Oedipus Rex

Oedipus Rex

Louis Bouwmeester as Oedipus in a Dutch

Written by Sophocles

Chorus Theban Elders

Characters Oedipus
Priest
Creon
Tiresias
Jocasta
Messenger
Shepherd
Second Messenger

Mute Daughters
of Oedipus (Antigone and I
smene)

Date premiered c. 429 BC

Place premiered Theatre of Dionysus, Athens

Original language Classical Greek

Series Theban Plays

Genre Tragedy

Setting Thebes

Oedipus Rex, also known by its Greek title, Oedipus Tyrannus (Ancient
Greek: Οἰδίπους Τύραννος, pronounced [oidípoːs týrannos]), or Oedipus the King, is
an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed around 429 BC.
[1] Originally, to the ancient Greeks, the title was simply Oedipus (Οἰδίπους), as it is
referred to by Aristotle in the Poetics. It is thought to have been renamed Oedipus
Tyrannus to distinguish it from Oedipus at Colonus, a later play by Sophocles. In
antiquity, the term "tyrant" referred to a ruler with no legitimate claim to rule, but it
did not necessarily have a negative connotation.[2][3][4]

Of Sophocles' three Theban plays that have survived, and that deal with the story
of Oedipus, Oedipus Rex was the second to be written, following Antigone by about a
dozen years. However, in terms of the chronology of events described by the plays, it
comes first, followed by Oedipus at Colonus and then Antigone.

Prior to the start of Oedipus Rex, Oedipus has become the king of Thebes while
unwittingly fulfilling a prophecy that he would kill his father, Laius (the previous
king), and marry his mother, Jocasta (whom Oedipus took as his queen after solving
the riddle of the Sphinx). The action of Sophocles's play concerns Oedipus's search
for the murderer of Laius in order to end a plague ravaging Thebes, unaware that the
killer he is looking for is none other than himself. At the end of the play, after the
truth finally comes to light, Jocasta hangs herself while Oedipus, horrified at
his patricide and incest, proceeds to gouge out his own eyes in despair.

In his Poetics, Aristotle refers several times to the play in order to exemplify aspects
of the genre.[5][6]

Curse upon Laius[edit]

The misfortunes of Thebes are believed to be the result of a curse laid upon Laius for
the time he had violated the sacred laws of hospitality (Greek: xenia).

In his youth, Laius was taken in as a guest by Pelops, king of Elis, where he would
become tutor to the king's youngest son, Chrysippus, in chariot racing. Apollo, the
protector of youth and boys, cursed him for raping Pelops' son. Chrysippus committed
suicide.

Birth of Oedipus[edit]

When Laius' son is born, he consults an oracle as to his fortune. To his horror, the
oracle reveals that Laius "is doomed to perish by the hand of his own son." Laius
binds the infant's feet together with a pin and orders Jocasta to kill him. Unable to do
so to her own son, Jocasta orders a servant to expose the infant on a mountaintop. The
servant, moved by pity, gives the child to a shepherd, who unbinds the infant's ankles,
and names him Oedipus, "swollen foot". The shepherd brings the infant to Corinth,
and presents him to the childless king Polybus, who raises Oedipus as his own son.

Oedipus and the Oracle[edit]

As he grows to manhood, Oedipus hears a rumour that he is not truly the son of
Polybus and his wife, Merope. He asks the Delphic Oracle who his parents really are.
The Oracle seems to ignore this question, telling him instead that he is destined to
"mate with [his] own mother, and shed/With [his] own hands the blood of [his] own
sire." Desperate to avoid this terrible fate, Oedipus, who still believes that Polybus
and Merope are his true parents, leaves Corinth for the city of Thebes.

Fulfilling prophecy[edit]

The old man[edit]

On the road to Thebes, Oedipus encounters an old man and his servants. The two
begin to quarrel over whose chariot has the right of way. While the old man moves to
strike the insolent youth with his scepter, Oedipus throws the man down from his
chariot, killing him. Thus, the prophecy in which Oedipus slays his own father is
fulfilled, as the old man—as Oedipus discovers later—was Laius, king of Thebes and
true father to Oedipus.

Riddle of the Sphinx[edit]

Main article: Riddle of the Sphinx

Painting by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres depicting Oedipus after he solves the

Arriving at Thebes, a city in turmoil, Oedipus encounters the Sphinx, a legendary

The precise riddle asked by the Sphinx varied in early traditions, and is not explicitly
stated in Oedipus Rex, as the event precedes the play. However, according to the most
widely regarded version of the riddle, the Sphinx asks "what is the creature that walks
on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three in the evening?" Oedipus,
blessed with great intelligence, answers correctly: "man" (Greek: anthrôpos), who
crawls on all fours as an infant; walks upright in maturity; and leans on a stick in old
age.[8]: 463

Bested by the prince, the Sphinx throws herself from a cliff, thereby ending the curse.
[9] Oedipus' reward for freeing Thebes from the Sphinx is kingship to the city and the
hand of its dowager queen, Jocasta. None, at that point, realize that Jocasta is Oedipus'
true mother.[10] Thus, unbeknownst to either character, the remaining prophecy has
been fulfilled.

