Greek/Roman Synthesis - Wylie Per.5 Team 1

Our group chose the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles to be the best reflection of the interplay of the different aspects of Ancient Greek and Roman society. The Greeks believed in the theory of Forms, that the world we see is but a shadow of reality and the true nature of things. In Oedipus, we see the characters blundering about the world, trying to interpret and follow the will of the gods, unable to discern the truth behind the imperfect events and actions they witness here on Earth. This belief in Forms lies behind religion, the quest for science, and aesthetics of these two ancient societies. Like Oedipus from the eponymous play, the Greeks and Romans strove to understand the will of the gods from the hazy messages they sent to Earth. Sometimes, like when Oedipus searches methodically for his father’s killer, some Greeks and Romans turned to science to logically bolster religion (never to deny it). However, in Oedipus, this scientific questioning angers the gods, and so mirrors the beginning of the rift between science and religion in Ancient Greece and Rome. Oedipus also typifies the art of the time, which was performed en masse and ascetically in order to please the gods. Many people came to see plays such as Oedipus, and the stage set and costumes were exaggerated but few in numbers, used only to augment the oral message of the play. Oedipus is also a political play, as it shows the Ancient Greeks’ distrust of monarchical rule, no matter how grand and righteous it may seem from the side. Oedipus also shows the importance of democracy through the unity and mediation of the Chorus.