(no subject)
Within Greek Mythology arises various themes
and trends that epitomize the culture, beliefs, and ideals of the Ancient Greek Society. One such trend lies within the design of the Greek Hero paradigm, this serves as a common thread between classical heros and the aspects within serve as a 'litmus test' as to a character's heroic identity. Some such aspects of the Hero paradigm include, a troubled birth and struggle with father, generally a bout with a monster, some type of hamartia, and so on. One such character that falls into this paradigm Oedipus the Tyrant, a tragic character cemented in literature by Sophocles. Other cultures have different criterion for measuring heros and such, an arguable "hero" of one such culture or belief is the Old Testament's Moses. Moses embodies many of the traits necessary to facilitate the title of hero and parallels to Oedipus in many areas of the paradigm, while also distinguishing himself as a champion of the Jewish faith.
The history of both cultures becomes important when explicating
the motivation behind the congering of the characters of Oedipus and Moses and/or the events within their lives. The Greek culture was one of newfound humanism and discovery, reflected within their art and literature. Mighty Gods and heros like Heracles, Odyseus, and Oedipus served as models for Greeks to strive for, and their pitfalls and tragic elements as aspects to avoid, such as hubris and contention with the Gods' will. The Old Testament on a whole serves a myriad of purposes, from establishing law and morality, to instilling pride and joy in the faith, and finally to give hope to those persecuted and in longing. Oedipus Rex before being transcribed was passed through an oral tradition, likewise the Septuagint and books of the Old Testament were orally given from generation to generation. The people of Israel were not apart from witnessing turmoil, persecution, slavery, and occupation throughout their history, hence psalms of hope, and in particular the story of Moses leading God's people out of slavery at the hands of the powerful Egyptians attempts to assuage any plight the Israelites might have been facing.
The initial point of the Hero paradigm deals with the birth and
identity struggle thereafter. A complex arises where at birth a hero must face some sort of adversity. Oedipus is born with a stigma surrounding him that he is to kill his father and sleep with his mother, therefore he is moved at birth away from Laius and Jocasta his birth parents out of fear that this prophecy will be seen to fruition.
Egypt begins to grow weary of the ever-multiplying Israeli population, therefore the Pharaoh decides that hard labor and birth laws shall be enacted to discourage the people and limit their posterity. Females were allowed to be born but males were to be murdered, many were thrown into the Nile. Moses's parents Amram and Jochebed of the tribe of Levi are forced to hide and soon after abandon their child for his own safety. Moses is later found by Pharaoh's daughter at her bathing place. At this point Moses's is accepted into Egypt as her son and thereafter confusion within his personal identity arises. "Moses received a thoroughly Egyptian training, and was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians." (Keil-Delitzsch 430) This education no doubt fostered an assimilation into Egyptian culture, but would later be quashed by his yearning to be with his people. This inhibition of difference from Egyptians and identification with the Israelites would be exuded immensely in his murder of one of Pharaoh's soldiers.
"The education of Moses at the Egyptian court could not extinguish the feeling that he belonged to the people of Israel. Our history does not inform us how this feeling,... was fostered still further after he had been handed over...this consciousness broke forth at length in the full grown man in the slaying of the Egyptian who had injured a Hebrew..." (Keil Delitzsch 430)
Both heroes establish as a goal early on not to afflict their heritage. Oedipus becomes increasingly curious about his birth, (an intricacy to be discussed later) and thus upon hearing flees out of love for his mother and father. In accordance with the point of trying to help his 'blood,' Oedipus pledges he will do whatever he can to help ease the plight of the Thebians, ironically his real brethren. Moses upon seeing the pain and suffering of his people decides to devote his life, (with divine intervention) to serving the injustices his people must endure.
Another component of the hero dynamic lies within the fatal flaw, the hamartia, the character niche that limits a hero or attempts to set him back. Moses seemingly lacks this, it can be debated that when he breaks the tablets containing the commandments and when he kills the guard that he is perhaps rash in his actions and consumed by overzealousness and fervor. Furthermore Moses arguably never enjoys the "promised land," and is lossed in the desert for 40 years with the at-the-moment disingenuous Hebrew nation. However Moses never is defined by the tragedy and irony that embodies and riddles the tale of Oedipus.
