Oedipus Rex: The Citizen's Guide to Democracy
Greek theater served a much larger role in society than entertainment does today. Going to a play was not just a fun activity, it was a citizen's duty. Greek plays held a large role in political ideas. In particular, they were a way to train democratic citizens, teaching each individual what he must do to help maintain an orderly, democratic state. Many traits that are important to a democratic citizen are displayed in Oedipus Rex. This play acts as a guide to show the democratic citizen how to fulfill an active role in government. While through the story of the play, a citizen can clearly see when and why he must be active in government, the choral odes act as the true lesson. These choral odes stop the action, and make the spectator think critically about their government. The odes question whose power is more dominant, the king's or the god's.
Within the first ode, many questions are raised about Oedipus's power, and how much faith the citizens can have in the king himself, versus the prophecy of Teiresias. On the other hand, in the second ode, the chorus chooses to believe in the gods. oral ode raises many questions about who to trust. In the second ode, the citizens realize that if the fates are not true, there would be no order in the earths or the heavens. The second ode shows that relying solely on what you see can only make you blinder, because you only trust yourself. The citizens are torn between trusting what they can see, or what a "man skilled at hearing Fate in the wingbeat of a bird" tells them (26). By stopping the action, the odes show the audience to stop and question authority before they just blindly go along with what their government demands of them. At the end of this ode, the citizens are begging the fates to come true, so that they know the gods exist. It is clearly easier for people to trust what they see with their own eyes as opposed to what someone else tells them. It is important in a democracy to rely on and be able to trust everyone else within the community. The first two odes are a debate over whom to trust. Therefore, the first ode concludes by stating, "I saw him," which shows that the chorus chooses to believe in the king and not the prophecies (26). The odes demonstrate that there must be a balance between the gods and free will. The odes illustrate an important trait essential to a democratic citizen: skepticism. Also, This would mean that people alone would be responsible for whatever happened to them.
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