Oedipus Rex

Prophetess at Delphi is who Sybil is in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Sybil is an ancient Greek word that means prophetess. It also may be translated as seeress. It refers to women skilled in interpreting divine will and seeing into the future, such as at Delphi.

"Antigone," which is last in terms of the unfolding of the myth's timeline, is considered to have been written by the ancient Greek Sophocles (c. 496 B.C.E. - c. 406 B.C.E.) by 441 B.C.E.

"Oedipus Rex," which is first in terms of the unfolding storyline, is considered to have been written by Sophocles by 429 B.C.E.

"Oedipus at Colonus," which is second, is considered to have been written by Sophocles shortly before his death, around 406 B.C.E. In fact, the first performance of the play is recorded as 401 B.C.E. The performance was organized by Sophocles' namesake and grandson after the famous playwright's death.

Yes, the chorus' view of life and the gods differs from that of Jocasta in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the chorus of Theban elders does not question even when the members do not understand the will of the gods and the workings of fate in all human lives. In contrast, Theban Queen Jocasta fights against divine will and prophesied fates that she dislikes. For example, she makes arrangements to sabotage a prophecy that her son will grow up to kill her husband.

That she's married to a man who'll be killed by their sonis the fate that Theban Queen Jocasta knows about. So she and her husband think they can avert that fate by killing their new born son. In ancient Thebes, and indeed all Greece, it's considered far worse to kill one's parents than one's children.

But there's another part to that fate. Jocasta doesn't know anything about that part. But she finds out in the end. It's that she also is fated to marry her own son.

Pride that causes him to respond with lethal force to his own father is the tragic flaw that brings Oedipus to catastrophe in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, pride is the opposite of humility. The description fits Theban King Oedipus, who panics and overreacts to every slight. For example, he enters an intersection in which his right of way is taken away, and he is jostled and then hit on the head with a double whip. He delivers a murderous blow with his staff to an older version of himself. Years later, a murder investigation headed by him brings him down as the murderer of King Laius, his father and the obnoxious stranger at the intersection.

Theban Queen Jocasta brings up a prophecy to show that her second husband, Theban King Oedipus, can't have killed her first husband, Theban King Laius. According to a long ago prophecy, Laius was to die at the hands of his own son. Jocasta believes Oedipus to be the son of Corinthian King Polybus and Corinthian Queen Merope. She also believes that her only son, at the age of three days, was killed by a shepherd in her confidence and employ.

But little does Jocasta know that Oedipus was raised as the heir apparent to adoptive/foster royal parents in Corinth. Little likewise does she know that her son didn't die, under her orders and at the hands of her most trusted shepherd. The shepherd could no more force himself to kill the defenseless infant than could Jocasta. So he entrusted Oedipus' upbringing to a shepherd who was going home to Corinth.

And so the prophecy that's intended to reassure Jocasta and Oedipus in the correctness and innocence of their actions insted drives them apart, destroys their lives, and brings humiliation, shame and strife to the royal household and the entire city of Thebes. Jocasta ends up killing herself. Oedipus ends up blinding himself and spending the rest of his life as a miserable beggar. Thebes experiences the violence of Oedipus' twin sons fighting over the royal powers and then the repressive rule of Theban King Creon, Oedipus' brother-in-law and uncle.

A moment of discovery is a realization of truth. That moment takes place in regard to oneself and in regard to the opinions that others hold. For Antigone, that moment regarding the opinions of others takes place when the people of Thebes learn of her arrest for burying her dead brother Polyneices. That's the one and main truth that Thebans discover about her, and they find her obedience to god given laws and respect for the Theban dead admirable.

That moment in regard to herself takes place three times for Antigone. The first moment is at the play's beginning when she says that she knows what's right and she'll do it regardless of what her sister Ismene thinks. The second moment is at the play's middle when she tells Ismene and her uncle, Theban King Creon, of her lifelong sense of obligation to those of her family who await her in the realm of the dead. The third moment is towards the play's end when she tells the chorus that her responsibility to her dead brother's body is overriding in the absence of the joys of husband and children.

For Creon, that moment regarding the opinions of others is finalized at the end of the play, with his forced exile and the suicides of his wife and son. In terms of his family, neither his son Haemon nor his wife, Theban Queen Eurydice, want to continue living with him and his laws so lacking in compassion for his subjects and in respect for the gods. In terms of his people, no Theban wants Creon to continue on a job that he so botches.

That moment in regard to himself takes place during Creon's meeting with the blind prophet Teiresias. Teiresias warns the King of the doom that awaits the royal family as a result of the tragic suffering of Thebans under a law that contradicts divine will. It's at that point that Creon realizes the error of his ways.

Oedipus himself as well as those who know of his true identity and keep silent are responsible for Oedipus' tragedy in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Oedipus is responsible for his downfall because of his murderous acts, passionate outbursts and secretive ways. But he operates at a disadvantage because of his mistaken self-image. Those who have but do not share information as to his true self-identity therefore share in the blame.

