Knowing the history of the Greek Theater really helps me understand the play as a play rather than a novel. Sometimes when you read a play, it is hard to picture it as it was intended. Knowing more about what the Theaters looked like, and what type of people were acting in the parts makes it much easier to imagine the lines being read, as a performance. It's also interesting to picture Jocasta, who is a woman, being played by a man. Usually, when a man plays a woman's part, in today's culture, it is to stir up laughter in the audience. In the tragedies, it is not for comedic purposes.
In the play, the Gods play a major role in the characters lives. When learning about how the Gods affected the people in Greece during the time the plays were written helps me understand the importance the the characters place on the Gods. The Gods have control over the characters, and are also vengeful. If the character does something to upset the Gods, that character will live with a punishment for the rest of their lives, like how Oedipus was destined to kill his father and marry his mother.
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