Anel Hancocks

Explain how far you think the theme of family is more important in Sophocles' Oedipus the King than in
Euripides' Bacchae. Justify your response with close reference to both plays [30 marks]

The epicentre of Sophocles' and Euripides' storyline corresponds to dysfunctional households in which
both tragic heroes’ transgressions and hamartia escalate onto their lineage. Other themes linked with
kinship include distorted gender roles and the significance of women’s positions in the city. Both plays
also evoke the strong correlation between the polis and the oikos presented by Pentheus’ and Oedipus’
kingship of Thebes.

Based on Aristotle’s Poetics, tragedies assist in purifying the spectator’s fear and pity through their
performative approach and “embellished language.” Both Sophocles and Euripides utilize kinship as a
mechanism to intensify their play’s anagnorisis which subsequently amplifies the audience’s catharsis.
In both plays, the tragedies’ protagonists inflict suffering upon their households which they induce
through their fatal flaw. Distinctly, Oedipus’ hamartia is presented as an intellectual flaw rather than
solely being his arrogance. However, this conception is applicable to Agave as her mistake similarly
derived from her ignorance. Bernard Knox argues that Sophocles’ tragic heroes accumulate their
misfortune from their physis which they pursue until reaching their downfall. Oedipus illustrates Knox’s
claim through his pursuit of uncovering his identity, which ultimately causes considerable damage to his
environment. His essence’s obsession is illustrated by his dialogue "That is my blood, my nature-I will
never betray it/never fail to search and learn my birth" (1193-4). The play’s anagnorisis presents Oedipus’
fallibility in his knowledge and the inevitable consequences of his impalpable transgressions, which is
exemplified by the verse "Time has dragged you to the light/judged your marriage monstrous from the
start" (1341-2).
In Bacchae, Agave’s disenchanted delight in her murder heightens the play’s pathos enabling a greater
sense of purgation felt by the audience. This would provoke ancient audiences as children and parents
have a duty to protect one another. Just like Oedipus, Agave’s misplaced hubris to be glorified by the
bacchants for Pentheus’ execution demonstrates her unreliable understanding of her circumstances.
The play’s dramatic irony and Cadmus’ grief reinforces the pathos which is exemplified by Agave’s
distorted pride "Who will call [Pentheus] into my sight, to see how fortunate I am?" The fact that both
Agave’s and Oedipus’ ‘blindness’ results in their ancestral ties' misfortune, amplifies Oedipus’ and
Agave’s grief and emphasizes the audience’s catharsis.
Furthermore, both plays contain intergenerational conflict in which the characters assist in fulfilling the
nemesis of their kindred. In Oedipus the King, this could be demonstrated by Laius cursing his son,
Oedipus inflicting pain on his parentage which is demonstrated by Jocasta’s dialogue “that life that rose
up to destroy [Laius], leaving/ its mother to mother living creatures/ with the very son she'd born” (1376-
8), and Oedipus causing misfortune on his House "O the generation of men/the dying generation-adding
the total" (1311-2). Similarly, Bacchae contains the infliction of mutual suffering brought upon various
members of the Cadmus-Harmony lineage. This is exemplified by Agave’s and Pentheus’ relationship as
both characters unknowingly cause harm to one another and ultimately result in the families’
omnipresent misfortune. This is portrayed during Agave’s killing of Pentheus in which he replies to her
with "mother, and do not kill me, your son, for/my mistakes!" (955). Dionysus also acts as an agent of
imperceptible damage brought upon his family which is elucidated by Cadmus’ dialogue "lord Bromios,
who was born in our family, has destroyed us" (1080). In Euripides' play, Cadmus accepts his kinship’s
transgressions and faces the same fate as his descendants by deciding to ostracize himself, which
demonstrates the significant extent to which he’s been tainted by his proximity’s crimes. Cadmus refers
to the fact that faults committed by merely a small proportion of his lineage would generate his
household’s disintegration "terrible fate we have come to, all of us; you/poor old women, and your sister,
and myself, wretched as I am" (1178-9). Likewise, the damage Agave brought on Cadmus is presented by
her sorrow regarding her father’s fate. Cadmus’ verse describes her as " a swan protecting its weak,
white-feathered parents" (1187) which highlights her desire to protect her father and stay by his side as
swans proverbially care for their parents.

