Tragic Heroes in Greek Myth - 2055 Words

Tragic Greek dramas featured tragic heroes, mortals who suffered incredible †¨losses as a result of an inescapable fate or bad decisions. According to Aristotle, a tragic hero is a character, usually of high birth, which is pre-eminently great, meaning they are not perfect, and whose downfall is brought about†¨ by a tragic weakness or error in judgment. The three Greek heroes Oedipus, Medea and Agamemnon, who each killed a member of their family, carry most of the qualities that make up a tragic hero: being of noble birth, being surrounded by an extraordinary circumstance, and gaining self-awareness or some kind of knowledge through their downfall. There is an important need for the audience to identify with the Aristotelian hero through†¦show more content†¦Euripides also carefully reveals the elements of Medeas past that demonstrate her readiness to violate solidarity of family ties in order to pursue her intractable will; Jason and Medeas original tryst, for exa mple, required that she kill her own brother, thus choosing marriage ties over blood ties. Secondly, Medeas selfishness provides power to her fatal flaw. Medeas selfishness and lack of humanity is displayed through the act of killing her own two sons. Medea understands that the slaying of her children will make Jason miserable. During this time, the chorus recognizes her self-worship and states, â€Å"But can you have the heart to kill your flesh and blood† (Euripides, The Medea, 816)? Medea does not stop to think what pain she may cause to herself by murdering them. She is only concerned about her happiness that will be derived from Jasons grieving. Medea comes to the conclusion that it is worth the suffering just to see her ex-husband unhappy. Medea states, â€Å"Yes, for this is the best way to wound my husband† (Euripides, The Medea, 817). This exhibits Medeas selfishness by the slaying of her sons just to cause sorrow to Jason for her own pleasure. Medeas rage als o leads to her fatal flaw of excessive passion. Her excessive passion, fed by rage, leads Medea to do uncalled-for acts of violence and murder. In the opening stages of the Agamemnon the chorus describes Agamemnon as a great and courageous warrior, one whoShow MoreRelatedGreek Mythology : Greek And Roman Mythology885 Words   |  4 PagesMyths symbolize human experience and embody the spiritual values of a culture. (Rosenberg) With Greek and Roman Mythology we learn or are introduced to the idea of how the universe is formed, we learn about love and of course we learn about tragedy. Greek and Roman mythology has a strong influence on our culture today. 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