Tragic Heroes In Ancient Greek Literature

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Throughout ancient Greek literature, the deaths of main characters represented different values of the ancient Greek culture, which oftentimes, would deem characters tragic heroes. In fact, Karuna Misra, author of “The Tragic Hero Throughout the Ages”, explains the tragic hero of Greek literary works as “a man of distinction with some disproportionately good quality which leads to tragedy.” With regards to death, Robert Garland, author of “The Greek Way of Death”, writes that “Greek tragedy has more to tell us about the cult of heroes than that of the ordinary dead, but notwithstanding the greater status and power of the heroic dead.” In particular, one of the most notable characters of Homer’s, The Iliad, Hector, died selflessly out of loyalty …show more content…
For example, Oedipus is not honorable due to his hubristic personality, as seen with his trespass into the holy land of Eumenides. Oedipus’ asks his daughter what the strange place is and she responds with “the place is holy, green with bay, olive, and wind” (Paragraph 2) revealing that Oedipus had trespassed into a holy place. Also, Oedipus has more of a melancholy outlook on a life compared to Hector. In particular, Oedipus is haunted by the realization that he killed his mother and married his father causing his mother to commit suicide. This sadness is evident when Oedipus explains that “longsufferingness I have learnt by much pain” (Paragraph 1). To worsen his suffering, Oedipus “faces the immediate prospect of death” (pg. 14 GWOD) with the prophecy whereas Hector does know where exactly when and where his death will be. Furthermore, death is a resolution which resolves the despair and conflict in Oedipus at Colonus. For Oedipus, death ends all the suffering he has endured whereas Hector’s death worsens the conflict in The Iliad because it amplifies the tension between the Trojans and Greeks and the need for revenge. Oedipus’ flaw of hubris and a life of suffering up until his death condemns him a tragic …show more content…
Qualities such as filial love, fate, and free-will create the shared bond of tragic hero between the two men. It is evident in both The Iliad and Oedipus at Colonus that Hector and Oedipus love and want the best for their children. Hector makes it apparent that he wants the best for his son when “he took his son and kissed him and prayed [...] that he be strong and brave, and rule over Troy” (6.87). Oedipus portrays this love through his words about “my only kindred these; these gave me love” (pg. 30 oedipus at colonus). Not only do Hector and Oedipus express filial love, but also fate and free-will. Hector’s fate rests in his decisions and he chooses to fight, therefore using his free-will and taking life and death matters into his own hands. Similarly, Oedipus can use his free-will to determine how much faith he puts into the prophecy, therefore his fate is also dependent on what he believes will happen to him. Misra writes that “the sense of heroic mortality and fate are the rudimentary qualities of a Tragic Hero” confirming these qualities that are associated with Hector and Oedipus as tragic heroes. The shared traits of filial love, fate, and free-will affirm Hector and Oedipus as tragic
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