The Theban Plays of Sophocles (The Yale New Classics Series) Paperback – October 27, 2009

The will of man consists of choices. I want to get rich. I want to get married. I want to be a king. The act of choosing is the result of the mind acting on the will. In making choices, one experiences control and in control the will is determined.# The metaphysical question then rises in the Theban tragedies by Sophocles in that choices of man are prophesied by the divine yet the strong will of man is in constant conflict with fate, or the divine will. The tension of these dramas explore the prophesied fate of Oedipus, his daughter Antigone, and other characters of the Theban royal house. As Sophocles allows the tragedies to explode into the scenes, the question of whether events are directed by divine will or man’s will permeate the drama. Aristotle’s concept of the Unmoved Mover is the metaphysical context behind the play# God is the deity that created man yet has no involvement with man although man seeks involvement with the creator. So the definition of free will as explored by Sophocles struggles with how the choices of man seem to be in search of the will of the divine while the divine openly rejects the created. Sophocles explores the possibility that free will, although a part of divine will, is not necessarily independent of divine providence.The Greek understanding of human interaction with the gods reveals that the gods have control over humans, although humans imagine their own control. Ode I of Antigone explores the question of free will versus fate. Man has the power and will to accomplish anything he wishes, yet the gods bless or curse the actions of man based on their pleasure or dishonor. Sophocles explores the dichotomy of good actions, good results, and bad actions, bad results. By honoring the gods, Creon’s city of Thebes is blessed, yet when he ignores the gods, Thebes is in turmoil.#Sophocles in his first tragedy of the three tragedies, Oedipus Tyrannos, explores the tension between the will of man and the will of the divine. Oedipus remarks in his dialog to find the source of Thebes’ troubles states, “That would, of course, be convenient. But one cannot force the gods — unless they choose — to do as we’d like.” # This statement clearly shows that although man has free will to make choices, ultimately those choices are determined by the will of the gods. Notice however that the gods are not portrayed as puppet masters making choices for man. Man is free to choose. Man is free to will whatever he wishes. But even in that freedom comes the recognition that man wishes to be in alignment with or avoid totally the will of the divine. Free will and divine providence are compatible but in a beautifully complex way.Free will is a complex truth. It is a riddle. Tiresias says as much to Oedipus, “Today shall be your parent and your gravedigger.” The back and forth banter between the two following this statement imply that answers to the future of men and the will of the divine are intertwined in a puzzle that is not easily deciphered.# Oedipus is an expert at solving riddles. This is what brought him to power in Thebes. So it is no surprise that Sophocles uses this character trait to build into a great tragedy.Oedipus was born for grief. His life intended to be tragic from the beginning.# This is evidence then that some divine power is the source of man’s fate. Yet Oedipus’ life shows that freedom of will is what drove him. Rather than being a puppet, Oedipus lives a life of choice. He chooses to discover the truth of his birth despite Jocasta’s plea to stop.# He chooses where to live and how to pursue happiness.Yet in the end, his free will is revealed to be directed by the gods.# All his desires result in false ends.“Alas! The generations of men in their effort, honor, achievement, their pride... and in the end it comes to nothing. What man, after chasing all his life for the shadow of happiness, can claim more than a moment’s illusion? Oedipus, your fate is a chilling example. You had everything that makes for happiness, and in a moment, it’s gone.”#Sophocles struggles with what free will appears to be. Oedipus and the citizens of Thebes concede to immediate circumstances as evidence of happiness or tragedy. Solving one puzzle at a time determines the outcome of the moment. However, at the end of the tragic story of Oedipus Tyrannos, the truth is discovered concerning the tension between man and the divine.“FIRST CHORISTER: Men of Thebes, see what a rain of catastrophes comes on Oedipus here. He answered the Sphinx’s riddle and he was the man to whom we turned in admiration and envy. Look at him now.SECOND CHORISTER: Call none among mortals fortunate until he has passed on without grief from this dangerous world.”#Free will, although evident in the lives of men, is ultimately dependent on the will of the divine. In order for the mind to control the choices of the will, then the mind must be in alignment with the source of the desired end of all action. If happiness and good are desired, then control of the mind must be after the source of all that is good, the divine will of God. If tragedy is the end desire, then alignment with evil is required. Evil is deceitful and man must be cautious. Discernment of choices make for a true alignment between good and evil. The end will always determine the action that leads to the happy or tragic end.Defining the power of free will in light of the providence of the divine is the puzzle man must solve. Free will is first initiated by the eternal immovable mover and not by the movable created. Although man is in motion as his actions and decisions playout, the eternal divinity began the motion. Man is part of divine providence yet has freedom within providence to act and to will.Works CitedEdwards, Jonathan. The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Volume 1. (published 1834). B&R Samizdat: Kindle edition. 2010.Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., Great Books of the Western World: Complete 60 Volume Set (Encyclopaedia Britannica Great Books, 2007), <[...]> ( 6 February 2013).Slavitt, David R translator. The Theban Plays of Sophocles. New Haven: Yale University Press. 2007.

This is certain to become the new standard translation of Sophocles' Theban Plays. Slavitt brings with him decades of writing and translation experience to make an excellent new version of these classics. He uses mostly blank verse, which has the stately quality one expects from the Oedipus plays. Slavitt has struck a difficult balance between remaining faithful to the original and translating it for a contemporary audience.