Why was Thebes so Commonplace in Tragedian Works?
- Thebes was a major power in Ancient Greece and was a rival to Athens.
- Thebes was a monarchy, while Athens was a democracy in comparison. In plays, such as those by Sophocles often occur in Thebes.
- Many of these plays were performed in Athens, and therefore Thebes was an example of a similar big city that was far enough from Athens that it could act as an dysfunctional place for these tragedies to take place.
- Athens prided itself in its advanced laws and the political loyalty of its citizens Tragic plays that often lead to conflicts in law and order could have been insulting to the audience, if set in Athens.
- Later tragedians and poets could then build off of the rich mythology that Thebes had developed.
- This led to more and more works being written about Thebes.
Sources
https://www.ptf.edu.pl/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/53_EOS-2015-2-DO-DRUKU.pdf