الهرب من الواقع بين جنون العظمة والانتحار في مسرحية آياس لسوفوکليس

Abstract

This paper discusses the psychological conditions which motivethe human to megalomania (paranoia), a disease that makes him not tolerate anything detracts from his glory and fame which he gained because of his high social status or power or wealth, and this disease may be motive him to self-destruction and suicide. The researcher chooses the hero Aias, in his play of Sophocles, as a suitable character for this study; where Sophocles introduces this hero as a man who is motive by his high fame and military heroism to insulting the people and the gods because he didn’t receive a suitable share of the spoils after the war, and therefore the gods lead him to insanity and hallucinations: He slaughters a cattle, believing that he kills his rivals greeks and then return to his senses to see his disgraceful deed that provoked ridicule of the people. And so the famous hero of a great honor wanted to avenge for his honor and suicide away from people, believing his faith that "either life honorably or die with honor." The hero Aias wanted to escape from the fact that his honor is insulted by not proper appreciation for his courage, but he falls in hallucinations of his megalomania (paranoia) and committees a sin that polluted his honor and reputation among the people, and so he wanted to run away again from his reality and he found that the best way is the salvation of his life; where he couldn’t bear to live without the fame and the championship. The love of wealth or fame or social positions make a person waits more and longs for most, the case which makes him thinking foolishly and believes that he is higher and better than the others and therefore he begins to behave arrogantly; and finely he falls into sin and abuse of others, the case which calls the divine punishment and so this may lead him to selfdestruction and suicide. The studyanalyzes mainly the terms and expressions that display characteristics of personality between escape from reality and megalomania; to determine a function of these expressions as a driving forces of the dramatic events in the play.