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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
Which of the following lines is most likely the anagnorisis from Oedipus rex?
"Woe! woe! woe! woe! all cometh clear at last." (1225)
Oedipus after he was blinded, while addressing to the people and himself declares that his punishment is less than justified.
Who is the main speaker in 'Antigone'?
The main speaker in the play 'Antigone' may be considered as the character who has the most words to speak. That person appears to be Theban King Creon. For he dominates every action in the play, by his direct presence or by direct references to him by the main characters.
What is Jocasta's feeling about the gods and their prophecies in 'Oedipus Rex'?
That the gods are wise but that their prophecies may not be true when delivered by other than gods is Jocasta's feeling in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).
Specifically, a prophet claims that Theban Queen Jocasta's first husband King Laius is fated to be killed by his own son. But Jocasta hears from a trusted eyewitness that the death is at the hands of robbers. She therefore maintains that prophets may not get it right since they do not have the perfect wisdom of the gods.
Why has Creon forbidden Polyneices' burial?
Answer #1 by Ginezumi Theban King Creon forbids the burial of his nephew and former king, Polyneices. The King takes this course of action, for the security of his city, people and rule. He's a law-and-order ruler who brooks no opposition, and tolerates only devoted obedience to him and his decrees. He considers a dead enemy still an enemy, be that enemy one of his own people or one of his own family. According to the King, the enmities and hatreds of a lifetime don't end with death. In fact, they carry over and demand continued differential treatment and continued severe punishment. Answer #2 by Chongi It's called hubris (ὕβρις).
How does Oedipus' curse on the murderer hint at the outcome of 'Oedipus Rex'?
That the Theban royal household may be implicated is the outcome hinted by Oedipus' curse on the murderer in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).
Specifically, the Apolline oracles says that the pestilence in Thebes will end with the identification and punishment of the guilty in the murder of Theban King Laius, King Oedipus' royal predecessor. Oedipus takes it upon himself to extend the curse of execution or exile to whomsoever harbors or helps the murderer. He volunteers that this curse will be carried out even if the murderer or murderous accessories are found within his own household within the Theban royal palace.
Oedipus Rex is the main character of an ancient Greek tragedy written by Sophecles. He is the only son of King Laios and Queen Iokaste of Thebes, who were given an oracle by the greek god Apollo at his birth stating that the child would grow up to kill his father and marry his mother. In fear, Laois takes the infant to mount Cithaeron and skewering his ankles so he cannot move, (Oedipus means: swollen feet) leaves him there to die. Unbeknownst to the king and queen however, Oedipus is found by a shepherd who delivers him to the king and queen of Corinth. They raise the child as their own until the day when his lineage is called into suspect. Oedipus journeys to Delphi to ask the gods there the truth about his birth. While he doesn't receive an answer, the oracle prophasies that he will one day murder his father and sleep with his mother. In terror he flees Corinth and wanders the lands until he comes upon a road where three highways join together. A small company of men surrounding a chariot force him off the road, and he becomes angry and kills all of them but one. The man driving the chariot is his father, Laois, although neither of the men are aware of the fact. Thinking little of the incident, Oedipus continues his journey and finds himself in the city of Thebes, which has just recently lost their king and has been beset by a Sphinx who demands sacrifices of their young men unless someone can answer her riddle: what has one voice and four legs, then two legs, then three legs? Oedipus alone can solve the riddle, (the answer is man, crawling as a child, walking on two legs for much of his adult life and then finally walking with a cane as an old man) and he frees the city from the monster. In gratitude, the city officials offer him the hand of Iokaste and the crown of Thebes. The city prospers for a few years until a horrific plague is sent on them by Apollo who has seen the pollution in the city (namely Oedipus who has unwittingly fulfilled the prophecy by killing his father and marrying his mother). He demands that the murderer of Laios be found.
Oedipus, eager to save his city and newfound kingship, initiates a hunt which eventually leads him to the truth: he is the murderer, and the husband of his mother. When Iokaste discovers the news she hangs herself in shame. In his agony of losing both wife and mother and realizing how cursed he is, Oedipus blinds himself and exiles himself from Thebes, going back to the mountain where he was placed as a child and welcoming death.
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. APEX D. recognition (or self-recognition).
The ethical questions posed by Sophocles don't have simple answers.Apexs
What is the significance of the first line in 'Oedipus Rex'?
That it is a question and that it shows the concern of Oedipus for his people is the significance of the first line in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).
Specifically, Theban King Oedipus questions why Thebans gather as lowly people waiting to submit a plea for help to a cold, distant authority. He offers himself as concerned as a father over his children. Ironically, Oedipus asks the first of a series of questions but never thinks of asking himself questions about the misconceptions and mysteries in his own life. Just as ironically, Oedipus addresses his people as his children, which in a sense they really are since he and they are albeit unknowingly blood relatives instead of a Corinthian born King ruling over a Theban born people.
