted as a beast, a man, and a god, through achieving the glory of victory sought only for friendship and achieved through the unspeakable acts toward Hector .
Hector is the opposite of Achilles because he is the warrior bound by his duty to Troy. Hector is committed to law and an ethical code of right and wrong. He values honor and duty, and only comes to realize his faulty priorities when it is too late. He recognized that the war is unjust but he defends it anyway to protect the city of Troy. At the end, Hector realizes what he should have done and what he really values which is family. But he also realized his fate and dies with courage and honor. He chose to die with honor once he realized he had waited too long to stay alive for and with his family.
Euripides offers a dreary worldview: that of the incapacity of humanity to strike a balance between dichotomous forces. Most at issue here are: Freedom vs. Intellect; and (though arguably dichotomous) Male vs. Female. In Bacchae, all standards ultimately become reversed. The women liberate themselves from their oppression, leaping directly to the opposite extreme, from Intellect to Freedom. Pentheus, in contrast, jumps from Freedom to Intellect. If imbalance is chaotic, then more so must be sporadic jumps to opposite extremes. Euripides delivers to each her/his just deserts. Pentheus’s decapitation is punishment for his espionage, and his mother has a reality check (holding the head of her son in her arms) as she steps out of the madness realizing what she has done. Had the characters originated with any semblance of balance in the first place, or if they had not bounded so far across the spectrum, then Pentheus’s head may still have been attached to his neck at the end of the play, where both Pentheus and Agave would prefer it to be. In defense of the characters, I do believe that liberation can be intense, and the temptation to over-exercise newfound freedoms can easily land anyone in trouble. I can’t help but to wonder, even though I agree with your claim that “masculine” and “feminine” are not innate but concepts created by the members of society, how shamefully stupid I would act if I woke up tomorrow morning as a woman.
ReplyDeleteIn Prometheus Bound, Aeschylus uses will and fate to illustrate the anthropology of the book. Prometheus stole the fire from the Gods and gave it to the humans as a will to survive and, as mentioned in class, a source of liberation from the Gods. Humans, as we know, are mortal beings and the Gods question why Prometheus gave the humans this gift if it is their fate to die. Prometheus and Zeus represent the battle of power and intellect. While Zeus has more power, Prometheus knows the fate of Zeus and who will overthrow his authority. This civil disobedience to Zeus immediately gives the reader a sense of heroism in Prometheus. However, we see as the book progresses that Prometheus loses his will to fight and accept what he believes to be his fate- dying at the hand of Zeus. He lets this emotion consume him his rationality is clouded.
ReplyDeleteWhen Io comes to Prometheus to learn of her fate and the path of her wanderings, it shows Prometheus that his sufferings have made an impact and his power through knowledge will have a contributing factor in Zeus being overthrown. Aeschylus uses Prometheus to show that although “might is right,” that standing up for what is right combined with the power of intellect is far more beneficial than brute force alone. This criticizes the belief that humans must submit to the Gods and that by being mortal we are not free. Prometheus gives humans the power and knowledge to give them a part in deciding their fate. For once, we don’t see the humans as a separate entity from the Gods.
Gabriel Castro
ReplyDeleteDr. Danielle A. Layne
Worldviews and Ethics
9-18-2010
Pop Quiz 1
The Iliad is one of the greatest works of ancient Greek literature. Written by Homer around 800 B.C.E, the story is based on the Trojan War that happened three hundred years before Homers time. At first glance the Iliad seems to be only a great graphic war epic. However, if closely examined the Iliad is actually a great criticism, by Homer, of the Greek axiology of honor in war.
One of the first examples of Homer’s criticism of the Greek axiology is in the very beginning of the text. In book one of the Iliad Apollo punishes Agamemnon for not giving back Chryses’s (high priest of Apollo) daughter. After giving back Chryses’s daughter, in his rage Agamemnon decides to take Achilles prize (Briseis) in place of his own. Achilles is outraged by Agamemnon’s tyrannical request and Nestor, the most experienced warrior, tries to counsel him. Nestor tells Achilles that following the traditional Greek code of honor is the best decision. He thinks that Achilles should comply with Agamemnon’s request (even though it is unjust) because he is king and it is customary as well as ethical to honor the king. Achilles, however, decides to against the ethics and the Greek axiology of the time. Achilles sees no logic in complying with an unjust king, who he is voluntarily fighting for in a war that is the kings problem and not his own. After a brief conversation with Hera and Athena, Achilles decides not kill Agamemnon but, ceases fighting for him. What Homer is portraying, with Achilles defiance against Agamemnon’s tyranny, is that individuals should be like Achilles and not comply with the axiology of honoring the ruler if that ruler is unjust (even during war times).
The second example of Homer criticizing the Greek axiology is when Hector comes out to fight Achilles. Hector at first believes it is his honorable duty to fight Achilles (who is angered by Hectors slaying of his cousin) knowing he will loose. Hectors family tries to stop him but, Hector follows the Greek axiology of honoring courage and puts that honor before his family. On the other hand, when Hector comes face to face with Achilles he quickly realizes that he’d rather live the rest of his life with his family than die behind the walls of Troy, and so he starts running away from Achilles. Through Hectors realization Homer is portraying that other things in life are more important than the axiology of honoring courage and dying in battle.
