Greek
mythology has some of the most disturbing stories in written literature. The
endless capabilities of human depravity are on full display. Yet despite the horror
of these grotesque stories, they fascinate humans. Ideas behind some of these
myths continue to influence present day modern media. The strength of these stories
lies not in the grotesque gore, but in the Freudian mental depictions of
people. Freudian theory splits the human mind into three categories: Id,
Superego, and Ego. The Id is the base, animalistic part of the mind that
desires pleasure. The Superego is a system of morals and values from society incorporated
into one’s identity to encourage socially acceptable behavior. The Ego works
the middle ground trying to rationally satisfy the Id in the safest way. All
three categories work in combination to produce the human condition. Three
particular Greek myths that illustrate the dynamics of Freudian psychology are Euripides’
Bacchae, Seneca’s Thyestes, and Ovid’s Metamorphoses. From these myths are
three characters: Pentheus, Atreus, and Myrrha. Each suffers from an
overwhelming Id that disrupts other sections of the mind.
Pentheus’ insanity in the Bacchae
demonstrates the failure of the Ego. When Pentheus first appears, he comes with
the role of authority. As king of Thebes, he is responsible for maintaining
order within the borders of his kingdom. An important step towards maintaining
order is to know the actions of one’s subjects. Thus when Pentheus attempts to
hear about the peculiar “strange new evils” occurring, he is confining in the
socially acceptable role of leadership (Euripides, Bacchae, line 214). This act of statesmanship is his Superego on
full display. Underneath this authoritarian stance of strict order and
stability lurks Pentheus’ Id. Although the Ego tries to contain the Id, glimpses
of it peek out during the conversation between Pentheus and Tiresias. At the
end of their dialogue, Pentheus states, “For whenever the liquid joy of the
grape comes into women’s festivals, then, I assure you, there’s nothing
wholesome in their rites” (Euripides, Bacchae,
lines 260-2). This discussion about the maenads’ role in festivals comes from
out of nowhere. The sentence right before that was a low-key threat to toss
Tiresias into prison. Why did Pentheus go out of his way to talk about the
female bacchants? Because underneath that kingly exterior is a hidden mania for
women. Tiresias even notices Pentheus’ strange obsession with women and goes
afar as to say that Pentheus is insane (Euripides, Bacchae, lines 268-9). As the story continues, more of Pentheus’ sexual
obsessions leak out.
While Pentheus converses with
Dionysus, the Id continues to seep out of the Ego’s containment until it spills
out completely, taking over the body. The early signs of a loss of control are
evident in Pentheus’ consistent references towards women (Euripides, Bacchae, lines 487, 512-14, 676, 786,
796). He keeps bringing up the idea of promiscuous women even when discussing
the punishment of Dionysus, going as far as to suggest making the maenads his
slaves (Euripides, Bacchae, lines 512-14).
However, the Id trickling out in Pentheus’ first meeting with Dionysus does not
compare to the flood unleashed during the second meeting. At the second
meeting, once Dionysus gives the suggestion to “see those women,” Pentheus is
enveloped and transformed by his Id (Euripides, Bacchae, line 811). His previous sovereign position is nothing but
a fleeting vestige of his former self. He is turned into a cross dressing voyeur
with the desire to watch the maenads fornicating. The primitive urges of
pleasure won out over logic and reasoning.
Atreus’ hesitation about the revenge
plan against his brother, Thyestes, indicates the presence of the Superego. At the
beginning Atreus is shown as a cunning and malicious actor ready to murder his
own nephews in cold blood. Yet at the top of page 58 of Seneca’s Thyestes, he
is wracked with self-doubt. This sudden fear in his heart was the Superego
trying to maintain Atreus’ morality (Seneca, Thyestes, p. 58). Even after he calms down and proceeds to plan out
how he will lure Thyestes, he is again struck by his self-conscious (Seneca, Thyestes, p. 60). The Superego is making
a last ditch effort to deter Atreus. The self-conscious mortality within his heart
is screaming out for him to stop. However, he steels his nerves and presses on.
The Superego fails and as a result, Atreus’ Ego begins to fall in line with his
Id.
The final and ultimate act of
transformation for Atreus comes right before he slaughters Thyestes’ sons.
After he prepares the sacrafices, the palace is “rocked over the trembling
earth” and “tears drip from ivory in the temples” (Seneca, Thyestes, p. 76). While these signs are interpreted as the disfavor
of the Gods, they can also been seen as indicating the transformation of Atreus
into a beast. Indeed the text even highlights his new appearance as one akin to
a “hungry tiger in an Indian forest” (Seneca, Thyestes, p. 76). Atreus’ Id finally won out. He then proceeds to
murder Thyestes’ three sons in cold blood without any hint of remorse. Again he
is compared to an animal, this time a lion, to demonstrate his newfound bestial
nature (Seneca, Thyestes, p. 77). Gone
are the previous hesitations of the Superego that brought terror to his heart. The
Thyestean feast commences.
Myrrha’s ego faces a similar battle
between the mortality of the Superego and the desire of the Id. She secretly
lusts for her father, but understands how such desires are immoral. Her
Superego reflects society’s standards. Therefore it is quite telling that the
story of Cinyras and Myrrha opens with the line, “Cinyras; had he been
childless, he might have been a happier man” (Ovid, Metamorphoses: The Story of Cinyras and Myrrha, p. 243). The
society’s view of incestuous father-daughter relations is that it would have
been better for the daughter to never be born. According to this thought
process, Myrrha’s only effective solution would be suicide. However, she tries
to avoid taking that route by focusing all her effort on suppressing her
desires. She holds backs “this sin” through deep thoughts, wondering how this
passion of hers came to be and wishing for these “foolish fancies” to leave her
alone (Ovid, Metamorphoses: The Story of
Cinyras and Myrrha, p. 244-5). Her Superego applies continuous pressure
towards her Ego to prevent her from acting upon her Id.
Despite all of Myrrha’s efforts, she
finally gives into her lust for her father. She is pushed to this breaking point
over time, which results in a complete collapse of her Superego. For a while
she managed to hold on by suppressing her desires through introspection. However,
once Myrrha could take it no longer she was led once again to her last fatal
choice. The nursemaid who prevents Myrrha from committing suicide came at the
opportune moment when the Superego was in shambles. Thus, the Ego had full
reign for the moment. The Ego’s priority was survival and Myrrha was looking
for a way out besides suicide. She ended up telling her tale to the nursemaid,
who functioned in a similar manner to the Ego by allowing Myrrha to satisfy her
Id.
All three characters, Pentheus, Atreus, and Myrrha
demonstrate the Freudian battle among the Id, Superego, and Ego. Pentheus’ Ego
was overcome by his overwhelming Id. His own sexual desire was projected on
others. In the end, he became a victim of his own primal urges. Atreus’
Superego came out in an active attempt to prevent him from committing a
horrendous atrocity against his brother. Unfortunately, he strengthened his
heart and committed himself to ignoring the voices of mortality within himself.
The result was Atreus’ transformation into an animalistic beast, only capable
of craving revenge. Myrrha differed from both Pentheus and Atreus because her Ego
managed to satisfy her desires without being consumed by her Id. Thus, all was
well till her father finally discovered her true identity. The internal
conflicts within these characters demonstrate the powerful Freudian forces that
humans face when making vital decisions.
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