Synopsis
Laius and Jocasta, the king and queen of Thebes, were unable to have a child. An Oracle told Laius that he will have a child but the child will kill you and sleep with his mother. Eventually, Jocasta gets pregnant and gives birth to a baby boy.
To try and avoid the prophecy, Lauis pierces the baby's ankles, binding them together with a pin, and abandons his son on the slopes of Mt. Cithaeron. However, a shepherd then passes by and finds the baby boy. He takes the child to Polybus and Merope, the King and Queen of Corinth, who don't have any children. The royal couple is all about the cute kid, and they decide to raise him as their own. They name him Oedipus, meaning "swollen ankles," because of the way the pins in his ankles have swollen them.
Oedipus grows up thinking that Polybus and Merope are his legitimate parents. One day, a participant at a feast disclaims that the royal couple aren't his real parents. The Royal Couple lies to Oedipus, completely denying it. Oedipus doesn't quite believe it, so he travels to the Oracle of Delphi to try to get the truth. The priestess totally dodges the question of who Oedipus's real parents are, but lets him know that he's destined to kill his father and sleep with his mother. The prince decides to never return home to Corinth, fearing that he'll kill Polybus and sleep with Merope, whom he assumes must be his real parents.
Oedipus goes wandering and comes upon a crossroads where a few men meet and tell Oedipus to get out of the way. Refusing to, a fight breaks out and our hero manages to kill them with only one survivor running away. Oedipus walks off not knowing that he just killed his real father, Laius, the king of Thebes. Eventually, Oedipus makes his way to Thebes, where their king is nowhere to be found and a Sphinx has taken up residence outside of the city. In Laius's absence, Queen Jocasta's brother, Creon, has taken over ruling Thebes. Creon has offered the hand of the queen and the throne of Thebes to any man who can get rid of the Sphinx. After getting rid of the sphinx, Oedipus takes the throne and the hand of Jocasta. Eventually having a few kids: Antigone, Ismene, Polyneices, and Eteocles.
A terrible plague comes to Thebes. The Oracle declares that the killer of Laius is living in Thebes and must be expelled. When Creon tells Oedipus this, the King swears that he'll figure out who the killer is and exile the jerk like nobody's business. Creon suggests that Oedipus call in the help of Tres, a famous seer, who knows pretty much everything about everything. At first, Tiresias really doesn't want to tell Oedipus what's up, and the seer advises the king to stop seeking the truth. Oedipus threatens him, though, and Tiresias finally tells the King that he's actually the murderer that he's looking for. Jocasta tries to comfort Oedipus, telling him that he couldn't be the killer because Laius was killed by robbers at a place where three roads meet. Not very comforting to the king. A messenger also shows up, turning out to be the guy that found Oedipus on the mountain and brought him to Corinth.
Jocasta, remembering the prophecy that made her abandon her son, puts it all together at this point. She begs Oedipus not to pursue the truth any further, but he insists. Next thing you know, the survivor of the attack shows up and confirms that Oedipus is the killer. The whole truth comes crashing down on Oedipus like a ton of bricks. As if things weren't bad enough, Oedipus finds that Jocasta has hung herself. This makes him really go off the deep end, and he yanks a pin from her robe and stabs out his eyes. After this, Creon exiles Oedipus and the blind man wanders the wilderness with only his dedicated daughter, Antigone, to guide him. Eventually, Oedipus and Antigone end up in a town called Colonus, which is just outside of Athens. Oedipus is broken and old, and he's been told by a prophecy that he's meant to die here in a grove dedicated to the Erinyes (aka the Furies). Just then, Ismene shows up and gives them some bad news from Thebes. It turns out that in Oedipus's absence, Polyneices and Eteocles have been sharing the rule of Athens. However, eventually. When the time came for Eteocles to step down, though, he refused and exiled his brother.
So, Polyneices went off and married a princess whose dad had a big army, and now he's at the gates determined to take back the throne.Both sons come to Oedipus for his blessing because a prophecy has said that wherever Oedipus is buried will be blessed. Just in the nick of time, though, steps in and saves the girls. Theseus grants asylum to Oedipus, allowing the old blind man to die in peace. His body is buried in secret somewhere near Athens, and the city receives his blessing. Antigone and Ismene weep over the death of their father/brother and beg Theseus to tell them where he's buried, so they can mourn over his grave.
