Medea and Oedipus: overglorified
...not common among Greek women. For example, Medea is willing to kill her own brother to be with Jason. In classical Greece, women and killing were probably not normally associated. When she kills her brother, she shows that she is willing to do what is necessary to get the job done, in this case, to be with Jason. In addition to sacrificing the life of a family member for him, she also shows the courage to stand up to Jason. She believes that she has been cheated and betrayed by him. By planning ways to get back at him for cheating on her, she is standing up for what she believes, which in this case is that she was wronged by Jason, but in a larger sense, she is speaking out against the inferior status of women, which effectively allows Jason to discard Medea at will. She also shows that she is clever and quick-witted. Rather than use physical force to accomplish her plans, she uses her mind instead: it is best to...make away with them by poison. (384-385). While physical strength can be considered a heroic quality, cleverness can be as well. She does in fact poison the princess and the king of Corinth; interestingly, however, she does not poison them directly. I will send the children with gifts...to the bride...and if she wears them upon her skin...she will die (784-788). This shows her intelligence because she is trying to keep from being linked to the crime, even though everyone is able to figure out that she was responsible anyway. In a way, though, she is almost anti-heroic because she is not doing the dirty work herself, which makes her appear somewhat cowardly. Finally, there is the revenge factor. Many times heroes were out for revenge against someone who did them or a friend wrong, and in this case Medea is no exception, since she wants to have revenge against Jason for divorcing her without just cause. These actions of Medea exemplify the fact that she is definitely an incomparable and astonishing person. For one person to be able to be so strong with their backs against the wall only to overcome every one of their defeats with such ease using their intelligence and wit is amazing and deserves glorified praise. Medea stands for everything women want to be and that is, respected. Her procedures of revenge on the man that has embarrassed her are of superhuman strength in a sense of cleverness. She stands up not only to the man who has betrayed her but all men who betray women; because she demonstrates the power women can have if they want. Medea’s qualities are of complete heroism, glory and supremacy because she defeats all the odds against her and effectively gets revenge on Jason. In Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, Oedipus’ character can be seen as an exceptional person by his heroic actions and powerful presence but simultaneously he is seen to be a diminished or weakened person as the play persists. Oedipus, in the beginning of the play is the strong and loyal leader of Thebes but is faced with an ongoing dilemma that has Thebes in an overall depression. What Oedipus doesn’t realize is that he alone is responsible for Thebes’ current state of affairs. After having talked to the Priest, the chorus, and Teiresias among others, Oedipus eventually faces the actuality of his situation. The play goes on and throughout it’s as if watching Oedipus’ life being destroyed . Even though destiny victimizes Oedipus, he is a tragic figure since his own gallant character, his devotion to Thebes, and his fidelity to the truth ruin him. Oedipus' arrogance (or pride), strung from his own heroic characteristics, is one reason his ruining. A hero places above all else his honor and the excellence of his life. When a hero’s honor is at risk, all other factors against them become beside the point. A hero such as Oedipus values power and skillfulness, bravery and fortitude, and it is these qualities that enable a person who possesses them to achieve such glory and honor, both in his lifetime and after passing away (Rosenburg 38). Oedipus was certainly a hero who was exceptionally intellectual although some may say that his slaying of four men at Phokis unaccompanied more than qualified him as a hero of physical promise, as well. He clearly knew his heroic status when he greeted the begging, desperate people of Thebes before the palace doors saying, “Rumors, news from messengers, they are not enough for me. Others cannot tell me what you need. I am king. I had to come. As king, I had to know. Know for myself, know for me. Everybody everywhere knows who I am: Oedipus. King” (Sophocles, Lines 7-11). Oedipus is blameworthy of hubris- meaning, that he is more than sure of himself, much too confident in his own powers and at the same time also under minding the gods (Rosenburg 44). Oedipus, a hero of superior intelligence, also displays this obstinate attitude in his faithfulness to Thebes. Oedipus' loyalty to Thebes is another factor that led to the tragic figure's ruin. Aristotle explains that a tragic character is just and good, but his misfortune is brought about not by wickedness or depravity but by error, pride, or frailty. Oedipus fits this description perfectly. The story of Oedipus fascinates us because of the spectacle of a man freely choosing, from the highest motives, a series of actions which lead to his ruin. (Rosenburg 43). Oedipus could disappear from the city of Thebes and allow the plague to take its course but pity for the sufferings of his people compelled him to seek advice from Delphi (Dodds 23). At this point when Apollo's word comes back, he could leave the murder of Laius uninvestigated, but self-importance and justice cause him to take action. Oedipus can’t permit a murder investigation to go on with no solving of the riddle of who murdered King Laius because his arrogance overcomes him. Oedipus' pride discloses itself once again in his fidelity to the truth. Oedipus' continuous effort to find out the truth for the sake of his citizens ruined him the most in the end. Although he is cautioned numerous times to stop searching for the truth, he continues to look. Oedipus has to decide between his fate (or doom in this case) and an alternative which if he accepted would betray the hero's own conception of himself, rights, obligations, but in the end the hero did not stop; he stays loyal to himsel...