In our culture, we might see "tyrannos" and think "tyrant" which
refers to a leader (e.g., a king) who is a cruel and unjust leader. He rules by force, through
fear, without benefit of a democracy. Tyrants are often seen as murdering rulers who take power
and sustain it through excessively harsh means.
However, during the
time of the early Greeks (and Oedipus was written by
Sophocles, a Greek), "tyrannos" could refer to anyone who came to rule through "unconventional"
means. The ruler was not necessarily one who was harsh or cruel, but who simply gained his power
in an unusual way.
Wikipedia.org provides the association of the
word in the early Greek culture:
In ancient Greece, tyrants were influential
opportunists that came to power by securing the support of different factions of a
carried no ethical censure; it simply referred to anyone, good or bad, who obtained executive
power in a polis by
unconventional means.
Therefore,
"tyrannos" does not indicate that Oedipus was a harsh or unjust ruler: the story shows that he
was a just man. His guilt over what he has unknowingly done causes him to blind himself and leave
the throne and his kingdom. "Tyrannos" indicates that Oedipus came to the throne in an unusual
way.
No comments:
Post a Comment