The Assignments
In Statius’ Thebaid we saw that Tiresias drew upon the past to provide insight into the future. Keeping this in mind, write a blog post from the perspective of the blind prophet in modern day America. Consider the following: Who would ask for your (Tiresias’s) wisdom? Who would you resurrect in order to give perspective on the current state of America and its future? Are there biases in your choices or are you absolutely impartial?
After reading about how Tiresias handled Creon and the sacrifice of Menoeceus, what is your opinion of Tiresias and his actions? What might he have done differently, and how might that have resulted?
Create a short movie on the actions and qualities of Tiresias. What has he done that made him famous? What is he good at? What is he bad at? How do others perceive him? Be creative.
Tiresias is a blind prophet, who has more insight than fully able people. Additionally, at the end of Oedipus the King, Oedipus also becomes blind revealing a different set of characteristics. Think of other blind, or disabled mythological and fictional characters. Write a two page paper analyzing how is this trait used illustrate a character attribute.