Oedipus Rex

Thespis does not appear in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Thespis (fl. 6th century B.C.E.) has the reputation of being the world's first known actor. He lived in the century before the ancient Greek dramatist wrote his plays about the life and times of disgraced Theban King Oedipus (fl. 12th century B.C.E.). He was not part of the Theban royal family and therefore was not among the cast of characters or chorus.

It is in their comments regarding offstage, onstage, parallel and past events that the chorus heightens the tension in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the chorus draws its membership from the most accomplished, respected and senior of Thebes' citizens. The members explain the impact of characters' deeds and words. They tend to interpret from a position of support and sympathy for the king.

That he becomes king is what happens to Creon at the end of "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Queen Jocasta commits suicide. Her husband, King Oedipus, has to step down because of criminal acts and immoral behavior. Creon, Jocasta's brother and Oedipus' royal colleague, is the closest and most eligible relative to take over the rule of Thebes.

In running toward the precise carrying out of a horrible, miserable fate when he thinks that he's running away lies the tragedy of fate for Oedipus in the play 'Oedipus Rex'.

Specifically, as a young man, subsequent Theban King Oedipus discovers that he's fated to kill his father and marry his mother. Those whom he thinks to be his parents, King Polybus and Queen Merope of Corinth, are actually his foster parents. He runs away from Corinth, kills a man whom he resembles and who's old enough to be his father, and marries a Theban woman whom he may resemble in some gesture or turn of speech and who's old enough to be his mother. In fact, his victim is his father, Theban King Laius. His wife, Theban Queen Jocasta, really is his mother.

It is Creon who succeeds Oedipus as king in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Creon is King Oedipus' brother-in-law and uncle. He is the direct paternal descendant of the royal house of Labdacus and therefore of Cadmus, Thebes' founder and first king. He is the most eligible living relative to take over royal powers ... until his twin nephews Eteocles and Polyneices are old enough to rule.

The decision or non decision about the differential treatment of her brothers is the effect that Theban King Creon's decision has on Antigone. Creon says that only those who die loyal to Thebes may be granted complete and proper burials. Those who die disloyal to their hometown may not have their god given rights honored.

Antigone's brother Eteocles dies loyal to Thebes. But her other brother, Polyneices, dies on the losing, treacherous side. Creon plans to have Eteocles buried. He plans to leave Polyneices' corpse above ground, to the workings of the weather and wildlife.

Fate versus free will are the worldviews that Sophocles presents in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, fate describes a worldview in which the twists and turns in life are predetermined. Free will describes a worldview in which the twists, turns and outcomes result from individual choices. But Sophocles does not separate the worldviews. Instead, he mixes them to the extent that all of Theban King Oedipus' panic stricken and uninformed but free will choices lead him precisely to the points where his prophesied fate says he will be as his father's killer and his mother's husband.

Oedipus is the hero in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the term hero describes an individual who does great deeds, holds great powers and is the main character. The description fits Theban King Oedipus. Oedipus is known for defeating the invincible Sphinx and for ending the pestilence at great personal and professional cost. He is the main character around whom all action centers.

The Corinthian messenger's information on Oedipus' parentage is the peripitea in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the peripitea describes the reversal from fortune to misfortune. It is the point at which life no longer favors an individual's happiness, health and success. That point occurs when the Corinthian messenger says that Theban King Oedipus is a native born in the Theban royal household, not that of Corinth.

Athena's shrines are the oracular twin shrines of Pallas in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Athena is the goddess of wisdom. She is one of the gods to which the chorus turn for help in their opening ode. She is worshipped throughout the city, and her shrines are favorites among Thebans.

The nature of divine presence in life and death is the religious theme in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the gods have oracles to tell mortals how to lead their lives. They have the Furies of fate to make sure that how the gods expect mortal lives to be led indeed is carried out. It is an all-encompassing presence since that gods leave no disobedience, disrespect, infraction or questioning unpunished.

Yes, Theban King Creon is a strong ruler in the play "Antigone" by ancient Greek playwright Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the adjective "strong" may describe a ruler who shows physical stamina and mental alertness. Creon shows mental alertness in recognizing a problem of discontent within his realm and coming up with a solution. He shows physical stamina in enforcing an unpopular law and in holding steady upon a difficult course until Teiresias the blind prophet and the Chorus leader advise him to do otherwise.

But a strong ruler is not necessarily a good, effective or beloved leader of people.

A dust storm happens immediately before Theban Princess Antigone is detected alongside the body of Polyneices in the play "Antigone" by ancient Greek playwright Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the guards remove the dust of a previous partial burial to the body of Polyneices, in Episode 2. They then sit down on the brow of a nearby hill. AT midday a dust storm arises, and the guards see nothing until the whirlwind passes. At that point, Antigone is seen heading towards her brother's corpse, which she re-buries with dust and which she anoints with ritual liquid from a bronze ewer.

That it emphasizes the limitations on being mortal is the reason why irony is important in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, irony refers to incomplete or incorrect understandings that characters have of their situations or even of the import or consequences of their words. Its use in the play serves to highlight the the limits on a character's self-knowledge and to narrow that character's range of successful reactions to challenges. It also stresses divine power and human powerlessness in the working out of pre-determined fate and desperate free will choices.

Exile for heinous crimes and the royal succession are the reasons why Theban King Oedipus leaves some of his children behind. Albeit unknowingly, he's the murderer of his father and sovereign, Theban King Laius. Albeit unknowingly, he's the husband of his own mother, Theban Queen Jocasta. The punishment for such offenses against the gods and mortals is execution or exile. Oedipus loses his reputation, his possessions, his job, and his home. But he gets to keep his life.

Oedipus' twin sons, Eteocles and Polyneices, are left behind in Thebes. Despite their parents' scandalous behavior, they still are heirs to the throne. It's theirs once their father is exiled.

As with the case of her brothers, Antigone's fate is presented consistently from ancient sources. She accompanies her father into exile. After his death in Colonus, she returns to Thebes.

But there are differing stories as to where Oedipus' daughter Ismene is in all of this. Her fate isn't something that passes down in consistent form from ancient sources. She may have remained in Thebes and died during the subsequent, fatal conflict between her two brothers. Or she may have accompanied Oedipus in his exile that ultimately leads to Colonus.

At first that women need to do what men and kings tell them to do and then that a woman can be right and a man and a king wrong are what Theban Princess Ismene thinks of the actions of Antigone and Creon in the play "Antigone" by ancient Greek playwright Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Ismene indicates in the play's Prologue that women are on earth to obey men and the laws of kings. She therefore thinks that her sister, Theban Princess Antigone, needs to obey Theban King Creon's law against the burial of the body of their brother, Polyneices. But in Episode 2, when she sees that her sister faces the death sentence for respecting the gods when kings contradict divinely expressed will, Ismene decides that a woman does not have to act in a certain male-defined way if that way and that man are wrong.