'Aristotle attributed the downfall of Oedipus to his hamartia, which can be attributed possibly to three reasons: mistakes made concerning his personal identity, vain curiousity in consulting the oracle, pride in refusing to yeild to the oracle's prophecy, and his violence in attacking the four men on the road. Or moreover the title and action of Oedipus as a tyrant, which Sophocles reminds the reader is akin to failure of character.' (Hackett xxv) Moses perhaps didn't meet the same scrutiny and miserable end of Oedipus due to the struggle of his people and need for a complete hero, and the fact that by receiving the commandments of God, Moses almost became law and morality for the Hebrew people.
Next there lies obstacles and feats that the heros must conquer to gain such a status. Commonly throughout Greek mythology there is an adversarial relationship or encounter and a monster or an astounding league or army, and also with an embodiment of feminimity. This link between cultures, the abandonment of feminity perhaps stems from Freud's theories specifically centered around Oedipus. Oedipus fears that in participating in incestuous acts with his mother maybe there would be a penalty of castration, and some critics believe that his self blinding is an expiatory symbol of self castration due to his intense guilt and self loathing. (Hay 8) Within most literature heros are defined with extreme masculine qualities, which also entails an abandonment and almost beligerent attitude toward what society accepts as feminine. Oedipus defeats the sphynx, a female, and combats feminity and castration in anyway possible. Freudian psychology denotes a preoccupation with sexuality from birth, and also defines the fear of castration within males. Moses to a lesser extent than Oedipus displays this preoccupation with his circumsicion creating an issue, ""Behold, the people of Israel have not listened to me; how then shall Pharaoh listen to me, who am a man of uncircumcised lips?" and he is described as the "bridegroom of blood" at a circumcision. Both are definitively masculine in nature yet the Greek Hero paradigm contains a more combative relationship with feminimity.
The second part of Freud's theories entailed a hatred toward one's father. Oedipus while never consciously experiencing this does in fact kill his father unknowingly while traveling. Likewise a conceivably fainter correlation is made to Moses rising up against Egypt. Egypt and Pharaoh, act as surrogates to Moses, neither biologically or spiritually do they provide a paternal nature yet, he still rises up against his arguable homeland and adopted father, Pharoah.
As aforementioned both were champions of the people and their struggles mirror eachother yet contrast in closer detail. Upon defeating the sphinx, Oedipus then strives to discover the cause of the plague amongst his people, causing havoc. Ironically the cause is him, the cause he vows to avenge and destroy is actually himself; a poignant play on the inner battle of self identity within the hero paradigm. Conversely through God, and his own personal leadership Moses will liberate the Hebrew people, by using plagues against the egyptians: locusts, nile full of blood, death of first born sons...etc...Within these hurdles there is also a difference made between the Greek Gods that have doomed Oedipus to this fate, and the God of Moses that cares for his people that he has made a covenant with. Moses deviates a little from the paradigm in this fashion, while part of the dynamic in most cases is to have Gods that are for and against the hero, God acts through Moses. Heracles, Achilles, and Oedipus struggle with a hero bravado that they are keepers of men and amorphous and ambiguous with their nature to the Gods.
Humanism and historical context distinguish the ideals of heros. Moses leaves the riches of Egypt and the Pharoahs court, to toil in the injustices bestowed upon his true people. Moses is a man, and will come to be a leader of the faith, yet the old testament makes it clear that it is through God, that miracles are done, and later on into the new testament that salvation is acheived. While the Gods impact the lives of men, perhaps the nature of heros intrigued the ancient greeks because they were men that flirted with deity-like status, they established these trademark characteristics, fought monsters made by the God's and sometimes attempted to defy their will and stand up to them. Oedipus proved to be a God among men, yet fate still would end him in tragedy, this hubris and denial of prophecy inflicted pain upon him as it did pharaoh.