The last example of Homer criticizing the Greek axiology is when Achilles kills Hector. After running around the city of Troy, Hector stomachs the courage to fight Achilles who eventually fatally stabs him. Hectors last words to Achilles is that he wished to have a proper burial. In his blind rage Achilles denies Hectors request and drags his dead body around the city of Troy for all to see. Through Achilles outrages actions Homer is portraying that there is no honor or axiology in warfare. Many people, in general, would say that Achilles actions were unethical and that he should have honored Hectors request. But, blinded by vengeance and warfare, even for a hero like Achilles it is hard for any person to abide by their own ethics or even their own morals in total warfare.
In the Iliad, Homer questions the Greek worldview of the honor and glory of war. Out of all the Greek virtues courage is valued and honored the most and Homer questions how important courage should be in the Iliad. Homer does this by showing how destructive war can be and at the same time showing how unnecessary and ineffective war can be to solve conflicts. In the Iliad, what started out as a battle between two men ended up as a full out war between the Greeks and the Trojans.
ReplyDeleteOne of the main ways that Homer questions the value that the Greeks place on courage is through the death of Hector. Hector believes that he is dying a courageous death when he is battling Achilles and decides that even though he knows that he will die he will not ask Achilles if they can work out an agreement but rather charges as Achilles to prove that he will at least die a courageous death. There are many consequences because Hector chooses the courageous way and dies. The most important one is probably that Hector’s son will now have to grow up fatherless and that Hector’s wife will be without her husband. While Achilles beats Hector in battle and should be valued according to the Greek worldview for his strength and ability, Homer questions the validity of honoring Achilles by showing how Achilles mistreats and abuses Hector’s dead body. Achilles does uphold the Greek worldview of valuing honor and glorifying war but he gets so caught up in it that he loses some of his personal integrity when out of his uncontrollable rage he drags Hectors body around the streets and lets his army stab the dead body. By doing this I believe that Homer is trying to show his audience that there are more important things to honor than the glory of war and the virtue of courage. For example, I think Homer is trying to show the value of family responsibilities and the value of using one’s judgment to find the most effective way to solve a conflict even if that means disregarding one’s pride.
To the Greeks, honor was everything for a man, and fighting in wars was one way of gaining that honor. Unfortunately, men died trying to earn this honor, losing their lives for almost no reason. In the Iliad, Homer shows how two of his characters come to realize that life is more important than honor through Achilles in Book 1 and Hector in Book 24.
ReplyDeleteIn Book 1, Achilles is drawn into fighting by Agamemnon, who is fighting a war against the Trojans. At first, Achilles is excited to fight just to be honorable, but after Achilles begins to see that Agamemnon is fighting a selfish war and is being unjust to his soldiers. Seeing this angers Achilles and after he confronts Agamemnon with no success, he realizes that ..It wasn't a Trojan spear man, who brought [him] here to fight. The trojans never did [him] damage,but that he was fighting 鍍o please [Agamemnon], to fight for [him], and to win [his] honor back from the Trojans.Achilles decides that he will no longer fight a war where the enemy has done nothing to him or anyone close to him because his life is not worth losing for someone else's battle. With Achilles' realization of this, Homer shows that life is more important than honor, and further supports this idea when Achilles refrain from fighting for years until he decides to as revenge for a friend.
When Achilles does decide to return to fighting, he is particularly interested in killing a man named Hector, who is a Trojan and the brother of Paris in Book 24. Achilles calls Hector outside of the walls of Troy, and Hector's family is begging him not to go because they know he will be killed. This is Homer's second way of contradicting honor as ethical. Honor is supposed to be very high up on everyone's list, and by having Hector's family beg him to not go, Homer shows that not everyone is in on the honor over life view. Homer further shows this idea when Hector realizes that his life is not worth risking and that he should have never gone outside Troy's walls. He realizes that his family was right; he was going to die for honor and it was not worth, so he begins to run around the walls for Troy. Unfortunately, Hector is too late in his realization and his killed by Achilles.
Through these two characters, Homer contradicts the idea that honor is greater than life. He shows this when Achilles decides to leave the Trojan war and not lose his life for someone else's honor. He also shows that not everyone is for this idea through Hectors begging family and Hector's late grasp of this concept. With this, Homer gave the Greeks a new way of thinking about life and that maybe it's not all for honor and glory.
In the Iliad, Homer depicts the Greek worldview as one of honor and courage amidst a dutiful and violent reality. Homer’s take on metaphysics, cosmology, and axiology provide his reflected view of ethics and morality.
