The crown and the throne of Corinth are what Oedipus is offered when Polybus dies in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).
Specifically, King Polybus and Queen Merope of Corinth raise subsequent Theban King Oedipus in the belief that he is their only son and heir apparent. The childless royal couple has no one other than Oedipus to succeed in the rule of the Corinthian royal house. A Corinthian messenger therefore travels to Thebes to inform Oedipus of Polybus' death and of the job opening in Corinth.
Death is what happens to Polybus in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Corinthian King Polybus dies of illness and old age. His death happens while he is in Corinth. He is supposed to be succeeded by his presumed son, Theban King Oedipus, who is ruling in Thebes when the death occurs.
It is his presumed mother that Oedipus claims still to fear in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Theban King Oedipus is offered the Corinthian throne recently vacated by the death of his presumed father, King Polybus. He mentions that his prophesied fate of killing his father appears not to be true since Polybus dies of illness and old age. But he questions the wisdom of going back to Corinth where his mother whom he is predicted to marry still lives.
It is with great joy and relief and then with increasing dread that Jocasta reacts to the new information from the messenger in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles(495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, the Corinthian messenger tells Theban Queen Jocasta that Corinthian King Polybus is dead and that the crown and throne of Corinth are available to her husband, King Oedipus. He also reveals that Polybus dies of old age and sickness. Jocasta reacts with joy and relief to this news because of a prophecy that Oedipus will kill his father and marry his mother. But under questioning, it comes out that Oedipus is Polybus' adopted son and heir and that his true parentage is known by a Theban shepherd from Laius' own royal household.
That Polybus dies of illness and old age and not at Oedipus' hands and that all prophecies may not come true are the reasons why the Theban royal couple, Jocasta and Oedipus, are happy to hear about the death of Oedipus' presumed father.Specifically, years before the action of the play, Oedipus hears a prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother. He is so horrified by the prospect and so frightened by the prophecy being carried out that he runs away from home. That he was no where near Polybus at the time of the latter's death give Oedipus and Jocasta hope that the rest of the prophecy will not come true either.
That all of the prophecies do come true is the dramatic irony in Jocasta's speech in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, dramatic irony refers to the characters in a play having an incomplete or incorrect understanding of their situations or their words. Theban Queen Jocasta says that Oedipus may not kill his father or marry his mother because not all prophecies come true. She observes that Oedipus' father, Corinthian King Polybus, dies from illness and old age at a time where he is in Corinth and Oedipus is way off in Thebes. But in actuality, Oedipus' father is not Polybus but King Laius, whom Oedipus unknowingly kills.
Death is what happens to Polybus in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Corinthian King Polybus dies of illness and old age. His death happens while he is in Corinth. He is supposed to be succeeded by his presumed son, Theban King Oedipus, who is ruling in Thebes when the death occurs.
It is his presumed mother that Oedipus claims still to fear in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Theban King Oedipus is offered the Corinthian throne recently vacated by the death of his presumed father, King Polybus. He mentions that his prophesied fate of killing his father appears not to be true since Polybus dies of illness and old age. But he questions the wisdom of going back to Corinth where his mother whom he is predicted to marry still lives.
Old age and illness are the reasons why Oedipus' adopted father dies in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Corinthian King Polybus is Oedipus' adopted father. The two have not seen each other for almost two decades. But on what turns out to be his last day on the job, Theban King Oedipus gets the news of Polybus' death and an invitation to occupy the Corinthian throne.
It is with great joy and relief and then with increasing dread that Jocasta reacts to the new information from the messenger in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles(495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, the Corinthian messenger tells Theban Queen Jocasta that Corinthian King Polybus is dead and that the crown and throne of Corinth are available to her husband, King Oedipus. He also reveals that Polybus dies of old age and sickness. Jocasta reacts with joy and relief to this news because of a prophecy that Oedipus will kill his father and marry his mother. But under questioning, it comes out that Oedipus is Polybus' adopted son and heir and that his true parentage is known by a Theban shepherd from Laius' own royal household.
That Polybus dies of illness and old age and not at Oedipus' hands and that all prophecies may not come true are the reasons why the Theban royal couple, Jocasta and Oedipus, are happy to hear about the death of Oedipus' presumed father.Specifically, years before the action of the play, Oedipus hears a prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother. He is so horrified by the prospect and so frightened by the prophecy being carried out that he runs away from home. That he was no where near Polybus at the time of the latter's death give Oedipus and Jocasta hope that the rest of the prophecy will not come true either.
That it indicates that his father's death is from natural causes is the reason why Jocasta thinks that the messenger's news will be a relief to Oedipus in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Theban King Oedipus has the prophesied fate of his father's killer and his mother's husband. But then Jocasta hears of the death of Corinthian King Polybus, her husband's presumed father. She looks forward to sharing with Oedipus since Polybus dies of illness and old age in Corinth while Oedipus is far away in Thebes.
That father and son are nowhere near each other at the time of the latter's death is the way in which Jocasta reasons with Oedipus that he cannot be guilty of his father's death in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Theban Queen Jocasta points out that King Polybus is home in Corinth and that Oedipus is at home in Thebes. Polybus dies from illness and old age, not from murder. Oedipus therefore cannot be said to have anything to do with his presumed father's death to Jocasta's way of thinking.
That all of the prophecies do come true is the dramatic irony in Jocasta's speech in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, dramatic irony refers to the characters in a play having an incomplete or incorrect understanding of their situations or their words. Theban Queen Jocasta says that Oedipus may not kill his father or marry his mother because not all prophecies come true. She observes that Oedipus' father, Corinthian King Polybus, dies from illness and old age at a time where he is in Corinth and Oedipus is way off in Thebes. But in actuality, Oedipus' father is not Polybus but King Laius, whom Oedipus unknowingly kills.
That two men do not die in the way described by the prophecies is the argument that Jocasta uses to persuade Oedipus to ignore soothsayers and oracles in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, a prophecy warns that Theban King Laius will be killed by his own son. But Theban Queen Jocasta, Laius' widow and Oedipus' wife, points out that her first husband dies at the hands of strangers and robbers in Phocis. Then she brings up Corinthian King Polybus, who also is supposed to die at the hands of his son, Oedipus. But once again, Jocasta points out that the Corinthian monarch dies of illness and old age.
That two men do not die in the way described by the prophecies is the argument that Jocasta uses to persuade Oedipus to ignore soothsayers and oracles in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, a prophecy warns that Theban King Laius will be killed by his own son. But Theban Queen Jocasta, Laius' widow and Oedipus' wife, points out that her first husband dies at the hands of strangers and robbers in Phocis. Then she brings up Corinthian King Polybus, who also is supposed to die at the hands of his son, Oedipus. But once again, Jocasta points out that the Corinthian monarch dies of illness and old age.
Oedipus blinds himself and is banished to the mountains to be alone until he dies by the new king, who is his uncle/brother-in-law.
Oedipus did not die. He only blinded himself. At the time when he dethroned himself it is estimated he was around 50.