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Oedipus Rex
More than 2,420 years old but still studied today, the play ‘Oedipus Rex’ tells a tragic tale of mistaken identities, inescapable fates, and horrific human misdeeds. Contributors typically compare and contrast the play’s characters, storytelling techniques, and subject matter with similar pieces of literature from the same and different settings and time periods.
3,240 Questions
Who was the King of Thebes and the father of Oedipus?
Laius is the King of Thebes and the father of Oedipus. By his death, his son Oedipus takes his place, literally, both personally and professionally. Specifically, Oedipus becomes the successor King of Thebes and the husband of Laius' grieving widow, Theban Queen Jocasta.
The problem is that on the way, albeit unknowingly, Oedipus kills his father and sovereign and marries, and has children with, his own mother.
How many captains march against Thebes in 'Antigone'?
No captains march in 'Antigone'. The action of the marching captains instead is the subject of 'Seven against Thebes' by Aeschylus [525/524 B.C.E.-465/464 B.C.E.]. In that earlier play, seven captains lead a combined army of Argive invaders and Theban rebels against the royal throne that Theban King Eteocles refuses to share with his twin brother, Polyneices.
The seven captains are King Adrastus of Argos; Amphiaraus; Capaneus; Hippomedon; Parthenopeus; Polyneices; and Tydeus. All but the Argive King die during the unsuccessful attempt to breach the seven gates of Thebes. After the death of Antigone and the exile of Theban King Creon, Adrastus manages to get Athenian King Theseus' help in launching a second invasion. The purpose of that invasion is the recovery of the disrespectfully unburied, exposed bodies of the five dead non Theban captains from the first invasion. Ten years after the second invasion, a third invasion is launched by the sons of the original seven captains. This time, the invasion topples Eteocles' descendants from the throne. The Theban crown is taken over by the descendants of Polyneices.
What are antigone reasons for defying Creon?
She doesnt think it it right to honor only one brother so in being that case she in fact does go against his will to bury him .
What is Oedipus' crime called nowadays?
Theban King Oedipus kills his own father. Nowadays, that crime officially is called unpremeditated patricide. His father, Theban King Laius, is also his sovereign. Nowadays, that crime officially is called accidental manslaughter and treason. Oedipus then marries his father's widow, Theban Queen Jocasta. Jocasta is also his mother. So nowadays that crime officially is called incest. In one fell swoop, Oedipus therefore becomes a killer, a sex offender, and a traitor.
Who embodies the internal conflict of self versus state in 'Antigone'?
Antigone embodies the internal conflict between the self and the state in the play of the same name. She initially appears to do easy battle with the struggle between being obedient to the laws of her city, and being true to her own sense of right and wrong. Her moral convictions win that battle, because of Antigone's humanitarianism, respect for the gods, and sense of justice. It's only when Antigone takes her last steps to her place of death that readers and viewers learn how much her struggle costs her emotionally and romantically. The reading and viewing audience indeed learn that Antigone is losing out on her dream of marriage to her beloved first cousin and fiance, Haemon. They therefore realize that the apparently easily won moral battle isn't so easy after all, even for such a passionate activist as Antigone.
What worldview does Oedipus's anagnorisis in Oedipus Rex present?
Oedipus's recognition of the role he played in his own downfall reflects the worldview that our actions play a role in controlling our destinies.
A messenger announces Jocasta's death. A messenger announces that Oedipus has blinded himself. Oedipus asks Creon to exile him from Thebes. Oedipus visits with his children one last time. Creon asks Oedipus to leave his children in Thebes.
What kind of sibling rivalry is portrayed in Antigone?
The is very few sibling rivalry present in Antigone, however, the first seen I suppose could be some type of sibling rivalry. When Antigone tells her sister, Ismene, that she is going to bury their brother, Polyneices, despite the law against it, the sisters get in an argument. Later on, when Antigone is convicted, Ismene tries to take credit for the crime along with her sister, and another argument ensues.
Yes, Haimon does die. He stabs himself after Antigone hangs herself. He is found in a pool of his own blood in Antigone's tomb.
Why is Oedipus blinding himself dramatically appropriate?
