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Yes, the ancient Greek audience was familiar with the legend before seeing "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the life and times of disgraced Theban King Oedipus is part of Athenian history. Colonus is the birthplace of the play's author and deathplace of Oedipus, whose birthplace is in Thebes. Athens, Colonus and Thebes share geographic proximity as well as a common culture and history as places in the life and times of one of the area's most famous kings.

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Q: Is the ancient Greek audience of 'Oedipus Rex' familiar with the legend before seeing the play?
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What is Oedipus' place of exile in 'Oedipus Rex'?

That he must leave Thebes and never return are the provisions of the sentence of exile in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, the play ends with Oedipus and the audience remaining ignorant of whether or not the punishment for criminal acts and immoral behavior will be execution or exile. During the play, Oedipus makes the request to be banished to the mountainside outside Thebes. It is only in "Oedipus at Colonus" by the same ancient Greek dramatist that the audience receives the general information that Oedipus wanders outside Thebes for years before dying just outside Athens at Colonus.


What is the priest doing in 'Oedipus Rex'?

Seeking and being granted an audience with Oedipus is what the priest does in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Thebes is reeling from a pestilence that causes children to die before or shortly after birth, crops to fail and livestock to ail. A group of suppliants gather in front of the main entrance to the Theban royal palace. They are accompanied by the priest of Zeus, who requests and receives an audience with Theban King Oedipus regarding how to end the pestilence before it ends all life in Thebes.


Who was king before Oedipus?

it was king Laius, Oedipus' real father.


Whom does Oedipus send and where before the beginning of 'Oedipus Rex'?

Creon; the Delphic oracle


What is the purpose of 'Oedipus Rex' and when does the reversal of the situation occur?

Before I answer this question, what does Oedipus Rex means?

Related questions

What is Oedipus' place of exile in 'Oedipus Rex'?

That he must leave Thebes and never return are the provisions of the sentence of exile in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, the play ends with Oedipus and the audience remaining ignorant of whether or not the punishment for criminal acts and immoral behavior will be execution or exile. During the play, Oedipus makes the request to be banished to the mountainside outside Thebes. It is only in "Oedipus at Colonus" by the same ancient Greek dramatist that the audience receives the general information that Oedipus wanders outside Thebes for years before dying just outside Athens at Colonus.


What is the priest doing in 'Oedipus Rex'?

Seeking and being granted an audience with Oedipus is what the priest does in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Thebes is reeling from a pestilence that causes children to die before or shortly after birth, crops to fail and livestock to ail. A group of suppliants gather in front of the main entrance to the Theban royal palace. They are accompanied by the priest of Zeus, who requests and receives an audience with Theban King Oedipus regarding how to end the pestilence before it ends all life in Thebes.


Who was king before Oedipus?

it was king Laius, Oedipus' real father.


What was the point in the play 'Oedipus the King' where the audience feared for Oedipus?

When Teiresias accuses him of killing Laius and not being such a role model of domestic bliss is the point at which the audience fears for Oedipus in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Teiresias the blind prophet is considered the wisest man in Thebes. He is a storehouse of past, present and future knowledge. He shares that knowledge with the reigning monarch since he is the advisor to all of Thebes' kings since the city's founding four generations before Oedipus' time by Cadmus. That Teiresias says that Oedipus is the person guilty of the long-ago murder of Theban King Laius and that the royal private life is not as perfect as it seems therefore are serious, unsettling charges.


Whom does Oedipus send and where before the beginning of 'Oedipus Rex'?

Creon; the Delphic oracle


What literary devices are used in Oedipus?

Some common literary devices used in Sophocles' play "Oedipus Rex" include dramatic irony, foreshadowing, and symbolism. Dramatic irony is prevalent as the audience knows Oedipus' fate before he does. Foreshadowing is seen through prophecies that hint at future events, while symbolism is often used to represent larger themes, such as blindness symbolizing ignorance.


What is the purpose of 'Oedipus Rex' and when does the reversal of the situation occur?

Before I answer this question, what does Oedipus Rex means?


What is the relationship between Creon's spoken lines and Oedipus' hamartia in 'Oedipus Rex'?

It helps establish Creon as a foil for Oedipus, thus highlighting Oedipus's tendency not to think before he speaks.


How does Oedipus cause problems in Thebes in 'Oedipus Rex'?

It is by not carrying out cleansing rituals and by not looking into his royal predecessor's death that Oedipus causes problems in Thebes in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Oedipus commits five murders before coming to Thebes. He does not go through mandatory purification procedures with which he is very familiar as a royal. He then finds out that he can marry the beautiful widowed Queen, whose husband's murder he does not look into even though, once again, he is a royal and knows about mandatory cleansing rituals. This is all very polluting for Thebes and Thebans.


When did Oedipus free Thebes from the Sphinx in 'Oedipus Rex'?

Some fifteen to twenty (15-20) years before the action of the play "Oedipus Rex" Oedipus is considered to have freed Thebes from the Sphinx.Specifically, ancient Greek playwright Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.) gives no dates or times for the events before and during the action of the play. But Oedipus indicates that he is not worried about what will happen to his twin sons, Eteocles and Polyneices, who are already grown up. Based upon what is known about eligibility to take over the throne, which both of his sons could and would do, the general notion is that defeating the Sphinx, marrying Theban Queen Jocasta and becoming King of Thebes happened in Oedipus' life about 15-20 years before his fall from grace as a killer and sex offender.


What do Oedipus' parents do to him before they send him off to die in the mountains in 'Oedipus Rex'?

Run a rod through his ankles is what Oedipus' parents do to him before they send him off to die in the mountains in the play "Oedipus Rex" by ancient Greek playwright Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, King Laius and Queen Jocasta plan to have their three-day-old infant son die by exposure in the mountains outside Thebes. Allowing a child to die was considered far less serious than killing a parent, which a prophecy says Oedipus will do if allowed to grow up. The rod through the ankles shows anyone who finds him that Oedipus is left deliberately to die.


When were 'Oedipus Rex' and 'Antigone' written?

By 442 B.C.E. the play "Antigone" was written, and then by 429 B.C.E. the play "Oedipus Rex" was written.Specifically, the plays are part of the tragic story of Theban King Oedipus made famous by Sophocles (c. 496 B.C.E. - c. 406 B.C.E.). In terms of the myth's unfolding, "Oedipus Rex" represents the first installment of the story. The second installment is contained in "Oedipus at Colonus," which was written shortly before the ancient Greek playwright's death. The third installment, which was released first, is "Antigone."