In Greek tragedy the tragic situation, in which the characters find themselves, is always a situation in which man seems to be deprived of all outward help and is forced to rely entirely on himself. It is a situation of extraordinary tension, of utmost conflict. The second kind of tragic situation is that of man between two conflicting principles. The protagonist is suddenly put at the crossing point of two duties, both of which claim fulfilment. This is the most compelling tragic situation and is at the game time the one that has most often been chosen by the Greek dramatists.
Every tragic situation results in severest suffering for the protagonist.
This indicates that the individual is responsible not only for his own fortunes, but also for the fortunes of society. Everybody's fate is connected in some way with the other's and if at one point the harmony is disturbed, disaster is lurking everywhere. It is common to all characters in a tragic situation that they are confronted with a choice. Act he must, but his action rests on a perilous freedom. We must now draw conclusions as to the true nature of Greek tragedy.