It is an old myth that King Midas for a long time hunted the wise Silenus in the woods without capturing him. When Silenus finally fell into his hands, the king asked what was the best thing for man, the very finest. The daemon remained silent, motionless, and stubborn until, compelled by the king, he finally broke out into shrill laughter and said these words: ‘Suffering creature, born for a day, child of accident and toil, why are you forcing me to say what would give you the greatest pleasure not to hear? The very best thing for you is totally unreachable: not to be born, not to exist, to be nothing. The second best thing for you, however, is this—to die soon.
The preceding excerpt from Nietzsche’s “On the Birth of Tragedy” may initially appear somber, but upon closer examination, it reveals a profound insight. Nietzsche contends elsewhere that while life is inherently filled with suffering, finding meaning within that suffering is the key to resilience. People continually seek this meaning, sometimes with greater intensity and at other times with less. Within the transformative crucible of tragedy, there lies the potential to transcend the trials of our existence in the mundane world and to recognize those situations in which only courage and human morality can offer salvation.
Two and a half millennia ago, in ancient Athens, a local play competition showcased the tragedies that served as the inspiration for Estonian writer and director Mati Unt’s creation of his “Thebes Cycle” two decades ago. Unt’s “Brother Antigone, Mother Oedipus” presents a concise, lucid, and captivating narrative imbued with profound insights into the human condition and our enduring struggle against fate. Remarkably, Unt fared better than Sophocles and Euripides, his rendition earning the top honors in the Estonian play competition. Now, it is being staged again marking a poignant return of Mati Unt’s enduring legacy.