One Giant Leap Where Mankind Has Been Before

Oedipus the King. Antigone. Electra. Greek Tragedies, all of them, and classics in the best sense of the word. The plots are thousands of years old, but the messages and feelings they evoke are as current as ever. Some historians of literature have claimed that our ancient Greek and Roman ancestors wrote every plot imaginable, and that we're just copying and modernizing them. Debateable, of course, but for a "primitive" society, the themes they developed are very complex and seemingly timeless.

They're all tragedies, so none of them end well for the main characters. But we, the audience, can gain wisdom and insight at their expense. Which is as the author, Sophocles, intended.

Oedipus the King has committed several terrible crimes unbeknownst to anyone, including himself. As he unravels the mystery of his history and legacy, he comes to know and understand his transgressions. The gods deliver their divine justice upon him and his loved ones, as they always intended, but he also suffers by his own hand, as well as the people of Thebes.

Antigone, Oedipus' daughter, mourns the loss of her dear brothers, and struggles against an increasingly tyranic ruler. She argues that the law and will of the gods will always supercede the will of kings and queens. She eventually pays with her life. To late the tyranic ruler realizes his errors of going against what is right; he loses his son and wife to sorrow and outrage over the death of Antigone.

Electra is overcome with sorrow by the murder of her father at the hands of her mother and her new lover. Although her mother argues that death of her father was necessary and right because of his actions, she retorts that murdering a father and husband is never right, and her mother will eventually have to face her crimes. That time comes when Electra's brother arrives back from a long journey, and he doles out retribution by killing his mother and step-father.

Excellent stories, and the lessons are applicable today as they would have been in ancient Greece. These have been greatly simplified versions, but I encourage anyone interested to investigate them further. There are some wonderful online resources for them if you are unable to find a copies of Sophocles' great plays.