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What can Writers Learn from

Ancient Greek Tragedy?
March 5, 2019
|

Pierce & Partum

 
Greetings, Word Weavers!
 
Now, I'm not going to hide it, I am a huge history buff and have always
adored the tragedies from classical antiquity. 
 
They are, after all, ancient. So, by that logic, there must be some hidden
formula modern writers can take from them, right? 
 
I mean, we live in an age where a tweet can last only 15 minutes before
disappearing into cyberspace forever, so the fact that these stories have stood
the test of time on word of mouth alone is quite frankly the best feat a
storyteller could ever achieve.
 
Their stories are often ludicrous, crass and on top of it all, unabashedly
fantasy by modern standards, but that's exactly what makes ancient myth so
fascinating to me as a writer.
 
By looking at the devices they used to tell their stories, we can perhaps
replicate that everlasting formula and see for ourselves how to tell tales that
will last the millennia too!
 
This is what we as writers can learn from ancient Greek tragedy.
 
Note: If you are here for the free infographic, it's located at the bottom, past
all this interesting free information. :)
 
Note II: Most of the terms here were developed and expressed by the
wonderful Greek Philosopher, Aristotle, so a big shout out to him. I don't
know him personally - he's a friend of a friend - so please don't ask me for his
details.
 

 
 
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means I may earn a very small commission from any sales made. This doesn't
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recommend services and items I enjoy and use myself. Please feel free to
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As storytellers, it is our job to create characters that resonate with the reader
on an emotional level.
 
That means creating decidedly human characters, rather than one
dimensional plot devices.
 
Now the Greeks, in all their Greekly wisdom, used a technique
called Pathos, popularised by none other than Aristotle himself, which
involves drawing an emotional response from the audience towards a
particular character by giving them endearing traits.
 
For example...
 
If a mother is reading the story, she will resonate with a character with the
same maternal tendencies. A teenager, on the other hand, will associate with
someone of the same belief that they are always completely and
unequivocally right.
 
And so on, so forth...
 
In summary, using Pathos effectively is the first step to creating a dynamic
and effective character that will endear them to your readers.
 
However, the Greeks weren't all for the endearment of their heroes. Oh, no,
no, no. Far to the opposite in fact! They often imbued them with
characteristics that they knew the audience members would despise.
 
Which leads us onto our next term...
 

 
You don't tend to hear Hamartia thrown around in storytelling these days,
but trust me, it's there.
 
Conversely, you probably have heard someone say: "Oh well, we're only
human." 
 
Well, it's pretty much the same thing.
 
Hamartia can have two different effects on a character, depending on your
intention for that character in the long run.
 
For the ancient Greeks, Hamartia was used to spell doom for a character. It
was an omen of a personality trait that did little in the way of endearing the
character to us.
 
To us modern day writers, however, Hamartia has a somewhat different
function.
 
Nowadays, we appreciate that even the best of characters are flawed, however
slightly. Some are arrogant, some too trusting, some clumsy - all of which
lead to situations that tend to spur the plot along.
 
If you fancy reading more about the different types of heroes and their
respective flaws, then check out my article on How to Craft a Nuanced
Protagonist.
 
For now, however, suffice to say that Hamartia, however severe, is a
exploration of character that can often yield some unyieldly plot
consequences.
 
Note: See Achilles heel for the more physical ramifications of Hamartia.
 

 
Here is one you have most likely heard of.
 
A very distinct form of Hamartia, Hubris is characterised as the defining
fatal flaw.
 
Sufferers include Achilles from the Illiad, Julius Caesar from
Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, and Mr Ismay, the architect of a certain
"Unsinkable" 20th century cruise ship.
 
The Greeks loved to hear their proud heroes boasting of their apparent
invincibility only to be brought down a peg or two, but nowadays that sort of
act is usually reserved for antagonists or Humbled Heroes such as Tony Stark
and Theon Greyjoy.
 
For a more in-depth explanation of this aspect of heroes and villains, do
check out my articles on How to Craft a Modern Hero and How to Write a
Nuanced Villain. 
 
Dramatic irony abound, Hubris as a storytelling device isn't going away any
time soon!
 

 
Here's a word that's so often interchanged with the word villain that it's
become a synonym. But they are actually, etymologically speaking, very
different.
 
Etymology - the study of the origin of words and my own
personal Hamartia.
 
Nemesis is an interesting word, as it actually derives from a deity from the
Greek Pantheon, named Nemesis, funnily enough.
 
Nemesis was the Goddess of Divine Retribution, and she was present
anywhere in ancient Greece where someone was up to no good.
 