and trends that epitomize the culture, beliefs, and ideals of the Ancient Greek Society. One such trend lies within the design of the Greek Hero paradigm, this serves as a common thread between classical heros and the aspects within serve as a 'litmus test' as to a character's heroic identity. Some such aspects of the Hero paradigm include, a troubled birth and struggle with father, generally a bout with a monster, some type of hamartia, and so on. One such character that falls into this paradigm Oedipus the Tyrant, a tragic character cemented in literature by Sophocles. Other cultures have different criterion for measuring heros and such, an arguable "hero" of one such culture or belief is the Old Testament's Moses. Moses embodies many of the traits necessary to facilitate the title of hero and parallels to Oedipus in many areas of the paradigm, while also distinguishing himself as a champion of the Jewish faith.
The history of both cultures becomes important when explicating
the motivation behind the congering of the characters of Oedipus and Moses and/or the events within their lives. The Greek culture was one of newfound humanism and discovery, reflected within their art and literature. Mighty Gods and heros like Heracles, Odyseus, and Oedipus served as models for Greeks to strive for, and their pitfalls and tragic elements as aspects to avoid, such as hubris and contention with the Gods' will. The Old Testament on a whole serves a myriad of purposes, from establishing law and morality, to instilling pride and joy in the faith, and finally to give hope to those persecuted and in longing. Oedipus Rex before being transcribed was passed through an oral tradition, likewise the Septuagint and books of the Old Testament were orally given from generation to generation. The people of Israel were not apart from witnessing turmoil, persecution, slavery, and occupation throughout their history, hence psalms of hope, and in particular the story of Moses leading God's people out of slavery at the hands of the powerful Egyptians attempts to assuage any plight the Israelites might have been facing.
The initial point of the Hero paradigm deals with the birth and
identity struggle thereafter. A complex arises where at birth a hero must face some sort of adversity. Oedipus is born with a stigma surrounding him that he is to kill his father and sleep with his mother, therefore he is moved at birth away from Laius and Jocasta his birth parents out of fear that this prophecy will be seen to fruition.
Egypt begins to grow weary of the ever-multiplying Israeli population, therefore the Pharaoh decides that hard labor and birth laws shall be enacted to discourage the people and limit their posterity. Females were allowed to be born but males were to be murdered, many were thrown into the Nile. Moses's parents Amram and Jochebed of the tribe of Levi are forced to hide and soon after abandon their child for his own safety. Moses is later found by Pharaoh's daughter at her bathing place. At this point Moses's is accepted into Egypt as her son and thereafter confusion within his personal identity arises. "Moses received a thoroughly Egyptian training, and was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians." (Keil-Delitzsch 430) This education no doubt fostered an assimilation into Egyptian culture, but would later be quashed by his yearning to be with his people. This inhibition of difference from Egyptians and identification with the Israelites would be exuded immensely in his murder of one of Pharaoh's soldiers.
"The education of Moses at the Egyptian court could not extinguish the feeling that he belonged to the people of Israel. Our history does not inform us how this feeling,... was fostered still further after he had been handed over...this consciousness broke forth at length in the full grown man in the slaying of the Egyptian who had injured a Hebrew..." (Keil Delitzsch 430)
Both heroes establish as a goal early on not to afflict their heritage. Oedipus becomes increasingly curious about his birth, (an intricacy to be discussed later) and thus upon hearing flees out of love for his mother and father. In accordance with the point of trying to help his 'blood,' Oedipus pledges he will do whatever he can to help ease the plight of the Thebians, ironically his real brethren. Moses upon seeing the pain and suffering of his people decides to devote his life, (with divine intervention) to serving the injustices his people must endure.
Another component of the hero dynamic lies within the fatal flaw, the hamartia, the character niche that limits a hero or attempts to set him back. Moses seemingly lacks this, it can be debated that when he breaks the tablets containing the commandments and when he kills the guard that he is perhaps rash in his actions and consumed by overzealousness and fervor. Furthermore Moses arguably never enjoys the "promised land," and is lossed in the desert for 40 years with the at-the-moment disingenuous Hebrew nation. However Moses never is defined by the tragedy and irony that embodies and riddles the tale of Oedipus.