Laius and Jocasta, the king and queen of Thebes, were unable to have a child. An Oracle told Laius that he will have a child but the child will kill you and sleep with his mother. Eventually, Jocasta gets pregnant and gives birth to a baby boy.
To try and avoid the prophecy, Lauis pierces the baby's ankles, binding them together with a pin, and abandons his son on the slopes of Mt. Cithaeron. However, a shepherd then passes by and finds the baby boy. He takes the child to Polybus and Merope, the King and Queen of Corinth, who don't have any children. The royal couple is all about the cute kid, and they decide to raise him as their own. They name him Oedipus, meaning "swollen ankles," because of the way the pins in his ankles have swollen them.
Oedipus grows up thinking that Polybus and Merope are his legitimate parents. One day, a participant at a feast disclaims that the royal couple aren't his real parents. The Royal Couple lies to Oedipus, completely denying it. Oedipus doesn't quite believe it, so he travels to the Oracle of Delphi to try to get the truth. The priestess totally dodges the question of who Oedipus's real parents are, but lets him know that he's destined to kill his father and sleep with his mother. The prince decides to never return home to Corinth, fearing that he'll kill Polybus and sleep with Merope, whom he assumes must be his real parents.
Oedipus goes wandering and comes upon a crossroads where a few men meet and tell Oedipus to get out of the way. Refusing to, a fight breaks out and our hero manages to kill them with only one survivor running away. Oedipus walks off not knowing that he just killed his real father, Laius, the king of Thebes. Eventually, Oedipus makes his way to Thebes, where their king is nowhere to be found and a Sphinx has taken up residence outside of the city. In Laius's absence, Queen Jocasta's brother, Creon, has taken over ruling Thebes. Creon has offered the hand of the queen and the throne of Thebes to any man who can get rid of the Sphinx. After getting rid of the sphinx, Oedipus takes the throne and the hand of Jocasta. Eventually having a few kids: Antigone, Ismene, Polyneices, and Eteocles.
A terrible plague comes to Thebes. The Oracle declares that the killer of Laius is living in Thebes and must be expelled. When Creon tells Oedipus this, the King swears that he'll figure out who the killer is and exile the jerk like nobody's business. Creon suggests that Oedipus call in the help of Tres, a famous seer, who knows pretty much everything about everything. At first, Tiresias really doesn't want to tell Oedipus what's up, and the seer advises the king to stop seeking the truth. Oedipus threatens him, though, and Tiresias finally tells the King that he's actually the murderer that he's looking for. Jocasta tries to comfort Oedipus, telling him that he couldn't be the killer because Laius was killed by robbers at a place where three roads meet. Not very comforting to the king. A messenger also shows up, turning out to be the guy that found Oedipus on the mountain and brought him to Corinth.
Jocasta, remembering the prophecy that made her abandon her son, puts it all together at this point. She begs Oedipus not to pursue the truth any further, but he insists. Next thing you know, the survivor of the attack shows up and confirms that Oedipus is the killer. The whole truth comes crashing down on Oedipus like a ton of bricks. As if things weren't bad enough, Oedipus finds that Jocasta has hung herself. This makes him really go off the deep end, and he yanks a pin from her robe and stabs out his eyes. After this, Creon exiles Oedipus and the blind man wanders the wilderness with only his dedicated daughter, Antigone, to guide him. Eventually, Oedipus and Antigone end up in a town called Colonus, which is just outside of Athens. Oedipus is broken and old, and he's been told by a prophecy that he's meant to die here in a grove dedicated to the Erinyes (aka the Furies). Just then, Ismene shows up and gives them some bad news from Thebes. It turns out that in Oedipus's absence, Polyneices and Eteocles have been sharing the rule of Athens. However, eventually. When the time came for Eteocles to step down, though, he refused and exiled his brother.
So, Polyneices went off and married a princess whose dad had a big army, and now he's at the gates determined to take back the throne.Both sons come to Oedipus for his blessing because a prophecy has said that wherever Oedipus is buried will be blessed. Just in the nick of time, though, steps in and saves the girls. Theseus grants asylum to Oedipus, allowing the old blind man to die in peace. His body is buried in secret somewhere near Athens, and the city receives his blessing. Antigone and Ismene weep over the death of their father/brother and beg Theseus to tell them where he's buried, so they can mourn over his grave.
