Theme Of Vices In Greek And Hebrew Mythology

Napoleon Bonaparte once spoke, “Men are more easily governed through their vices than their virtues.” Tragically, he spoke truth, as men can’t help but respond when their sins call out. The evils in the world stem from the evils in individuals. This can be applied to not only modern society, but to the ancient world as well. In classic lore, the source of tragedy can almost always be traced back to the unscrupulous qualities of man and god, alike. Suffering is a common theme in Greek and Hebrew mythology in order to warn mankind of the consequences of their lethal vices. Both gods and mankind cannot resist the lure of hubris; it is the universal hamartia. The serial killer of the ancient world, hubris leaves nothing but carnage in its wake.
In Greek mythology, Niobe was a queen and mother of seven daughters and seven sons. She believed herself to be far superior to Leto, mother of the immortal twins, Apollo and Artemis. Niobe should not have been so self-assured as to think herself on the level of a goddess, and she paid ever so dearly. Enraged as this upstart, Leto unleashed her wrath and ordered Apollo and Artemis to kill all fourteen children of Niobe. Seeing the devastation caused by her actions, Niobe began to weep and would not move. Eventually, she turned into a rock. All of the suffering could have been avoided, had Niobe and Leto not had egos bigger than Olympus. However, Leto is not the only one to suffer from this condition.
Zeus also thought himself to be the best, but at least he was the king of the gods. Although, his status didn’t do him much good when it came to the wrath of his wife. Zeus, the eternal cheater, picked the wrong wife when he married the goddess of marriage. Above all, Hera valued commitment; the one promise thing her husband could not give her. Time and time again, Zeus would have an affair, and it usually resulted in the birth of a child. Zeus being an immortal, Hera could not exact the revenge on him, and turned to the countless women. In one version of Semele’s story, Hera tricks Zeus into killing Semele himself. After giving birth to Dionysus, Hera took Semele’s form, and asked Zeus to reveal to her his true form. Zeus agreed, and Semele was vaporized. Occasionally, Zeus succeeded in hiding his lovers from Hera. In these cases, she turned to the children. Heracles is one of these children who truly felt Hera’s fury. As a baby, she tried to kill him with snakes. When that didn’t work, she later caused him to go into a frenzy. Racked with madness, he killed his wife and children, causing him to complete the Twelve Labors of Hercules for redemption. Many blame the suffering on Hera’s wrath, and many on Zeus’ lust. At the heart, the fault was on
both. At the root of any vice is the fight for control, to overcome the temptation, which is a vice itself. In Hebrew mythology, God gives Adam and Eve a single rule: do not eat an apple from the tree under any circumstances. However, the first humans clearly needed some work on impulse control, as they later ate apples. From their lack of impulse control comes the original sin, the depravity of humans. Because of this vice, Adam and Eve condemned themselves, as well as their descendants, to unneeded suffering. Temptation makes another occurrence is Greek mythology, in the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. When his wife died, Orpheus struck a deal with Hades to save her. As long as he didn’t turn around on the way back, Eurydice would be returned to him. Throughout the trip, Orpheus would call out to his love to make sure she was still there. He was almost to the end when he could no longer hear her response. It was the only condition, but Orpheus couldn’t resist. Eurydice was lost to him forever. So common a theme, one would think that humans had learned from history. Alas, it seems they are doomed to repeat it. In an effort to deter mankind from committing further indiscretions, Greek and Hebrew mythology often entertain themes of suffering to warn readers. George Santayana once wrote, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Writers of the ancient world hoped that if they could write and share the knowledge of those who cave to their vices, then the world would grow wiser and become a better place. For the world to lose its wickedness, man must relinquish it first.