Suicide: Then vs. Now

Kelly Sherman
Amy Robert Insalaco

CL CV 201 Sec 001

Suicide: Then vs. Now

            Suicide is never an easy subject to address, but at times it is necessary, especially since it is such a big problem in Utah, which has the fifth highest suicide rate in the United States, according to the Salt Lake Tribune (slttrib.com). Since suicide is such a big issue, it would be worthwhile to step back and see what that means about the society in which we live. That being said, although it is a problem now, it was also an issue back in ancient Greece. Does this mean our society is reverting back to ancient ways? Or has the human population really not learned enough and continues to treat others in a way that causes suicide? By looking at the literature and paintings of ancient Greek times, we can come to learn the type of societies that were present in the past and the “why” to people choosing to die by suicide.

             By reading literature, such as The Essential Homer or The Portable Greek Historians, describing ancient Greece, one can tell how important honour is to them. In the early Greek culture, honour was gained by sacrificing oneself to a greater cause, such as war, or save another’s life.  One could choose to live a simple life and not worry about honour but then they wouldn’t be respected in the same type of way. If one had honour and lost it, that pretty much meant the end of their world since they could expect to be treated poorly and with no respect. Take Ajax for example, “Ajax expected to receive the armor of Achilles upon the latter’s death in combat. Instead the armor was given to Odysseus, and this enraged Ajax. In his madness he ostensibly killed his comrades, only to wake up from a dream to find that he had slaughtered a group of sheep. Realizing the implications of his actions, Ajax buried his sword in the ground and impaled himself on it” (Neer, Richard T. Greek Art and Archaeology). He was once a great, courageous war hero until one fateful day when he decided to end it all in a last-ditch effort to redeem himself. This is all depicted by Exekias, on his beautiful black-figure vase in which he portrays the heart wrenching psychological moment of Ajax right before his death. Ajax felt the only way to redeem himself was to take his own life; that says a lot about the type of society he lived in. According to the world's view at that time, if you embarrassed yourself or did something against the norm, your last act of redemption could only be suicide. This belief of suicide being the last resort, is perfectly summed up by Callinus of Ephesos when he states “A man, as he dies, should make one last throw with his spear.” The “last throw” is one final decision to die in a way that could be honoured by others, even after you're gone, while regaining and maintaining one’s pride. 

Ajax is not the only one who chose death over life. Another great example is Socrates, who chose to die to prove a point. Ancient Greek laws were very strict, with death being a very likely scenario for violating them. This was very apparent when Socrates was condemned for corrupting the youth of Athens with strange gods. He had the opportunity to escape and start anew but rather than breaking the law or showing weakness, he chose to drink poison hemlock and kill himself. This can be seen encapsulated in the painting “The Death of Socrates” by David, Jacques-Louis and Plato’s Crito. In the Crito Socrates even says, “Listen, then, Socrates, to us who have brought you up. Think not of life and children first, and of justice afterwards, but of justice first, that you may be justified before the princes of the world below.” The society in which these people lived, because of the high issue of pride, placed such a high value on honour and being honourable that death was preferred over being dishonourable.

            Fast forward to the present and we have the same issue, people dying by suicide, but the question is why? There are many reasons but it seems it can be boiled down to two main reasons: not being able to live up to expectations (i.e. being dishonoured) and mental illness, according to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH.ca). In the world we live today, everyone relies on someone or something that is not themselves, whether it is a church, family member, job/school or social media outlet. Each of these, have expectations of how a person should live or think and if they fail to live/act in such a manner then a crushing weight of disappointment would be felt, whether it was meant or not. Some may be able to live with this disappointment but others may think they’ve failed for the last time and there can be no redemption. Reading papers such as Selfies and Teenage Body Image (phys.org) or blogs like Why Good Parents Feel Inadequate (rolereboot.org), assumptions can be made as to why different age and gender groups commit suicide. For example, teenagers comparing themselves to social media stars and always failing to look as pretty as them or act as decent; men failing to provide for their family even when they are trying their best; or moms failing to live up to the expectation of the ‘perfect mother’ who is happy, cleans and bakes and makes
every day special for her children. Suicide is tricky and for many “it's difficult to understand how a person could ignore survival instinct, disregard the good things in life, and foreclose every possibility of future happiness. Why can't they see that they're good people? Why don't they understand that things will improve?” (Psychologytoday.com) Another major factor that plays into suicides today is mental illness. In extreme cases, depression, anxiety, PTSD and many other disorders can lead a sufferer to believe that the only way out is through ending one's life (CAMH.ca). Mental illness is no one’s fault and at times it may seem all is lost, but one can get help and get better, one just has to believe there’s a way to get better.
            In our society today, while talking about mental health issues are more normal, people still often get uncomfortable on the subject of suicide and instead of addressing it we shy away and ignore it. Of course, major celebrities or public suicides get put on the news, but for the most case, many deaths are ignored. What does this say about us? We shrink away out of shame, we see suicide as being dishonourable and cowardly or rather we don’t know how to react so we brush it under the carpet so we don’t have to deal with it.

            In conclusion, ancient Greece and America today seem to have similar standards of people. In both societies one must work way too hard to achieve respect and if we can’t quite meet the standards then were out! Many people can’t deal with the thought of being alone or unloved and feel the only option to escape those feelings is suicide. In reality though, there is always another way, society may be harsh but we need to be harsher. Whether it’s living in ancient Greece or in today's society, suicide should never be the option and help is available, one just has to be willing to seek it out.

 Works Cited:

Ramseth, L. (2017). Hoping to counter deadly trend, Utah officials confirm 425 suicides so far in 2017. [online] The Salt Lake Tribune. Available at: https://www.sltrib.com/news/health/2017/09/13/seeking-to-counter-trend-utah-confirmed-suicides-for-2017-utah-on-pace-to-beat-last-years-record/

Neer, Richard T. Greek Art and Archaeology. New York, NY: Thames & Hudson, 2012. 145. As found at: Foarde, Chip. “Exekias and the Suicide of Ajax, by Chip Foarde.” Archaeology Students Speak, 30 Mar. 2012, archaeologystudentsspeak.wordpress.com/2012/03/29/exekias-and-the-suicide-of-ajax-by-chip-foarde/.

Exekias. Suicide of Ajax. Black-figure vase, 540 B.C.

David, Jacques-Louis. The Death of Socrates. 1787, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

"Crito.” Crito, by Plato, 360AD

“20132 Suicide.” Mental Illness & Addiction Index | CAMH, www.camh.ca/en/health-info/mental-illness-and-addiction-index/suicide#header.

Piercy, Lindsey. “What a New Study Reveals about Selfies and Teenage Body Image.” Phys.org - News and Articles on Science and Technology, Phys.org, 30 May 2018, phys.org/news/2018-05-reveals-selfies-teenage-body-image.html.

Beisner, L. (2019). Why Good Parents Always Feel Inadequate - Role Reboot. [online] Available at: http://www.rolereboot.org/family/details/2013-01-why-good-parents-always-feel-inadequate [Accessed 23 Jan. 2013].

Smith, S. (2019). Why People Commit Suicide. [online] Psychology Today. Available at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/ironshrink/201109/why-people-commit-suicide