Characters
- Oedipus (Main character)
- Jocasta (Oedipus’s mother & wife)
- Antigone and Ismene (Oedipus and Jocasta’s daughter)
- Eteocles and Polynices (Oedipus and Jocasta’s sons)
- Laius (King of Thebes, Oedipus’ father)
- Oracle
- Shepherd (rescues baby Oedipus)
- King and queen of Corinth (raises Oedipus)
- 5 servants of Laius (they get killed by Oedipus, along with his dad)
- Sphinx
- Creonte (Jocasta’s brother)
- Tiresias (a blind prophet of Apollo in Thebes)
Key Scenes
In one sense, the first important turning point in the drama takes place in the very beginning: Oedipus is dragged personally into the crisis of the plague in Thebes, because he takes it with a lot of personal concern, and he indeed says that it is "for my own sake". His commitment towards the problem engages him personally and since his successful rule has been threatened, we feel when we look back that that was the turning point in his life. Then, after the charge of murder in the first scene by the blind seer Teiresias, the king enters vehemently into the investigation where he quickly encounters another turning point, the doubt about whether the man he had killed on the way was king Laius. Before Oedipus is able to go much ahead in the investigation, he again encounters the biggest of the minor turning points, the revelation of the truth that Polybos is not his father. With this, his investigation, and his life itself, take another turning point. The most happy and successful king now becomes emotionally disturbed and miserable. But, he still pushes himself ahead with the same confidence and arrogance. The final and catastrophic turning point comes when the shepherd arrives and tells the whole terrible truth.
Key Questions
The ancient Greeks acknowledged the role of Fate as a reality outside the individual that shaped and determined human life. In modern times, the concept of Fate has developed the misty halo of romantic destiny, but for the ancient Greeks, Fate represented a terrifying, unstoppable force.
Fate was the will of the gods — an unopposable reality ritually revealed by the oracle at Delphi, who spoke for Apollo himself in mysterious pronouncements. The promise of prophecy drew many, but these messages usually offered the questioner incomplete, maddenly evasive answers that both illuminated and darkened life's path. One famous revelation at Delphi offered a general the tantalizing prophesy that a great victory would be won if he advanced on his enemy. The oracle, however, did not specify to whom the victory would go.
Judging from his plays, Sophocles took a conservative view on augury and prophecy; the oracles in the Oedipus Trilogy speak truly — although obliquely — as an unassailable authority. Indeed, this voice of the gods — the expression of their divine will — represents a powerful, unseen force throughout the Oedipus Trilogy.
Playwrights Biography
Sophocles, (born c. 496 BCE, Colonus, near Athens [Greece]—died 406, Athens), with Aeschylus and Euripides, one of classical Athens’ three great tragic playwrights. The best known of his 123 dramas is Oedipus the King.
Sophocles was the younger contemporary of Aeschylus and the older contemporary of Euripides. He was born at Colonus, a village outside the walls of Athens, where his father, Sophillus, was a wealthy manufacturer of armour. Sophocles himself received a good education. Because of his beauty of physique, his athletic prowess, and his skill in music, he was chosen in 480, when he was 16, to lead the paean (choral chant to a god) celebrating the decisive Greek sea victory over the Persians at the Battle of Salamis. The relatively meagre information about Sophocles’ civic life suggests that he was a popular favourite who participated actively in his community and exercised outstanding artistic talents. In 442 he served as one of the treasurers responsible for receiving and managing tribute money from Athens’ subject-allies in the Delian League. In 440 he was elected one of the 10 stratēgoi (high executive officials who commanded the armed forces) as a junior colleague of Pericles. Sophocles later served as stratēgos perhaps twice again. In 413, then aged about 83, Sophocles was a proboulos, one of 10 advisory commissioners who were granted special powers and were entrusted with organizing Athens’ financial and domestic recovery after its terrible defeat at Syracuse in Sicily. Sophocles’ last recorded act was to lead a chorus in public mourning for his deceased rival, Euripides, before the festival of 406. He died that same year.
Why did the playwright write the play?