The Sphinx is the monster that Oedipus defeats.

Specifically the Sphinx is a demonic combination of a woman's head, a lion's body, and a bird's wings. She stands guard over the city of Thebes. No one can pass her by without having to meet her challenge to answer a riddle. Those who answer the riddle get to pass on. Those who do not lose their lives.

Everyone before Oedipus loses their lives and is eaten alive. They do not know that "man" is the living being that crawls on fours in the morning of their infancy, on twos in the afternoon of their adulthood, and on threes in the evening of their old age. Once Oedipus gives the answer, he enters Thebes, and the Sphinx throws herself over a cliff.

The main movies in which Antigone is compared or mentioned are those that are based upon the three Theban plays in which her character first occurs. The suite of plays calledOedipus Rex*, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone are all available in filmed versions.

The play 'Antigone' may be found in three well known movie versions. One is the 1961/1962 version that director/writer Yorgos Javellas [1916-1976] and producer Demetrios Paris based upon the original play by Sophocles [496 B.C.E.** - 406 B.C.E.]. Another is the 1974 version that director Gerald Freedman [b. June 25, 1927] and writers Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh [June 23, 1910-October 3, 1987] and Lewis Galantiere [1895-1977] based upon Anouilh's play. Still another is the 1984 television version by director Don Taylor [June 30, 1936-November 11, 2003], who also filmed 'Oedipus at Colonus' and 'Oedipus Rex'.

The play 'Oedipus Rex' is the most filmed of the three dramatic tragedies. There are four well known movie versions, including the Taylor version mentioned above. The 1957 version by director Sir William Tyrone Guthrie [July 2, 1900-May 15, 1971] and Abraham Lincoln Polonsky [December 5, 1910-October 26, 1999], and by producer Leonid Kipnis [October 10, 1899-September 13, 1968] is based upon the English translation by William Butler Yeats [June 13, 1865-January 28, 1939]. The 1967 version is by director Pier Paolo Pasolini [March 5, 1922-November 2, 1975] and producer Alfredo Bini [b. December 12, 1926]. The 1968 version is by director Philip Saville [b. October 28, 1930] and producer Michael Charles Deane Luke [March 21, 1925-March 24, 2005].

*Also called 'Oedipus the King' and 'Oedipus Tyrannos'

**Before the Christian Era

It is by following proper procedure that Creon acts as a foil for Oedipus in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Creon follows proper procedure in sharing municipal news by not blurting the news out but asking Theban King Oedipus about meeting in private before announcing in public the Delphic oracle's information. He maintains proper rules of conduct by defending himself against unfounded charges while still respecting his sovereign. He shows adherence to protocol by not overstepping his authority and by awaiting divine word as to which punishment option to carry out regarding disgraced Theban King Oedipus.

Oedipus jumps to conclusions. while Creon thinks before acting.

An abomination describes someone who deserves to be hated and who's worthy of disgust. Theban King Oedipus is an abomination throughout the play 'Oedipus Rex'. But in the beginning, not one of the characters realizes this fact.

By the end, though, everyone and most particularly Oedipus realizes the horror of what he is. What happens between the prologue and the exodus is the information on Oedipus' true identity and the true nature of his marriage to Theban Queen Jocasta. By the end, Thebans understand that they've been upholding an indecent relationship as a model marriage, and a double murderer and sex offender as a hero. And Oedipus understands too.

That the play is strong in character study and dramatic structure but weak in its beginning are the literary criticisms of "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, a literary criticism involves a very close look at a piece of literature in terms of its strengths and weaknesses. The play is strong in its study of character. Another strength is its dramatic alternating of choral odes of entertainment and explanation with dramatic episodes of character dialogue and revelation.

But at the same time, the play is weak in its prologue. The prologue is supposed to set the grounds for the story and to bring the chorus onto the stage quickly thereafter. Instead, it somewhat overwhelms the audience with the sheer numbers of characters on the stage. It also includes lengthy speeches by Theban Kings Creon and Oedipus, and the priest of Zeus. It therefore has the feel more of an episode than of the prologue.

That he marries his mother and has children by her are the immoral acts of Oedipus in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. -- 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, immorality refers to living life in such a way as to offend society. It runs counter to what is considered acceptable and decent in polite company. Oedipus therefore is immoral in becoming involved with his own mother and having children with her and criminal in killing his father.

Classicism is an adherence to traditional forms of literature. Sophocles [496 B.C.E.-406 B.C.E.] indeed tends to respect the general action, purpose and structure of the Greek tragedy. For example, the action tends to be set in and around an imposing building such as a palace. The play's purpose is enlightenment and entertainment. Its structure begins with a prologue, ends with an exodus, and alternates choral odes and episodes in between.

All of the preceding describe Sophocles' play. But at the same time that he respects the form, he actually shows disrespect in one regard. His prologue isn't the briefest of introductions. In fact, it seems more like an episode in the delayed appearance of the chorus and in the lengthy interactions among a surprisingly, overwhelmingly large number of characters all on the stage at the same time.