ReplyDeleteHomer’s idea of metaphysics is one of strife and war. They seem to be ways of life for the characters in the Iliad. Homer’s philosophy of metaphysics relates to the idea that the spilling of blood is just another aspect of the cosmos. It becomes obvious on the part of the gods that not even they are exempt from human-like qualities, a cosmological consequence that the mortals have to suffer with. As Apollo openly presents himself against the Achaean’s cause, his reign of terror becomes known among them resulting in many Achaean deaths. Homer writes, “Incensed at the king he swept a fatal plague through the army – men were dying and all because Agamemnon spurned Apollo’s priest” (Book I, p. 77). This provides the reader with an understanding at the balance of the cosmos between Apollo and the Achaean mortals. Yet a more significant comment on the cosmos presents itself as more societal than theological. This can be seen with Achilles’ act of civil disobedience. It comes with his mutiny towards the unjust ruler, Agamemnon. Achilles says, “No more now – back I go to Phthia, better that way by far, to journey home in the beaked ships of war. I have no mind to linger here disgraced, brimming your cup and piling up your plunder” (Book I, p. 83). This is Homer’s proclamation that it is acceptable to question the authority of a ruling tyrant. Here, Achilles’ morality is acting against the common ethics of obedience. Perhaps the most significant attribute of Homer’s epic is the axiology he displays in both the characters of Hector and Achilles. The axiology of the Greek worldview is one of value and honor. King Priam captures a degree of what Homer is trying to say about axiology. Priam weeps, “Ah for a young man all looks fine and noble if he goes down in war, hacked to pieces under a slashing bronze blade” (Book XXII, p. 549). This emphasizes the honor a fallen soldier receives. Later, after Hector realizes his cowardice of fleeing from his fate, he confronts Achilles to meet his doom with a degree of dignity. Hector proclaims, “No more running from you in fear, Achilles! Not as before. Three times I fled around the great city of Priam – I lacked courage then to stand your onslaught. Now my spirit stirs me to meet you face-to-face. Now kill or be killed” (Book XXII, p. 549). This shows the significance of the value of courage in the Greek worldview. Here, Hector’s value of the common ethics overcomes his personal morals for survival.
In Homer’s Iliad, the Greek worldview is perceived through his metaphysics, cosmology, and axiology. With violence surrounding them, the honor and courage displayed by Achilles and Hector depict the Greek worldview and Homer’s idea of ethics and morality.
In the Iliad, the worldview of theology plays an important role in the lives of the characters involved. One particular continually occurring event is the theme of so called “divine intervention”. The Gods, motivated by their own selfish interest, changed the outcome of the overall novella by their actions. One such action would be Athena encouraging Pandarus to fire upon Menelaus. This action led to the truce that had been declared to be broken and further lead to the downfall of Troy. While Homer nave gave any direct insight as to the ethics of these decisions, I think one can derive several messages after close evaluation. Firstly, I think something one can draw from this is that nothing in life is for sure. The battle favored the Trojans before Athena got involved. The Trojans no doubt thought that they could possibly win and recover. These dreams were shattered quickly. After giving all glory and worshipping their Gods, at the end of the day Troy fell. This can be compared to modern Christian thought as well. One of the main arguments against organized religion (particularly Christianity since I live in a predominately Christian country and therefore have the most exposure to this religion) is that why would a God, or Jesus Christ, let innocent people die after they have prayed for his resolve and help? How could a just God, or the existence of a God, permit a man like Adolf Hitler to commit murder to millions upon millions? I think these same questions were asked by the people in Homer’s Iliad. Hector, in his last moments, forgot about the God’s. He forgot about his “duty” to his city and realized the only thing that was important to him was his family. Unfortunately, this realization came too late for Hector. Homers ultimate lesson might be to ignore your duty, your so called “ethics” or “morality”, and follow your heart instead. Hectors life might have wound up very different if he had done so.
ReplyDelete“Painful it is for me to speak of this, Painful is silence─ ‘tis misery every way,” Prometheus’ explanation to the Chorus (page 10). Prometheus, the main character, has to suffer as a result of giving man blind hope and fire. Zeus, the ruler of Olympus and Prometheus’ once friend, is not pleased with mortals having access to more. It was Zeus that wanted to annihilate the human race because he saw no purpose for it. Consequently, during the play the ideal of struggle is always present whether that struggle is between freedom and intellect and acceptance of human suffering or choice to decide against fate.
ReplyDeleteFate has played a significant role in the text. It is something that is always predestined and unchangeable. However, it can be changed, especially for a character like Prometheus. Prometheus is known as the Foresighted One, he already knows the destiny of man, which he did not reveal to them (that is why the hope was blind). He already knows the destiny for himself, which he chose to endure. Using the stoic idea that “I can only control the things that are in power and things that are not must recognize that they are not in my power” is a truly a significant point that Io brings to the play.
“And then, it seemed, my best remaining choice was, with my mother’s aid, to take my stand where help was welcome, at the side of Zeus,” said Prometheus to the Chorus (page 10). In identifying power and intellect, the author shows that both are needed in order to succeed. Therefore, it is obvious that one without the other leads the cosmic order into chaos. Zeus (power) and Prometheus (intellect) were a great team. It is evident though, when power became threatened, it turned into a tyrannical force that was constantly imprisoned by fear of being overthrown. Intellect when too great also encompassed the individual into a mental state of impotence.