The play Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles, is a Greek tragedy. This play highlights important ideals and aspects of society in Sophocles’ time. Oedipus, the hero, is portrayed as imperfect and has flaws and weaknesses. This is an important element of a true tragedy and it also reflects one of the prevailing ideas in Ancient Greek society that humans are imperfect. The fact that Oedipus was manipulated by fate, no matter how hard he tried to avoid it, shows that gods were thought to be all powerful. This is an example of the idea that man cannot control everything no matter how powerful he is. It also urges people to accept their god given fate instead of trying to change it. The heavy emphasis on religion shows that science had little place in Greek society. An example of science’s lack of importance of is shown in Oedipus Rex when the people went to the priest for help when the plague spread through Thebes. Had Greek thought science as relevant, they would have visited a doctor. However, because they relied heavily on religion and the concept that everything is controlled by a god, they went to the priest. Oedipus Rex also serves a political purpose. The fact that Oedipus resigned himself to his fate and left in order to save his country from the plague shows his loyalty to his country. This brings across a message of loyalty to ones country and that a person should put their country before themselves.
Thank you for the insightful post! Our group also enjoyed reading Oedipus and found that it heavily relied on the fate of the gods. To expound on your idea, the lives of all the characters, whether it be the Oedipus, Jocasta, or Laius, revolved around prophecies, or predictions of what will happen in the future. This emphasized the fall of Oedipus due to his denial of what the gods were saying and his confidence in his own reasoning. Human ignorance is depicted because he did not rely on the gods. In addition, Jocasta, Oedipus’ mother, believed that she could prevent the prophecy from happening. She had sent away Oedipus as a baby in hopes that she could avoid fulfilling the prophecy but she was proved wrong. The relationships between man and the gods and the consequences of disobedience are strong focuses in the play. We agree that science was not very important in the play. The people of that time period probably believed that health, sickness, and death were controlled by the gods, so it may have been unnecessary to rely too much on doctors. As your team pointed out, the priest was presented to Oedipus, not a doctor. In addition, it was ironic that when Oedipus takes his own sight, he finally sees the truth of the prophecy. Though he loses physical capability, he gains intellectual aesthetics. In the famous Greek tragedy, Oedipus, the play tells more than merely a story, but teaches the interwoven relations between religion, science, and aesthetics of society at the time.
ReplyDeleteOur group really liked your posting on Oedipus. After reading the play, we concurred on your message regarding the idea of fate in Greek tragedies- that no matter how hard a character tried to change it, it would never budge. Your posting coincides with the idea of Moira, that we learned about in class. When Oedipus learned his Moira and tried to change it, the Gods were angered, and therefore plagued him with obstacles more. It was a simple message, but Oedipus still decided to anger Apollo and try to change his fate. He ruined his life by trying to change it.
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