Because Oedipus was figuratively blind in his complete ignorance of the truth about the death of Laius. In blinding himself, he becomes literally blind to parallel that. I think this is an example of Homeric justice.
What rhetorical questions identify two positions or worldviews in 'Oedipus Rex'?
Do our choices ultimately affect our lives, or does fate rule?
How does knowledge of the Oedipus myth affect an audiences experience of Oedipus Rex?
Knowledge of the Oedipus myth heightens the dramatic irony in the play.
Which event did the chorus in 'Antigone' give an account of?
The chorus provided an account of Polyneices' expeditionto Thebes, the resulting battle, and the outcome of that battle. Polyneices was the twin brother of Eteocles, the older brother of Antigone and Ismene, and the nephew of Theban King Creon. His expedition was supported by his father-in-law, the King of Argos. It was an attempt by Polyneices to regain control over the Theban throne. He and his brother Eteocles were supposed to govern jointly, with each one alternating years of rule. But Eteocles refused to give up the throne, and had Polyneices banished. He wouldn't listen to reason or work things out diplomatically. So Polyneices felt forced into a military solution for getting his rights respected.
Is there a plague in 'Oedipus Rex'?
Yes, there's a plague in 'Oedipus Rex'. It actually is called a 'pestilence'. It's ravaging the city's population, livestock and crops. Everyone is at wits' end as to how to end or at least soften the effects.
Who is Polyneices in 'Antigone'?
In the play 'Antigone', Polyneices is the twin brother of Eteocles, with whom he's supposed to power share the Theban throne. The two men are the royal successors of their parents, King Oedipus and Queen Jocasta of Thebes. Within this immediate family, he also is the brother of his two sisters, Antigone and Ismene. Through both his father's and mother's famly lines, he's the great great great grandson of Cadmus, the founder and first king of the city of Thebes in about 2000 B.C.E. On his father's side, he's the great great great great great grandson of Poseidon, the sea god. And again on both sides, he's the great great great great great great great grandsonof Gaia, the original mother of the gods and of mortals.
Eteocles and Polyneices quarrel over their throne sharing arrangement. Eteocles banishes his brother. Consequently, Polyneices tries to take back the throne by gathering an opposition force from Argos. In the ensuing battle, Eteocles and Polyneices end up being each other's killers. Their uncle Creon then takes the throne. He approves the burial of Eteocles as loyal to Thebes. But he disapproves the same god given rights to Polyneices as a disloyal traitor to Thebes.
But Polyneices' descendants ultimately triumph. Polyneices is the husband of Argive Princess Argeia and the son-in-law of King Adrastus of Argos. He thereby becomes the father of Thersander, who becomes King of Thebes. Through Thersander's descendants, Polyneices becomes the great great great great grandfather of Eurysthenes and Procles, the founders of the respective Eurypontid and Agiad dynasties of the Kings of Sparta, in around 930 B.C.E.
What does Creon report from the Oracle?
That the Oracle identifies the cause of and the solution to the pestilence that ravages the population, livestock and harvests is what Theban King Creon reports from the Oracle at Apollo's Shrine. Specifically, he says that the pestilence is caused by the environmental pollution from the unsolved murder of Theban King Laius. The pestilence will end with the identification and punishment by execution or exile of the murderer or murderers.
It helps establish Creon as a foil for Oedipus, thus highlighting Oedipus's tendency not to think before he speaks.
How did Creon meet his fate in Antigone?
As a result of his stubborn attitude and refusing to listen to Antigone, Haemon, and the citizens of Thebes, Creon blinds himself to the true situation. In the end, what results from this is that his son Haemon commits suicide to die along with his lover, Antigone, and his wife, Eurydice, also commits suicide. Another of his sons, Megareus, had died earlier after Creon sacrificed him to save Thebes (Tiresias the seer had told him that Thebes would guaranteed a victory against the Seven Against Thebes if Megareus was sacrificed). Cursing Creon for his stubbornness and blaming him for the death of their two sons, Eurydice stabs herself with a sword.
Thus, because of Creon's own selfishness and short-sightedness, he met his fate: his entire family was killed, and a descendant of an earlier Theban king, named Lycus, kills Creon and takes the crown. In the end, Creon lost everything.
Antigone is a woman, she didn't have a wife... or a husband for that matter.
