Otázka viny a trestu v Aristotelovej Poetike (Question of Guilt and Punishment in Aristotle’s Poetics)

The Greek term hamartia means guilt, and sin, mistake or error as well. The origin of the word is a verb hamartanein—missing the mark. In his Poetics Aristotle describes it as an important constituent of tragedy. Guilt must be punished, even if it is not personal. A hero can be punished without his personal participation on any guilt. Father’s sin is sufficient reason for son’s punishment—that is a problem of “ancestral sin.” Two examples of Greek dramas, of Aeschylus and Euripides, point out to the use of the word in different contexts. Guilt (or sin) and punishment of tragic hero lead beholders to the catharsis of two emotions: of pity and fear.