Oedipus Rex

Ancient oral traditions, ancient Greek pottery and ancient Greek poetry are the oldest sources of information for any research on "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the play deals with the life and times of Theban King Oedipus, who dies at Colonus, the birthplace of the ancient Greek dramatist Sophocles. The oral traditions in Athens, Colonus, Corinth, Delphi, Phocis and Thebes are the primary information sources since those are the places known to be connected with Oedipus' life and death. From those traditions derive the pertinent art work of the fifth century B.C.E. and the relevant poetry of the following writers:

1. Aeschylus (ca. 525/524 B.C.E. - c. 455/456 B.C.E.) in "Seven Against Thebes";

2. Eurippides (ca. 480 B.C.E. - 406 B.C.E.) in "Chrysippus" and "Phoenissae";

3. Hesiod (fl. eighth century B.C.E.) in "Theogony";

4. Homer (fl. 8th century B.C.E.) in "The Iliad"; and

5. Pindar (ca. 522 B.C.E. - 443 B.C.E.) in his "Second Olympians Ode."

Merope is the person that Oedipus believes to be his mother in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Queen Merope of Corinth is the only mother figure that Theban King Oedipus remembers being around. But the Corinthian messenger who brings news of Polybus' death becomes the second person to raise doubts about Oedipus' true parentage. It is interesting that when another royal house is suggested as his real home, Oedipus immediately assumes that he is the child of slaves.

It is when he learns the location of the crime scene that Oedipus begins to think that he himself is the murderer in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Oedipus knows little about the murder that he investigates. That is why he is angered, frightened and horrified when his royal advisor, Teiresias the blind prophet, accuses him of being the very criminal he seeks. But he has second thoughts when he learns that the murder takes place at the very crossroads where he himself commits murder before settling down in Thebes.

Confrontational versus conciliatory and escapist is the difference between Oedipus' and Jocasta's characters in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Oedipus demonstrates confrontation when he jumps impatiently into the interrogation of the chorus leader, the Corinthian messenger, Creon, Jocasta, Teiresias and the Theban shepherd for information about the guilty in King Laius' murderer. There is no misunderstanding what he asks, feels or seeks. In contrast, Oedipus' wife Queen Jocasta moves in a more conciliatory and sometimes escapist and obscure way. For example, she points out positive points, skirts over what is upsetting, and even tries to squish completely what is uncomfortable or unpleasant.

That he believes himself capable of outrunning fate and outwitting the gods is the way in which hubris can be considered Oedipus' tragic flaw in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, hubris describes an exaggerated sense of self, arrogance, pride. Oedipus exhibits an exaggerated sense of self in consulting the Delphic oracle and running away from home without talking first to his presumed parents, Corinthian monarchs Polybus and Merope. He expresses arrogance in killing five people at the Delphi-Daulia crossroads without immediately thereafter carrying out mandatory cleansing rituals. He manifests pride in his own inattentiveness to detail in killing a man old enough to be his father and marrying a woman old enough to be his mother.

No shepherd raises Oedipus in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, an unnamed Theban shepherd gives the abandoned infant Oedipus to an unnamed Corinthian shepherd. The Corinthian shepherd is returning to his hometown after tending his flocks outside Thebes. He takes Oedipus back with him to be fostered into the Corinthian royal household and to be raised as the heir apparent to the childless King Polybus and Queen Merope.

Yes, Creon is fair to Oedipus in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, disgraced Theban King Oedipus is supposed to be sequestered from everyone and placed under house arrest pending divine judgment. Creon, his brother-in-law and royal successor, lets Oedipus meet with his young daughters. He refuses to promise Oedipus exile over execution and the company of his daughters over blind loneliness. Such decisions trespass into divine domain, something that the gods never forget or forgive.

That his only remaining child will die and that the chorus leader tells him to bury Polyneices and free Antigone are what finally make Creon relent in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Teiresias the blind prophet warns Theban Creon in Episode 4 that what goes around comes: Every household in Thebes mourns the dead and hates Creon for refusing god-given burial rights to the disloyal dead. So too will Creon experience the loss of his only remaining child. But Creon hesitates until the chorus leader tells him to back down and reverse the carrying out of an edict that contradicts divine will and therefore has dire consequences for all Thebes.

That the information Theban King Oedipus seeks is unbelievable and that the bearer of bad news needs to beware of his sovereign are the reasons why Teiresias the blind prophet tries to protect Oedipus. Oedipus asks the prophet for help in identifyng and punishing the killer or killers of Theban King Laius. But the very person whom Oedipus seeks is himself.

It's dangerous to tell a monarch something that he neither believes nor likes. That's what Teiresias faces in giving Oedipus the information that's needed for a successful manhunt. Additionally, the information will tear to pieces everything that Oedipus believes about himself, his life, and his interactions with others.

Yes, Theban King Creon returns from consulting with the Oracle at Apollo's Shrine before being accused by Theban King Oedipus. Creon comes back with the news that the killer or killers of the royal predecessor, Theban King Laius, must be identified and punished with death or exile. No one gives any helpful information by which Oedipus can track down the perpetrator or perpetrators.

Oedipus therefore calls upon Teiresias the blind prophet. But Teiresias finally says that Oedipus himself is the killer who's being sought. This is such a shock that Oedipus assumes that Creon and Teiresias are conspiring to overthrow him by framing him for murder. The irony lies in the fact that what Teiresias says is true.