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Why Should I Buy This Book?
David Chu
Special Contributor to Richer Resources Publications
Sophocles’ famous tragedy Oedipus the King ends
with Oedipus gouging his eyes out after he discovered he had killed his
father and married his mother. What happened to Oedipus after he abandoned
his kingdom? What did the ancient Greeks think about fate and destiny? Is
the story of Oedipus about fate? Was he given divine justice?
The Sophocles tragedy has several sequels, one of which
is Seven Against Thebes, by Aeschylus. But the story of Oedipus is
just part of a fascinating and tragic unfolding of the divine and mortal
shortcomings of a mythical Theban dynasty. The three great Greek tragedians
created several tragedies retelling parts of this dynasty’s legend and
brought forth vividly the intrigues and the complex human emotions involved
when human frailty reaches divine proportions.
Seven Against Thebes is the story of one brother against another, both sons of Oedipus. It is a continuation of the tragic family history of this infamous Theban dynasty. Aeschylus is at his best as he examines the circumstances, the raw emotions, and the eventual outcomes of a war in which there can be no winners. He is one of the earliest writers who see war for what it is—not glory, but agony and suffering. Seven Against Thebes is another masterful story by Aeschylus as he examines the injustice and the human costs when people go to war to settle their differences. If you are interested in understanding the tragedy of war, this is a must-read tragedy. Ian Johnston’s translation of Seven Against Thebes is by far the most readable translation for modern readers.
Greek Classics have long been the bedrock of a proper and
thorough education. Reading about the tracks and lives of our ancestors
cannot help but uplift us in our current life's path as it arms us with
lessons of the past. Tomes have been written on the subject, but to put it
in very modern, even economic terms, a recent article in the NY Times put it
into such a perspective with an article on what books one finds on the
shelves of the world’s most successful CEO’s. The article points out that
one doesn’t find “how-to-business books” on their shelves, but rather works
of philosophy, poetry, Greek classics, and other books of general knowledge.
This play can be previewed by following the link to the
preview page for this title.
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