The role the Greek gods play in the plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides

In ancient Greece, the role of gods is so important that without them the story almost does not exist. Therefore their role is of particular significance because it is upon these gods the people placed their faith and their belief as to what they were supposed to do at a particular time. It is also upon these gods that the people’s behaviors and ways of living are controlled and influenced. The gods are the basic elements of Greek mythology and they are the ones worshipped thus their importance in the lives of the society at that particular time. These gods included Zeus who is considered to have been their leader among other gods like Poseidon, Demeter, Athena, Hera among others.

In the play of Aeschylus, we realize that the role of God is of a very significant aspect. In this play, we see how king Agamemnon was compelled to sacrifice his daughter for the sake of his assurance that he will travel safely to the city of troy. This shows how the people of greek were fully dependent on the gods and how they could even go to the extent of human sacrifice for the sake of pleasing these gods. Therefore from this example of king Agamemnon, we get to know that the gods were of utmost importance in realizing and determining what a person would do and that they needed for the sake of their lives and their families.

Clytemnestra also goes to the palace and lights a fire at the altar of the gods. Here he begins to invoke the gods and thanks to them for the victory. He especially thanks Zeus for ensuring their victory and this is of paramount importance. He also talks to the people and how they should observe the ordinances which had to be followed to please the gods and that the people should never do anything to make the gods displeased as this would make their lives miserable when the gods decide to show their anger upon the people. This is of paramount importance and people obey and believe that these gods will always protect them in everything they do. Therefore the people firmly believe that these gods can bring them the success of destruction in that if they do well they get success but if they do badly they get negative feedback from the gods and lack of support as well.

In Sophocles, the gods are seen as controlling the lives of Thebans in almost everything they do. The gods are mainly concerned with a person’s destiny in this text. This is because many characters want to live their lives freely and who think that they can overpower the gods but this does not happen and what the gods have prophesied happens at the end of it all. This is a sign that the gods are powerful and they control the lives of human beings. Thus the best thing to do is to respect and honor them. This is depicted in the behavior of Jocasta whereby she thought she had the powers to change the will and the prophecy of the gods by tying her son who was prophesied to kill her husband. Even though she thinks that this will prevent what the gods prophesied it still happens and she is angry at it. Therefore the gods can be said to be the destiny makers of the people of Greece in those particular times because they are the most important part of their lives.

In this text we see gods portrayed as bad and they are defamed. This is because they tried to destroy him and his family for no reason. This is a contradiction of what is commonly believed that gods are good and they cannot cause unnecessary pain to someone. This they do by telling Oedipus of his destiny through the oracle of Apollo, they also bring a plague to the people of Thebes which are unlike the gods. Even though Oedipus tries to convince the people that what happens around his life is not his fault it is very difficult for the people to understand and therefore this acts to portray what is seen as the gods failing and the blame being placed on Oedipus.

Demeter was one of the gods in the text about Euripides. She was able to change her form and prevent herself from growing old and therefore beauty was ever around her as she remained young. In Euripides as well as in Sophocles there is no escaping the gods and what they want happens at the end of everything as they are seen to be destiny makers. This is seen in Euripides through the killing of Pentheus. This is because he tries to maintain a certain order against the will of Bacchae who is the god. Therefore in this case we get to see that the gods were very wise and no human mind of efforts could overpower them.

In conclusion, we can say that the human nature to have a sense of belonging was satisfied during the Greek times by the presence of the gods whom they worshipped and gave their allegiance to. It is also evident that the gods liked obedience and being considered the overall. However, this nature can be said to have made the gods more than powerful and proud; this is because even though they are all-powerful and ever knowing and yet they can help the people be better they at times destroy the lives of the people intentionally which is against the will of the people.