Suicide in Ancient Greece and Today

Suicide is the third leading cause of death in the state of Utah for minors(Francis B. Annor).  One would have to be ignorant to gloss over or downplay this rampant raise in the number of suicides today. There are several trends, ideations, and essentially “reasons” why people commit suicide today.  This paper will compare the similarities and differences in the reasons people take their own lives today, why they did in Ancient Greece, and what this reveals about these different societies.    Unfortunately, this decision to end one’s own life is not something only prevalent in the last century or even last 50 years.  Suicide has been plaguing man since the beginning of time, and there is definitely something to be learned from the experiences of those in Ancient Greece as well as today.

There are many scenarios and situations that correlate as to why someone might have suicide ideations, but for the sake of this paper the reasons that will be focused on are: false expectations, traumatic life experiences, and lack of a support system. First example that is seen of false expectations in Greek literature is in Homer’s poem Odyssey. In Book XI the main character Odysseus visits the underworld and meets a man by the name of Ajax, a well-known warrior(though slightly lesser known than his associates Achilles and Odysseus) who struggles with the expectations set for him by society, the gods, his peers, and himself.  Ajax fights nobly in the Trojan war, and even battles for his friends Achilles’ body and his god-made armor after Achilles is killed.  After this battle it is decided that the much-coveted armor will go to Odysseus instead of Ajax.  Ajax is distraught by this and impales himself with the sword.  Since this is Greek Literature written thousands of years ago, it’s impossible to know exactly what was going on in Ajax’s head, but from the context it can be deduced that he felt like he did not measure up to the unrealistic expectations.  An example of this in today’s society is found in Jane E. Brody’s article on suicide among college students in America posted in the New York Times. The article discusses the correlation between stresses college students experience and suicide ideation. At one point it offers some advice when it comes to the expectations that are felt by college students. It states, “…Don’t saddle students with unrealistic academic expectations. Even when parents don’t say so out loud, children know when failure to get an A results in parental disapproval.”  Both of these experiences relay how false and unrealistically high expectations can cause suicidal ideations in people.

To see how this applies in today’s society there is an online case study published in 2018 by Natalia Macrynikola on social connectedness and suicide in young adults says, “…the desire to feel connected with others is a fundamental human need. Indeed, a lack of belonging has been consistently associated with negative outcomes, including mortality from disease and ill health…Research also suggests that lack of social connectedness may be associated with the development of suicidal thoughts and behavior.”  A support system is critical to mankind’s overall well-being. A lack of social connectedness, or problems in familial and other personal relationships can lead to suicidal thoughts and actions.  An example of this in Greek literature is found in the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles.  Oedipus and his family have a lot of complicated and problematic relationships.  In the course of the play the audience learns that Oedipus killed his father without knowing it was his father and that he was currently married to his own mother, Jocasta.  When all of this information is revealed Jocasta hangs herself.  That support system is gone for her and without it there isn’t a lot of hope.

Furthermore, traumatic life experiences are a consistent reason between today’s society and ancient Greece for why one might commit suicide.  In the play Women of Trachis by Sophocles the character Deianeira experiences several traumatic experiences.  Her husband, Heracles, has been missing for over a year and when he finally returns he comes home with a concubine.  Obviously, this is devastating to Deianeira. In an effort to secure her husband’s affections, Deianeira gives him what she believes is a love potion but mistakenly poisons and kills Heracles. This accidental murder of her husband leads her son to betray her leaving her completely alone.  Deianeira is driven mad by all of the upheaval in her life.  She feels utterly hopeless and kills herself(pg. 871).  The same case study mentioned earlier informs that “The association between stressful life events (SLEs) and suicide risk has been well established.”

In addition, more of the differences between reasons for suicide ideations in Greek literature vs. today’s society is in mental health awareness and differing religious beliefs.  Mental health is much more widely publicized and accepted in today’s society than in ancient Greece.  This is evident in the fact that all of the literature referenced in this paper scarcely refers to any mental illness at all.  Although all of the characters and scenarios introduced thus far surely struggled with some kind of mental illness, no evidence of that is clearly stated in the text. Adversely, in an observational study done on suicide rates of youth in the state of Utah from 2011-2015 we learn that “35.2%(of the) decedents with data had a diagnosed mental health problem, and 44 (31.0%), including 34 (23.9%) who had no mental health diagnosis, were described as being in a depressed mood at or near the time of death. Among the 50(35.2%) decedents with a mental health diagnosis, 42 (84.0%) were in treatment at the time of death.”(Francis B. Annor)  This statistic shows how much more widely acknowledged mental illness is and that there are resources trying to aid the epidemic.

Again, the difference in religious beliefs of Ancient Greece and today’s society tell a lot about why someone might commit suicide.  For the ancient Greeks there was a lot of pride in death.  A man’s life was only worth how epically he died.  In the example of Ajax mentioned earlier, his suicide was almost more honorable than having to live his life and die in battle without Achilles’ armor.  Even though they don’t believe in a glorious afterlife, everyone goes to the underworld, it was still worth it for the pride of dying a certain way. In the most common religious beliefs today, people choose to take their own lives with the hope or faith that there is something better after this life.  That is one of the biggest differences between the way the two societies view dying, even via suicide.

A lot can be learned about these two different civilizations through this topic of suicide ideation, attempts, and behavior. Pride is much more important to the Greeks, although it still plays a role in the society today.  Overall, from both civilizations it is obvious that there are human needs that must be met for a person to thrive.

Bibliography

Brody, Jane E. “Preventing Suicide among College Students.” New York Times, Jul 03, 2018. ProQuest, https://search-proquest-com.erl.lib.byu.edu/docview/2063149580?accountid=4488.

Macrynikola, Natalia, Regina Miranda, and Ariella Soffer. “Social Connectedness, Stressful Life Events, and Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors among Young Adults.” Comprehensive Psychiatry, vol. 80, 2018, pp. 140-149. ProQuest, https://search-proquest-com.erl.lib.byu.edu/docview/1973105761?accountid=4488, doi:http://dx.doi.org.erl.lib.byu.edu/10.1016/j.comppsych.2017.09.008.