Sidenote: This is what fascinates me about ancient history - it's perpetually
tied between both history and myth. After all, the word Myth in ancient
Greek translates to Word or Story. There was simply no separation between
the more overtly divine aspects and what we would call history. They are
stories that tell the history of a culture. End of Sidenote

And so, Nemesis, or Rhamnousia as she was sometimes called, became both

a storytelling technique to plague our fatally flawed heroes and a Goddess to
keep misbehaving citizens in line.
 
What a woman...
 
 
Hey, before we move on, I just wanted to quickly talk to you about a service
I've really come to rely on since I started this blog, and that's Grammarly.
 
In case you don't already know about Grammarly, it's a free browser
extension that checks your spelling and grammar in real-time on the go. Word
documents, web searches, emails, blog post, you name it!
 
It's quite honestly my favourite add-on right now, and has saved me so many
potentially embarrassing spelling errors that come with being a professional
writer.
 

 
So, if you're a writer and you fancy trying out a free extension, believe me,
it's a life saver and you won't regret it!
 

 
Moros is one of my favourite Greek deities, and consequently one of my
favourite aspects of storytelling.
 
Of course, you assume as you are reading a story that the story is
actually going somewhere... because that's what stories do.
 
They go from beginning to end.
 
That means that the concept of destiny can be easily inserted into most stories
involving a chosen one character or your by-and-by hero's journey plot-
line. 
 
Note: Psst... See the Prodigal Son section of my article, How to Craft a
Modern Hero or the entire How to Write the Hero's Journey article for
more on this.
 
Fate in ancient Greece followed similar lines, except instead of vanquishing
some great evil, they usually revolved around attaining eternal glory, and, in
some cases, Godhood. 
 
But what good is storytelling without some obstacles thrown into the mix!?
 
That is where Perepeteia comes in...
 
 

 
So, you have your ancient Greek hero plodding along his hero's
journey when, whoops, he's just gone and fallen victim to his
own Hamartia and experienced Perepeteia as a result.
 
Achilles has taken an arrow to the heel, Caesar has been stabbed by
his friends in the Senate House and Goliath was taken down
by David.
 
Of course, Perepeteia doesn't always result in death. It can also
happen near to the begin of many origin stories.
 
Just look at Tony Stark or Doctor Strange from Marvel Comics.
They both took a good ol' humbling and went on to do great things in
the long run!
 
In short, Perepeteia is a great way to bring about a pivotal point in
any character arc, either fatally or to spur that character onto future
heroism.
 

 
Now we have reached our concluding segment - and where better to end our
exploration of Greek storytelling lessons than with the Catharsis.
 
A Catharsis is quite a unique term. Where it is often interchangeable with
the conclusion or climax, it has a more emotional resonance than that.
 
Instead of simply wrapping up a plot, a Catharsis will imbue in the reader a
sense of pity towards the protagonist with the aim of providing them with
a moral to take away.
 
Let's use Doctor Faustus as an example. 
 
Faustus desired hell's magic (his Pathos), and wanted it at any cost
(his Hamartia.) So, he made a deal with the demon Mephistopheles in order
to attain that magic (His Hubris.)
 
When his time was up, Faustus was told he must live out the rest of eternity
in the pits of hell (his Perepeteia,) but, not before repenting
to Mephistopheles and the reader.
 
At this point in Faustus' story, you have grown to dislike his greed and
malice, but now that he is faced with the all-too human response to
damnation, you, the reader, cannot help but feel sorry for him.
 
And that is a Catharsis. Faustus has taught us that material wealth and
knowledge are nothing against the power of time. 
 
You see, whether we are talking of Doctor Faustus or simply The Tortoise
and the Hare from Aesop's Fables, the Catharsis of the story provides us
with a thematic moral to take away. That way, it's a story that stays with you
forever.
 
 
 
And there you have it, 6 lessons that writer's can learn from Ancient
Greek Tragedy.
 
I absolutely loved writing this article. As a major reader of classical literature,
this was a joy to finally share with all of you, and hope that comes across!
 
Anyway, do you know any more Greek terms still prevalent within today's
storytelling media? If so, do let me know down below!
 
Until next time!
 
All the best,
 
Joseph
 
Pierce & Partum
 

 
 
 Hi, I'm Joseph, and I'm a Publishing Consultant from England who's building his own publishing
company!
 
I also help talented creatives make a living from their writing. If you're one of those, then stick
around and let's get to work building your Online Empire!
 
Oh and subscribe to the Word WeaverWeekly Newsletter and you'll get access to all sorts of
writery Freebies!





Hi, I'm Joseph, and I'm a Publishing Consultant from England who's building his own publishing
company!
 
I also help talented creatives make a living from their writing. If you're one of those, then stick
around and let's get to work building your Online Empire!
 
Oh and subscribe to the Word WeaverWeekly Newsletter and you'll get access to all sorts of
writery Freebies!


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