Greek tragedies, Ovid's Metamorphoses, and Euripides' Hippolytus

Danger of Assumption

Assumption is a dangerous thing. Often, assumption is based on misinformation and can lead to horrible mistakes. It is an easy thing to do and, most of the time, we are not fully aware we are doing it until it is too late. Assumption is often a precursor to remorse because of the nature of assumption. Three stories that explore the danger of assumption are "The Story of Phaeton" and "The Story of Daedalus and Icarus" by Ovid and Hippolytus by Euripides. Assumption rarely leads to anything positive.

In "The Story of Phaeton," Phaeton is blinded by desire. He wants to drive the chariot and he cannot think of anything else. He does not consider the fact that he does actually know how to operate the chariot; he assumes it will be easy or perhaps he hopes it will come to him as he is in the air. His father says:

Follow the wheel-tracks,

You will see them clearly. Sky and earth both need

Equal degrees of heat; to low you burn

The one, too high, the other. The middle is safest" (Humphries 32).

Phaeton, too young and inexperienced, loses control almost immediately. He learns quickly he does not have the knowledge or the confidence to operate the chariot and he panics because he "does not know in which direction / to turn the reins, does not know where the road is, / and even if he knew, he could do nothing" (Ovid 33). No doubt, he is afraid and "wishes / He had never touched those horses of his father" (34). Here, the regret sets but it is too late to do anything about his decision. Furthermore, Phaeton falls from the chariot "far from home, a river-god receives him" (38). The lesson is important; Phaeton wanted something and his father foolishly gives it to him. Both characters learn that assuming knowledge is fatal.

In "The Story of Daedalus and Icarus," we have a similar lesson regarding knowledge. Icarus, much like Phaeton, does not follow his father's advice. In the air, he is distracted by everything happening below and before long "left his father, / Soared higher, higher, drawn to the vast heaven,/nearer the sun" (188). His mistake is deadly for no one can rescue him from up above. This story is importantbecause it also teaches us that we should never assumewe are something we are not or that we are more than human. Icarus forgot his humanity and "turned his thinking / Toward unknown arts, changing the laws of nature" (187). Daedalus must face his culpability here for it was his idea to leave Crete in a way that was not conventional. He assumed everything would turn out just fine.