Comparing Sex In Ancient Greece And Today

Success. Power. Sex. These three phenomenon intrigued audiences thousands of years ago in ancient Greece, and they continue to thrive in present day America. People want success and wealth because it gives them power, and sex, well that is just human nature. Glancing at these three topics may lead one to believe that the views in these societies are indifferent, which is not entirely true. Yes; many similarities between ancient Greeks and today’s Americans exist, but there are moral differences. The Victorian Era in Britain changed, specifically, how sex is viewed. The Victorians considered modesty a beautiful virtue and supported sexual repression; these ideals spread around the world. In addition, over time, adultery developed into an immoral and frowned upon action, despite whether the adulterer is the husband or wife. Whereas, ancient Greeks viewed only adultery performed by the wife to be disloyal and unforgivable. Authors still heavily use sex to grab their audience's interest; however,

When Oedipus proclaims his determination to find King Laius’ killer, he says, “[The murderer] is the plague, the heart of our corruption… let that man drag out his life in agony, step by painful step…” (Sophocles, 172). His hatred and vengeance toward the murderer is ironic because Oedipus, himself, is the one who killed King Laius, but he does not know of his conviction. Sophocles builds suspense in audience’s mind because they now wonder if and when Oedipus’ actions will be revealed to him, and how he will respond to such guilt. Later in the play, Oedipus expresses his fear for lying in bed with his mother, Merope of Corinth; however, he has already laid in bed with his birth mother, Jocasta. The suspense grows as the audience continues to discover events that Oedipus does not know of. It is evident that dramatic irony was essential to a suspenseful plot in ancient