Sophocles' great tragedy Oedipus Rex was written and first performed in approximately 429 BCE. This places it right in the middle of the Golden Age of Ancient Greece, which had its height during the 5th century BCE (499-400 BCE). The play is a product of its time and shows Sophocles taking sides in the scientific and religious debates of the period.
However, while the play was written in 429 BCE, it's set in a much earlier time period, although the exact time is not entirely clear. Sophocles took the story from one of the many Greek myths, which told of gods and legends who existed in an undetermined past.
In one sense, the first important turning point in the drama takes place in the very beginning: Oedipus is dragged personally into the crisis of the plague in Thebes, because he takes it with a lot of personal concern, and he indeed says that it is "for my own sake". His commitment towards the problem engages him personally and since his successful rule has been threatened, we feel when we look back that that was the turning point in his life. Then, after the charge of murder in the first scene by the blind seer Teiresias, the king enters vehemently into the investigation where he quickly encounters another turning point, the doubt about whether the man he had killed on the way was king Laius. Before Oedipus is able to go much ahead in the investigation, he again encounters the biggest of the minor turning points, the revelation of the truth that Polybos is not his father. With this, his investigation, and his life itself, take another turning point. The most happy and successful king now becomes emotionally disturbed and miserable. But, he still pushes himself ahead with the same confidence and arrogance. The final and catastrophic turning point comes when the shepherd arrives and tells the whole terrible truth.
Key Questions
The ancient Greeks acknowledged the role of Fate as a reality outside the individual that shaped and determined human life. In modern times, the concept of Fate has developed the misty halo of romantic destiny, but for the ancient Greeks, Fate represented a terrifying, unstoppable force.
Fate was the will of the gods — an unopposable reality ritually revealed by the oracle at Delphi, who spoke for Apollo himself in mysterious pronouncements. The promise of prophecy drew many, but these messages usually offered the questioner incomplete, maddenly evasive answers that both illuminated and darkened life's path. One famous revelation at Delphi offered a general the tantalizing prophesy that a great victory would be won if he advanced on his enemy. The oracle, however, did not specify to whom the victory would go.
Judging from his plays, Sophocles took a conservative view on augury and prophecy; the oracles in the Oedipus Trilogy speak truly — although obliquely — as an unassailable authority. Indeed, this voice of the gods — the expression of their divine will — represents a powerful, unseen force throughout the Oedipus Trilogy.
Playwrights Biography
Sophocles, (born c. 496 BCE, Colonus, near Athens [Greece]—died 406, Athens), with Aeschylus and Euripides, one of classical Athens’ three great tragic playwrights. The best known of his 123 dramas is Oedipus the King.
Sophocles was the younger contemporary of Aeschylus and the older contemporary of Euripides. He was born at Colonus, a village outside the walls of Athens, where his father, Sophillus, was a wealthy manufacturer of armour. Sophocles himself received a good education. Because of his beauty of physique, his athletic prowess, and his skill in music, he was chosen in 480, when he was 16, to lead the paean (choral chant to a god) celebrating the decisive Greek sea victory over the Persians at the Battle of Salamis. The relatively meagre information about Sophocles’ civic life suggests that he was a popular favourite who participated actively in his community and exercised outstanding artistic talents. In 442 he served as one of the treasurers responsible for receiving and managing tribute money from Athens’ subject-allies in the Delian League. In 440 he was elected one of the 10 stratēgoi (high executive officials who commanded the armed forces) as a junior colleague of Pericles. Sophocles later served as stratēgos perhaps twice again. In 413, then aged about 83, Sophocles was a proboulos, one of 10 advisory commissioners who were granted special powers and were entrusted with organizing Athens’ financial and domestic recovery after its terrible defeat at Syracuse in Sicily. Sophocles’ last recorded act was to lead a chorus in public mourning for his deceased rival, Euripides, before the festival of 406. He died that same year.
Why did the playwright write the play?
Sophocles' great tragedy Oedipus Rex was written and first performed in approximately 429 BCE. This places it right in the middle of the Golden Age of Ancient Greece, which had its height during the 5th century BCE (499-400 BCE). The play is a product of its time and shows Sophocles taking sides in the scientific and religious debates of the period.
However, while the play was written in 429 BCE, it's set in a much earlier time period, although the exact time is not entirely clear. Sophocles took the story from one of the many Greek myths, which told of gods and legends who existed in an undetermined past.