'Aristotle attributed the downfall of Oedipus to his hamartia, which can be attributed possibly to three reasons: mistakes made concerning his personal identity, vain curiousity in consulting the oracle, pride in refusing to yeild to the oracle's prophecy, and his violence in attacking the four men on the road. Or moreover the title and action of Oedipus as a tyrant, which Sophocles reminds the reader is akin to failure of character.' (Hackett xxv) Moses perhaps didn't meet the same scrutiny and miserable end of Oedipus due to the struggle of his people and need for a complete hero, and the fact that by receiving the commandments of God, Moses almost became law and morality for the Hebrew people.
Next there lies obstacles and feats that the heros must conquer to gain such a status. Commonly throughout Greek mythology there is an adversarial relationship or encounter and a monster or an astounding league or army, and also with an embodiment of feminimity. This link between cultures, the abandonment of feminity perhaps stems from Freud's theories specifically centered around Oedipus. Oedipus fears that in participating in incestuous acts with his mother maybe there would be a penalty of castration, and some critics believe that his self blinding is an expiatory symbol of self castration due to his intense guilt and self loathing. (Hay 8) Within most literature heros are defined with extreme masculine qualities, which also entails an abandonment and almost beligerent attitude toward what society accepts as feminine. Oedipus defeats the sphynx, a female, and combats feminity and castration in anyway possible. Freudian psychology denotes a preoccupation with sexuality from birth, and also defines the fear of castration within males. Moses to a lesser extent than Oedipus displays this preoccupation with his circumsicion creating an issue, ""Behold, the people of Israel have not listened to me; how then shall Pharaoh listen to me, who am a man of uncircumcised lips?" and he is described as the "bridegroom of blood" at a circumcision. Both are definitively masculine in nature yet the Greek Hero paradigm contains a more combative relationship with feminimity.
The second part of Freud's theories entailed a hatred toward one's father. Oedipus while never consciously experiencing this does in fact kill his father unknowingly while traveling. Likewise a conceivably fainter correlation is made to Moses rising up against Egypt. Egypt and Pharaoh, act as surrogates to Moses, neither biologically or spiritually do they provide a paternal nature yet, he still rises up against his arguable homeland and adopted father, Pharoah.
As aforementioned both were champions of the people and their struggles mirror eachother yet contrast in closer detail. Upon defeating the sphinx, Oedipus then strives to discover the cause of the plague amongst his people, causing havoc. Ironically the cause is him, the cause he vows to avenge and destroy is actually himself; a poignant play on the inner battle of self identity within the hero paradigm. Conversely through God, and his own personal leadership Moses will liberate the Hebrew people, by using plagues against the egyptians: locusts, nile full of blood, death of first born sons...etc...Within these hurdles there is also a difference made between the Greek Gods that have doomed Oedipus to this fate, and the God of Moses that cares for his people that he has made a covenant with. Moses deviates a little from the paradigm in this fashion, while part of the dynamic in most cases is to have Gods that are for and against the hero, God acts through Moses. Heracles, Achilles, and Oedipus struggle with a hero bravado that they are keepers of men and amorphous and ambiguous with their nature to the Gods.
Humanism and historical context distinguish the ideals of heros. Moses leaves the riches of Egypt and the Pharoahs court, to toil in the injustices bestowed upon his true people. Moses is a man, and will come to be a leader of the faith, yet the old testament makes it clear that it is through God, that miracles are done, and later on into the new testament that salvation is acheived. While the Gods impact the lives of men, perhaps the nature of heros intrigued the ancient greeks because they were men that flirted with deity-like status, they established these trademark characteristics, fought monsters made by the God's and sometimes attempted to defy their will and stand up to them. Oedipus proved to be a God among men, yet fate still would end him in tragedy, this hubris and denial of prophecy inflicted pain upon him as it did pharaoh.