Can wisdom lead you to a happier life? In the Greek society the answer was yes. Wisdom was a highly regarded attribute in the "Golden Age" of Greek society. The Greeks believed that without wisdom one would not be able to achieve a very high level of happiness. Many Greek authors and historians expressed their personal opinions, which mirrored most of society in their works. Sophocles" plays and general theatre productions such as Oedipus and Medea portrayed many views of the Greek society and those of the playwrites themselves. One can see through the works of Greek plays such as, "Oedipus" or "Antigone", "Medea", and other historical accounts that the Greeks believed that there is no happiness where there is no wisdom.
In the work of Sophocles" "Oedipus" and "Antigone" wisdom is one of the key elements in the shaping the characters and story line. Oedipus, who is the main character in "Oedipus", is used to show the audience how the lack of wisdom can effect the happiness of a normal human being. Oedipus is the king of Thebes, and he was highly respected. He came into power when the previous king, Laius, was murdered. All is good in Thebes except, there is a plague. It is killing thousands, and Oedipus is trying to be loyal to his citizens so he sent his son in-law to find the god Apollo to find out want to do to stop this plague. So, his son in-law comes back and relays the message to Oedipus that the way to cure the plague is to bring the killer of Laius to justice through death or exile. Yet, due to Oedipus" lack of wisdom he does not realize that he in fact was the killer of Laius. So Oedipus says that the killer "may drag out his life in agony, step by painful step-" (Oedipus pg. 172 lines 83-84), and he makes all kinds of other threats to this murderer. When, in all actuality, he is digging his own grave. Later on Oedipus realizes that he was actually the murderer of Laius and that Laius was his own father.
