The myths of
Oedipus, Prometheus and Antigone are examples of psychoanalysis in storys
containing the Ancient greek religion. Freud is one of the main psychoanalytic
theorists of all time. He brought the analysis of the psyche and the analysis of
the mind together to form psychoanalysis. Freud's analysis of Sophecles'
Oedipus is his most prominent and famous piece of work because it has made the
greatest impact on society. Freud seemed to be more fascinated by the context
of the myth more than anything else which involved the main character, Oedipus,
killing his father and marrying his mother. This lead Freud to famously claim
that, 'it is the fate of all of us, perhaps, to direct our first sexual impulse
towards our mother and our first hatred and our first murderous wish against
our father.' This shows Freud using this myth as a tool to explain the working
of man's psyche. The self blinding of Oedipus in the myth could symbolise our
ignorance and blindness to our unconscious desires or maybe our deliberate
refusal to acknowledge them. This insestual desire is seen in the Ancient Greek Gods way of life and could have influenced the writing of this play.The seeking of advice from the oracle at delphi (seen below) was an important part of the ancient Greeks religion and the inability to avoid the oracles message gives us an insight into how much fate was a part of the ancient Greeks lives.
The myth of Prometheus was also analysed by Freud, in this myth there is also a resentment shown towards a father figure because Prometheus resents Zeus (the father of the gods). In the scholarly article 'Freud on Prometheus', the symbolic meanings of certain aspects of the myth are brought to light. The first is the fennel stalk that Prometheus keeps the fire in; according to Freud this represents a penis. His reasons for this connection with a penis are that by reversing what is kept in the fennel stalk (fire), you end up with water. The penis is the organ used to evacuate water from the body, therefore according to Freud the fennel stalk is a symbol for a penis. In my opinion this theory is not convincing enough, it seems as though he has relied on the idea of opposites in order to make his theory seem legitimate.
One of the key questions that arises from Freud’s invention of psychoanalysis is what if psychoanalysis had chosen another myth? If Freud has chosen for example the myth of Antigone then our understanding of psychoanalysis would be very different in more than one way. Firstly the key themes in Antigone differ to those in Oedipus. In Antigone we see women going against men, religion against law and individual against sate. These themes concentrate more on the politics of the developing psyche which contrast with the themes of Oedipus which concentrate on impulses and drives. Therefore if Freud had chosen Antigone, psychoanalysis would be more concerned with ethics and responsibility. The second way in which choosing this myth would have changed psychoanalysis would be that Freud would have paid closer attention to the female psyche. The reason for this is due to the fact the character of Antigone is such a strong character in the myth that Freud would have been forced to include her in his analysis. However as we can see from the way that he totally ignored Jocastas suicide when it came to analysing the Oedipus myth and in his subsequent Oedipus complex theory it was probably a deliberate decision not to choose the myth of Antigone. This may have been due to his old fashioned and sexist attitude, which would mean that he would not have wanted to promote female behaviour in a positive way.
Bibliography
The routledge handbook of Greek Mythology, Robin Hard
Classical Mythology images and insights, Stephen L.Harris and Gloria Platzner
The complete world of Greek Mythology, Richard Buxton
A companion to Classical Mythology, Robert J. Lenardon and Mark P.O.Morford
http://library.thinkquest.org/28111/newpage2.htm
The myth of Prometheus was also analysed by Freud, in this myth there is also a resentment shown towards a father figure because Prometheus resents Zeus (the father of the gods). In the scholarly article 'Freud on Prometheus', the symbolic meanings of certain aspects of the myth are brought to light. The first is the fennel stalk that Prometheus keeps the fire in; according to Freud this represents a penis. His reasons for this connection with a penis are that by reversing what is kept in the fennel stalk (fire), you end up with water. The penis is the organ used to evacuate water from the body, therefore according to Freud the fennel stalk is a symbol for a penis. In my opinion this theory is not convincing enough, it seems as though he has relied on the idea of opposites in order to make his theory seem legitimate.
One of the key questions that arises from Freud’s invention of psychoanalysis is what if psychoanalysis had chosen another myth? If Freud has chosen for example the myth of Antigone then our understanding of psychoanalysis would be very different in more than one way. Firstly the key themes in Antigone differ to those in Oedipus. In Antigone we see women going against men, religion against law and individual against sate. These themes concentrate more on the politics of the developing psyche which contrast with the themes of Oedipus which concentrate on impulses and drives. Therefore if Freud had chosen Antigone, psychoanalysis would be more concerned with ethics and responsibility. The second way in which choosing this myth would have changed psychoanalysis would be that Freud would have paid closer attention to the female psyche. The reason for this is due to the fact the character of Antigone is such a strong character in the myth that Freud would have been forced to include her in his analysis. However as we can see from the way that he totally ignored Jocastas suicide when it came to analysing the Oedipus myth and in his subsequent Oedipus complex theory it was probably a deliberate decision not to choose the myth of Antigone. This may have been due to his old fashioned and sexist attitude, which would mean that he would not have wanted to promote female behaviour in a positive way.
Bibliography
The routledge handbook of Greek Mythology, Robin Hard
Classical Mythology images and insights, Stephen L.Harris and Gloria Platzner
The complete world of Greek Mythology, Richard Buxton
A companion to Classical Mythology, Robert J. Lenardon and Mark P.O.Morford
Holy Bible
with Apocrypha New Revised Standard Version
Theissen, G.
And A. Merz (1998) The historical Jesus: a comprehensive guide, London: SCM Press
Harris, Understanding the Bible, seventh
editionhttp://library.thinkquest.org/28111/newpage2.htm
Hesiod's Prometheus and
Development in Myth, E. F. Beall
The Oedipus Complex,
Antigone, and Electra: The Woman as Hero and Victim, Dorothy Willner
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