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Essay / Athenian citizens believed they had no will in life, but instead faced a lack of free will and choice as they struggled with the presence of oracles and belief in fate. They accepted that deities could predict the future and select individuals as intermediaries who could access this information and communicate it to the population. The limits and possibilities of knowing the future pose a problem for the definition of free will. The tragedy Oedipus Tyrannus, first performed in 429 BC and written by Sophocles, examines an era of blurred boundaries between supreme knowledge and man upon the discovery of truth. Sophocles' speech becomes the basis for the techniques and assertions formulated by Aristotle in the Poetics and Longinus in On the Sublime, in order to understand transgressions and limits. The pursuit and acquisition of knowledge, as the main barrier that frames the play, violates the didactic interest, as Oedipus falls into the tragedy of his destiny, unable to thwart or escape the wickedness that threatens him, questioning the existence of choice, and thus, ethical significance. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Riddles, being intentionally formulated to require wisdom to solve, force man to question his capacity for intelligence. The desire for answers remains consistent with the character of Oedipus seeking to resolve the question posed by the Sphinx, as well as with his quest for knowledge of himself. According to Aristotle, coherence is necessary for tragic character and demonstrates probability (Poetics, 54a27-30). The problem solver will therefore always be able to solve problems. The answers to the riddle of the Sphinx and the riddle of who Oedipus really is are parallel in the eradication of the inquisitor (“Oedipus the King,” 451, 1288). The myth of Oedipus, once revealed, ultimately leads to his demise. This continuity suggests a world that is not static, but rather constantly redefining itself and its inhabitants. In order to obtain the knowledge necessary to solve the challenges, Oedipus himself claims that the Sphinx "cried to a prophet" to solve his problem. riddle, reinforcing the idea that only the prophet has the capacity to transgress the limitations that the omniscient can obtain (448). The transgression available in the prophetic and magical erases previous boundaries in order to reconstruct and redefine meanings. As these limits and boundaries are removed, their concepts seem to disappear completely. Nietzsche explains the popular belief that "a wise mage can only be born from incest..." because unnatural beings can only obtain wisdom that transgresses boundaries that humans cannot (The Birth of Tragedy, 68 ). Oedipus' unnatural prophetic and magical powers that shattered both the present and the future were not obtained by effort, but rather predetermined by prophecy. His ability to realize his desires and acquire knowledge was decided before his birth and not secondary to actions of his own will. The main function of tragedy is to allow the audience to purge their emotions of pity and terror, and thus the tragedy. must arouse these feelings by employing an error in a human that resembles society and its errors (Poetics, 52b8-10). Naturally, Oedipus adopts the hamartia of a desire for success in the acquisition of knowledge, ultimately leading to his ultimate defeat (“Oedipus,” 432). By definition, the character sought is one who is constantly in action. However, the actions.
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