Women played a significant role in the oikos which fundamentally maintained the city’s stability yet, both
plays present distorted households and communities alongside unconventional female characters.
Swift’s argument regarding Clytemnestra's “[transgression] against gender norms, making herself the
head of her dysfunctional household” is analogous to Jocasta’s and the bacchants’ authority over their
flawed polis and household. In both plays, Thebes’ tyrants, Oedipus and Pentheus, perceive their
relationship with their city as a predominantly paternal bond. This could be illustrated during Bacchae’s
first episode when Pentheus views Dionysus' mockery as an attack on both him and his kingdom, which
he then follows by threatening to “Seize [the god]” (416). Additionally, the opening scene of Sophocles’
play presents Thebes’ civilization as children to Oedipus’ kingship which is exemplified by the Priest’s
dialogue “men of all ages clinging to your alters (...) your great family gathers now” (18-23). Nevertheless,
both rulers provoke their polis’ disintegration which incidentally results in the plays’ female characters'
interference.
Just as Clytemnestra gains control of her household, the bacchants prevail over Pentheus’ dysfunctional
ruling of his community, enabling them to dominate Thebes and place Pentheus in a subordinate
position. The maenads’ disturbance includes tearing down fully grown cows, bulls, and heifers to pieces,
demolishing “Thebans’ rich crops of corn” (625), nursing wild animals…etc. The choral ode underlines
that they’ve “turned everything upside-down” and Pentheus evokes the substantial damage they’ve
caused by comparing the bacchants' unruly activities to a fire which has “a terrible approach to Greece”
(647). The bacchants' third stasimon expresses their desire to flee Pentheus’ excessive authority which is
provoked by the usage of nautical imagery including “escapes the storm at sea and reaches harbour”
(763) and is also stimulated by comparing Pentheus to a hunter who menaces the chorus, which
themselves are represented as fawns (731). The maenadism of Bacchae illustrates the negative effects
of women renouncing their positions in the oikos, which is specifically pronounced when they abandon
their children, snatch other families’ infants, and end up nursing wolves and deers. The bacchants
disrupt their kinship and the polis, illustrating the significance of women’s position.
In Oedipus the King, Jocasta’s marriage is based on mutual respect which is prompted by Oedipus
stating that he holds a higher opinion of her than of the chorus of elders. He also justifies to Creon that
he “rules the land with Jocasta, with equal power” (647). Approaching the play’s kommos, Jocasta
prevails as she attempts to alleviate the conflict between Creon and Oedipus using a maternal and
authoritative tone such as “ashamed (...) to stir up private quarrels?” (710) and “honour the solemn oath
he swears to heaven/Do it for me, for the sake of all your people” (723). Likewise, before the play’s
revelation, apart from the divine and Tiresias, the queen is presumed to have the clearest understanding
of Oedipus’ background which is presented by the leader’s dialogue “Jocasta, she's the one to say”
(1154). The antilabe between Oedipus and the Shepherded reveals that Jocasta believes in prophecies
as the Shepherd establishes that she "was afraid-/of freighting prophecies" (1296-7) yet only presents a
deluded sense of optimism when faced with Oedipus' paranoia. Jocasta’s words of persuasion consist of
heavy dramatic irony which could be demonstrated by her dialogue "Take such things for shadows"
(1075) where the shadow contrasts with the play’s motif of light (truth). Likewise, Jocasta attempts to
control the dysfunctional household led by Oedipus by dismissing her son’s identity "talk, empty
nonsense, don't give it another thought" (1159) in order to protect her family and the city of Oedipus’
misfortunes which is shown by her verse "cleanse us, set us free of defilement (…) the pilot of the vessel
go to pieces" (1009-1011).

Regarding the men’s positions in the oikos, both plays’ tragic heroes could not fulfil their duties in their
public and private spheres of life. Swift’s reference to Euripides’ Hippolytus is analogous to Pentheus
since both men’s “refusal of Aphrodite [represented] a rejection of sexuality and hence adult
responsibility.” Throughout the play, Pentheus’s cynicism is demonstrated by associating the maenads
with Aphrodite which is illustrated in his character’s introduction scene with the dialogue “women creep
off (...) to serve the lusts of men (...) They claim to be maenads offering sacrifices, but they put Aphrodite
before the Bacchic god.” Pentheus’ rejection of the two major aspects of male Athenian identity –
marriage and fatherhood - has a significant effect on his family. This is made explicit by Cadmus’s sorrow
regarding the end of his lineage which is portrayed by his dialogue "son of my daughter, you held the
place together" and "Through him the house saw light again.” Swift’s argument concerning Hippolytus's
“[wish] to remain in a childlike state of innocence and [reject] the need for human life” is also applicable
to Pentheus as Cadmus evokes the striking political and marital aspirations he holds for his grandson.
Furthermore, Oedipus’ final monologue expresses his remorse, presented by the failure of his
fatherhood which he associates with his children and Thebes. Oedipus accepts his sons’ fate which is
indicated by his dialogue "the boys at least, don't burden yourself. They're men" (1600). However, he
understands that his daughters are placed in a significantly disadvantageous position because of his
actions. Oedipus claims that Ismene and Antigone will miss out on "public gatherings" and "banquets of
the clans" and conveys the polis’ expectations for women to provide heirs for the city which is elucidated
by his statement "You'll wither away to nothing/single, without a child" (1643). Additionally, Oedipus
depicts the relationship he holds with his city as a matrilineal bond, juxtaposing with his initial
relationship with Thebes. The city is personified as Oedipus’ maternal figure which is illustrated by "her
high towers (…) I, her best son, reared, I've striped myself” (1509-1511). The dialogue "never condemn
the city of my fathers/ to house my body" underlines the personal relationship he holds with Thebes.
Oedipus feels as though he doesn’t merit to inhabit his dynasty’s homeland and induce further damage
to his family and Thebes which results in his ostracization. Oedipus describes the harm he’s induced on
his family by describing himself as contagious since his transgressions have been inflicted upon the
entirety of his household. This could be portrayed by his dialogue “marriages, you gave me birth (...) you
brought my sperm rising back, springing to light fathers, brothers, sons - one murderous breed - brides,
wives, mothers” (1403-7).

Overall, it's plausible to argue that the theme of family is more pronounced in Oedipus the King than in
Bacchae as Euripides highlights issues regarding divine authority, democracy, and sophism. However,
both plays explore the themes of family and provide insight into ancient audiences’ notions of gender
norms and values as well as explore the interlinking between the household with the city’s social
structure. Likewise, both playwrights use family as the foundation of their play’s structure as it facilitates
the audiences’ catharsis as the characters in both storylines provoke their families’ downfall.