Relevancy of Oedipus in Todays Society Essay - 709 Words

Relevancy of Oedipus in Todays Society Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles around 430 BC, is one of, if not the most, important and influential tragedy ever written. It became the base for most of the tragedies written since. In spite of the fact that some of the story line may seem a little out of place now, parallels can be very easily drawn with the present time. Even though it was written over 2000 years ago, Oedipus the King is still fitting and applicable in todays society. In ancient Greece, the people believed that the gods already decided upon their fates and destinies. They believed that nothing that they could do could change them, no matter what they do (Fagles, 152). Oedipus tried to change what he knew†¦show more content†¦He is calmer, and seems to see things better now that he is blind. Things like this happen all the time now. Sophocles development of character is richly complex. Instead of relying on the extreme situations and exaggerated actions that earlier tragedians used, Sophocle s created powerfully motivated characters who even today fascinate wudiences with their psychological depth (Meyer, 981). People change their personalities and lifestyles based on the influences and suggestions of others. Unmotivated changes are subtler and not very noticeable all at once. They tend to happen over time. These tend to happen from others indirectly, such as dressing similar, talking similar, etc. Finally, the way in which Oedipus the King can be perceived as universal the best is in character traits that are alike in both modern people and Oedipus himself. Oedipus is a very stubborn person. He believes that Tiresias has not told him the truth and was sent by Creon to lie to him, even after Tiresias proves that he can actually see into the future. Modern day people can also be very stubborn, especially if they know or think that they are wrong about something. Oedipus also shows great intelligence. He saved the entire city of Thebes by answering the Sphinxs ri ddle and his reward was the crown and the queens hand in marriage (Meyer, 987). He ruled the city fairly and justly, and shows his intelligence once again when he