Plot[edit]

Oedipus, King of Thebes, sends his brother-in-law, Creon, to ask the advice of the
oracle at Delphi, concerning a plague ravaging Thebes. Creon returns to report that
the plague is the result of religious pollution, since the murderer of their former
king, Laius, has never been caught. Oedipus vows to find the murderer and curses him
for causing the plague.

Oedipus summons the blind prophet Tiresias for help. Tiresias admits to knowing the
answers to Oedipus' questions, but he refuses to speak, instead telling Oedipus to
abandon his search. Angered by the seer's reply, Oedipus accuses him of complicity in
Laius' murder. The offended Tiresias then reveals to the king that "[y]ou yourself are
the criminal you seek". Oedipus does not understand how this could be, and supposes
that Creon must have paid Tiresias to accuse him. The two argue vehemently, as
Oedipus mocks Tiresias' lack of sight, and Tiresias retorts that Oedipus himself is
blind. Eventually, the prophet leaves, muttering darkly that when the murderer is
discovered, he shall be a native of Thebes, brother and father to his own children, and
son and husband to his own mother.
Creon arrives to face Oedipus's accusations. The King demands that Creon be
executed; however, the chorus persuades him to let Creon live. Jocasta, wife of first
Laius and then Oedipus, enters and attempts to comfort Oedipus, telling him he
should take no notice of prophets. As proof, she recounts an incident in which she and
Laius received an oracle which never came true. The prophecy stated that Laius
would be killed by his own son; instead, Laius was killed by bandits, at a fork in the
road (τριπλαῖς ἁμαξιτοῖς, triplais amaxitois).

The mention of the place causes Oedipus to pause and ask for more details. Jocasta
specifies the branch to Daulis on the way to Delphi. Recalling Tiresias' words, he asks
Jocasta to describe Laius. The king then sends for a shepherd, the only surviving
witness of the attack to be brought from his fields to the palace.

Confused, Jocasta asks Oedipus what the matter is, and he tells her. Many years ago,
at a banquet in Corinth, a man drunkenly accused Oedipus of not being his father's
son. Oedipus went to Delphi and asked the oracle about his parentage. Instead of
answering his question directly, the oracle prophesied that he would one day murder
his father and sleep with his mother. Upon hearing this, Oedipus resolved never to
return to Corinth. In his travels, he came to the very crossroads where Laius had been
killed, and encountered a carriage that attempted to drive him off the road. An
argument ensued, and Oedipus killed the travelers—including a man who matched
Jocasta's description of Laius. However, Oedipus holds out hope that he was not
Laius' killer, because Laius was said to have been murdered by several robbers. If the
shepherd confirms that Laius was attacked by many men, then Oedipus will be in the
clear.

A man arrives from Corinth with the message that Polybus, who raised Oedipus as his
son, has died. To the surprise of the messenger, Oedipus is overjoyed, because he can
no longer kill his father, thus disproving half of the oracle's prophecy. However, he
still fears that he might somehow commit incest with his mother. Eager to set the
king's mind at ease, the messenger tells him not to worry, because Merope is not his
real mother.

The messenger explains that years earlier, while tending his flock on Mount
Cithaeron, a shepherd from the household of Laius brought him an infant that he was
instructed to dispose of. The messenger had then given the child to Polybus, who
raised him. Oedipus asks the chorus if anyone knows the identity of the other
shepherd, or where he might be now. They respond that he is the same shepherd who
witnessed the murder of Laius, and whom Oedipus had already sent for. Jocasta,
realizing the truth, desperately begs Oedipus to stop asking questions. When Oedipus
refuses, the queen runs into the palace.

When the shepherd arrives, Oedipus questions him, but he begs to be allowed to leave
without answering further. However, Oedipus presses him, finally threatening him
with torture or execution. It emerges that the child he gave away was Laius' own son.
In fear of a prophecy that the child would kill his father, Jocasta gave her son to the
shepherd in order to be exposed upon the mountainside.
Everything is at last revealed, and Oedipus curses himself and fate before leaving the
stage. The chorus laments how even a great man can be felled by fate, and following
this, a servant exits the palace to speak of what has happened inside. Jocasta
has hanged herself in her bedchamber. Entering the palace in anguish, Oedipus called
on his servants to bring him a sword, that he might slay Jocasta with his own hand.
But upon discovering the lifeless queen, Oedipus took her down, and removing the
long gold pins from her dress, he gouged out his own eyes in despair.

The blinded king now exits the palace, and begs to be exiled. Creon enters, saying that
Oedipus shall be taken into the house until oracles can be consulted regarding what is
best to be done. Oedipus's two daughters (and half-sisters), Antigone and Ismene, are
sent out and Oedipus laments their having been born to such a cursed family. He begs
Creon to watch over them, in hopes that they will live where there is opportunity for
them, and to have a better life than their father. Creon agrees, before sending Oedipus
back into the palace.

On an empty stage, the chorus repeats the common Greek maxim that "no man should
be considered fortunate until he is dead."