This article examines the formation and interpretation of the category of the tragic in ancient Greek aesthetic thought. Greek tragedy is recognized as the earliest artistic expression of the tragic. The views of Plato and Aristotle are analyzed and comparatively examined with regard to their approaches to tragedy. Plato considers tragedy primarily as a socio-ethical issue concerning the education of citizens and the state, and therefore rejects literary works that arouse excessive pity and fear. Aristotle, by contrast, defines tragedy as a genre that represents a serious and complete action through human speech and action, emphasizing catharsis as a purifying emotional process and an important pedagogical factor. In classical tragedies such as Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound, and Euripides’ Medea, the tragic manifests itself through themes of fate, error, guilt, and inevitable catastrophe. Modern scholars (G. N. Pospelov, A. F. Losev, and others) have further analyzed the role of tragedy within aesthetic and axiological frameworks. The findings demonstrate that in ancient aesthetic thought, the tragic emerged as a fundamental category expressing ontological contradictions between human beings and fate, articulated through various literary forms.

Tragic, tragedy, catharsis

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