Skip to main content

What do Euripides's plays tell us about his view of divine sovereignty, i.e. the control of the gods over the world in general and human beings in...

Questions of divine agency and free will lie at the heart of many of Euripides' plays. His plays, in general, often emphasize the role of the incalculable to affect human plans by causing reversals of fortune; the "incalculable" is usually some kind of divine control or intervention. Euripides' plays tell us a lot about his view of "tychē" – which can be translated as 'chance', 'fortune', or 'luck'. While the gods are responsible for much, chance and human nature sometimes thwart divine plans. The Ion is an excellent case study for Euripides' views on divine sovereignty and human agency. 

In this play, Apollo is the father of Ion, who was born to Creusa after the god had raped her. Both Creusa's husband and Ion himself,  an adolescent when the play starts, are ignorant of Ion's true identity. The play shows Ion performing religious duties at Apollo's shrine in Delphi without any knowledge of what the god has in store for him. It is only at the very end that Athena reveals Apollo's far-reaching perspective. Apollo's plan was that Ion should go to Athens, meet his mother there and, finally, become the progenitor of the Ionian race. However, chance and human agency derails this plan. While Euripides depicted the gods as controlling a great deal within the realm of humans, plays such as the Ion show that he did not regard the gods as omniscient and omnipotent. 


Plays such as the Ion depict not only divine intervention and power but also divine weaknesses. For instance, both Hermes and Apollo are shown to be fallible. Unlike Homer, Euripides depicted the gods as directing the action, but within constraints and without uninterrupted efficacy. 


Euripides' Iphigenia in Aulis is another play that is informative about Euripides' views on human responsibility. First, humans are depicted as responsible for the war and the sacrifice of Iphigenia is said to be for the glory of a Panhellenic Greece, according to Agamemnon. However, it is to appease the gods that Iphigenia needs to be sacrificed in the first place, even if fair winds for sailing to Troy are needed by humans for their own purposes. However, all of this can be seen as a result of the judgment of Paris and the subsequent actions of Aphrodite. The actions of gods and the actions of humans cannot be as neatly separated as one would like. One way of thinking about this is that, while gods determine the overall structure and set the grander wheels in motion, humans are ultimately responsible for individual courses of actions. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is the meaning of "juggling fiends" in Macbeth?

Macbeth is beginning to realize that the three witches have been deceiving him since he first encountered them. Like jugglers, they have kept changing their forecasts in order create confusion. This is particularly apparent when the Second Apparition they raise in Act IV,   Scene 1 tells him that no man of woman born can overcome him in hand-to-hand battle--and then Macbeth finds himself confronted by the one man he has been avoiding out of a... Macbeth is beginning to realize that the three witches have been deceiving him since he first encountered them. Like jugglers, they have kept changing their forecasts in order create confusion. This is particularly apparent when the Second Apparition they raise in Act IV,   Scene 1 tells him that no man of woman born can overcome him in hand-to-hand battle--and then Macbeth finds himself confronted by the one man he has been avoiding out of a sense of guilt, and that man tells him: Despair thy charm. And let the angel whom thou still hast serve...
Post a Comment
Read more

What are some tensions between men and women in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar?

Julius Caesar is a largely male-driven play. Calpurnia and Portia are the two main female characters, and they are both wives of major characters. Calpurnia is Julius Caesar’s wife. She makes public appearances with him, but there may be some awkwardness between them because of her inability to have children. He publicly tells Antony to touch Calpurnia to cure her of barrenness when he runs the Lupercal, a “holy race” and fertility festival. Calpurnia has... Julius Caesar is a largely male-driven play. Calpurnia and Portia are the two main female characters, and they are both wives of major characters. Calpurnia is Julius Caesar’s wife. She makes public appearances with him, but there may be some awkwardness between them because of her inability to have children. He publicly tells Antony to touch Calpurnia to cure her of barrenness when he runs the Lupercal, a “holy race” and fertility festival. Calpurnia has nightmares about Caesar’s death. She claims that she is not naturally super...
Post a Comment
Read more

What is the probability that a cross between parents who are both homozygous recessive for trait will have offspring that are homozygous recessive...

In the question, both parents are homozygous recessive for a trait. Therefore, the only genes present in each parent's genotype would be two copies of the recessive gene.  If these parents decide to have offspring, 100% of their children will inherit two recessive alleles and will express the recessive trait. An example of this can be demonstrated with the sickle cell anemia allele. If both parents have sickle cell anemia, then all of their offspring... In the question, both parents are homozygous recessive for a trait. Therefore, the only genes present in each parent's genotype would be two copies of the recessive gene.  If these parents decide to have offspring, 100% of their children will inherit two recessive alleles and will express the recessive trait. An example of this can be demonstrated with the sickle cell anemia allele. If both parents have sickle cell anemia, then all of their offspring will have the disease phenotype. The disease phenotype of sickle cell anemia re...
Post a Comment
Read more