Antigone and Oedipus Rex: The Importance of Greek Theatre

From the plays Antigone and Oedipus Rex Even it seems that entertainment is one of the main reasons for the plays to be written. Any reader of a Greek play, or other Greek literature, will see that myths were an important part of Greek life. The Greeks used myths as a source of entertainment as well as moral stories. The stories of Oedipus Rex and Antigone started as myths and became plays when Sophocles added dialogue to them. Even in the stories of Oedipus Rex and Antigone some myths are referenced. For example the Chorus states “Danaë, Danaë – even she endured a fate like yours, in all her lovely strength she traded the light of day for the bolted brazen vault – buried within her tomb, her bridal-chamber, wed to the yoke and broken. But she was of glorious birth...” (Antigone 1035-1041). That line by the Chorus compares Antigone’s

The plays of Oedipus and his family were written in as a trilogy and presented together from sunrise to sunset. To have a production last a whole day and have large amphitheaters built for such a produced show how highly prized entertainment was. For a man such as Sophocles to spend his life writing plays shows his devotion to provide entertainment for the masses.

In addition to overweening pride the play Oedipus Rex informs the reader how the Greeks felt about incest. In that play the reader learns that Oedipus was pinned to Mount Cithaeron to keep him from fulfilling a prophecy about killing his father and marrying his mother. Oedipus was released from the mountain by a sheep herder and eventually met his fate. That simple lesson showed the Greeks that having an incestuous relationship with your mother was taboo.

There were many moral values that the Greeks believed in and put into their plays to show these values. Hubris, or overweening pride, was one of the traits that was not desirable in 5th century B.C.E., as the reader can see in both Antigone and Oedipus Rex. A person with hubris was seen as someone who would defy the gods to show their superiority. They were so full of pride that they did what they wanted to show their superiority. The reader of these plays may see that hubris shows up in Creon after he takes the throne of Thebes in Antigone. Creon’s pride is always unshaken even after he is defied by his niece Antigon

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