Greek Vs. Modern Violence
Violence As It Is Portrayed In The Modern Media vs. The Ancient Greek MediaWhen one thinks of ancient Greece, the word that comes to mind is "civilized". Ancient Greece is considered to be the birthplace of Western Civilization, and therefore of our modern society. If it wasn't for the Greeks, civilization never could have evolved to its current high-water mark, found right here in the USA. In some ways, however, the Greeks achieved a level of sophistication and worldly understanding that our modern society cannot match. Specifically, the Greeks had a much better understanding of violence and its consequences, as opposed to our society, which seeks to glamorize violence, as well as detach it from our lives. This understanding was present in their media, specifically tragedies such as Antigone, Oedipus At Colonus, and King Oedipus, all by the Athenian playwright Sophocles. These works have violence included in them, but the focus is on the consequences of these violent acts, not on the actual violence itself. Our so-called "civilized" society could learn a thing or two from the ancient Greeks about the consequences of violence, instead of just glamorizing it for the masses. The ancient Greeks of Sophocles' time lived in
They experienced it often enough that it held no real entertainment value. The murder of his own father leads either directly or indirectly to a plague afflicting the people of Thebes, Oedipus' marriage to his own mother, his mother/wife's subsequent suicide, and Oedipus blinding himself and being banished from Thebes, the city he once ruled. Sure, there is plenty of violence in our society, but we don't experience it personally, at least not very often. However, this is not the focus of the tragedy. When he wrote Antigone, the Peloponnesian War was brewing, and the tragedy reflects the violence of his environment. For instance, the tragedy Antigone contains a lot of violence, as the protagonist and all of the antagonist's family dies. What the tragedy focuses on is why all of these deaths occurred. For the most part laws could regulate violence between citizens of a polis, but violent acts carried out against the citizens of another polis, or even violent acts carried out against a polis itself, were basically unregulated. King Oedipus contains less of the brutality that was so prevalent in Greece at the time. Violence and brutality is definitely an aspect of this play, but very little of the dialogue actually involves brutality. It is mentioned as a future event, so in reality it isn't really an act at all. Even the death of Oedipus is astonishingly serene. This gave the viewers a chance to reflect on its results. When violence is experienced in reality, then it can be placed in context.
Common topics in this essay:
Peloponnesian War,
Oedipus Colonus,
King Oedipus,
Eteocles Polynices,
Oedipus Athenian,
Thebes Oedipus',
Specifically Greeks,
Antigone Creon,
Western Civilization,
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ancient greeks,
violence experienced,
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king oedipus contains,
citizens polis,
oedipus contains,
citizens polis violent,
violent acts carried,
polis violent acts,
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Acceptance Essays
