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Sophocles, being born in 496 BC in Athens, was a mind of rare quality; also, his being gone for these many thousands of years, no one can trully say they know what it is he believed. But we have been able to achieve a certain degree of understanding of his beliefs from what he has written. From the Oedipus trilogy, we may gather these two 'facts' about his beliefs: he believed first that there were such fundamental truths that when not followed resulted in great social tragedies (thus his writings). Second, that he believed in a democratic form of government under the direction of the gods. Throughout this trilogy the idea of right and knowing what is right is discussed often and by writing his main characters as they are he allows a view into his own mind. For example, in Oedipus the King, all those around Oedipus tell him to let the issue fly and be done with it, all knowing that it will be his end. But Oedipus is determined to figure out the truth; he killed his father and married his mother, a social self destructin essence. His fundamental truth: one does not kill one's father and marry one's mother or vice versa. For the background of his beliefs in government one must read De Profectibus in Virtutue 7 by Plutarch. It contains a few of his conversations with Ion, a friend and mentor to some degree.

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16y ago

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