How did Oedipus set the city of Thebes of free?
Oedipus set the city of Thebes free by calling the curse off. This gave reward for freeing the kingdom.
It is Teiresias' murder charges against him that Jocasta refers when she tells Oedipus "Leave now thyself and all thy thoughts of this" in Oedipus Rex by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).
Specifically, Teiresias the blind prophet accuses Theban King Oedipus of being King Laius' murderer. He also charges that by the end of the day Oedipus will be destroyed personally and professionally by the knowledge of himself and of the crime against Laius. Queen Jocasta, Oedipus' wife and Laius' widow, rejects what Teiresias says and asks Oedipus to forget Teiresias and listen to her.
Who tells Oedipus that a pestilence threatens to destroy the city in the beginning of 'Oedipus Rex'?
It is the priest of Zeus that tells Oedipus that a pestilence threatens to destroy the city at the beginning of "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).
Specifically, the priest gathers with suppliants outside the main entrance to the Theban royal palace. The suppliants have set up altars in the clearing. They plan to have the priest bring up the pestilential problem in a public meeting with their beloved and respected King Oedipus.
The fate of Ismene is unknown in the play 'Antigone'. Readers and viewers only know that Ismene's activities are under Theban King Creon's control. The King ultimately decides to release Ismene, and to punish Antigone, for the unlawful burial of their rebel brother Polyneices. Ismene is a survivor. She also represents the ideal Theban woman: unquestioning, unimaginative, uneducated, subservient, obedient, and intimidated by governmental, royal and spousal powers. The children of her brothers Eteocles and Polyneices succeed Creon as King of Thebes. So it's likely that Ismene ends up as married with children.
Why does Sophocles have Oedipus blind himself offstage?
Like most truly suspenseful and horrifying moment, whether in theatre, film, or television, what an audience imagines is far more gruesome than anything that they can actually watch. This makes the blinding far more effective offstage.
In addition, as all classical Greek plays were performed with masks, this made it possible for the actor to come back with a different mask to show the change and thus create a visual cue for the audience.
Why is Creon kindly towards Oedipus at the end of 'Oedipus Rex'?
That he is officious and victorious is the reason why Creon is kindly towards Oedipus at the end of "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).
Specifically, Theban King Creon well may take pride in his bureaucratic nature that crosses every letter "t" and dots every letter "i." He need not worry any more about disruptions to the appropriate protocol and the proper procedure that he so likes to follow now that his brother-in-law and former royal colleague Oedipus is disgraced personally and professionally. He rules over all Thebes and does not have to worry any longer about Oedipus' rash threats at execution or exile for unproven charges of treasonous conspiracy. He wins, and Oedipus loses.
Why is Antigone seen as a good person?
Because she respects the gods, her family and her hometown Antigone is seen as a good person in the play "Antigone."
Specifically, mortals are expected to obey divine laws. In the case of Antigone, she respects the divine law that all Thebans are to receive divinely ordained funerary rites and below-ground burial procedures. No one - not even Theban King Creon - has the right to deny Thebans such as the disloyal Polyneices of these god-given rights. Antigone disobeys human law and obeys divine law by burying her disloyal brother.
According to ancient Greek culture, this is the correct and good thing to do. In fact, to do otherwise is not only blasphemous and disfunctional to the family but also dangerous for Thebes. Not following proper, divinely ordained procedure pollutes people and the entire environment. Antigone's uncle and sovereign therefore contaminates not only himself but all Thebans and all Thebes when he prevents the burials of Polyneices and the other disloyal Theban dead.
When is Oedipus born in 'Oedipus Rex'?
Probably some forty years before the action of the playis the general time period of Oedipus' birth in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).
Specifically, no precise information as to dates and ages is given in the play. But Theban King Oedipus is old enough to have two grown sons so he most likely is in his forties. Additionally, it is possible to guesstimate his lifespan as possibly straddling the thirteenth to twelfth (13th-12th) centuries B.C.E. That calculation is based on Oedipus' grandson Thersander as living at the time of the Trojan War, which may be dated to the twelfth century B.C.E.
What is the chorus' view of Teiresias' accusations against Oedipus in 'Oedipus Rex'?
That they reject it without further evidence is the chorus' view of Teiresias' accusations against Oedipus in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).
Specifically, the chorus praises the wisdom of Apollo the sun god and Zeus the chief god. They mention the lesser wisdom of prophets such as Teiresias. They therefore do not accept Teiresias' charges that Oedipus is the very killer that all Thebes seek and that the gods want punished.
Why have the priests come to the altar in the book Oedipus Rex?
The priests are trying to figure out how to remedy the plague
The Initial incident in a story is a time where the problem starts
Why is intelligence oedipus' flaw?
The most widely accepted interpretation is that Oedipus' flaw was not intelligence but rather hubris, or excessive pride. When he heard the prophecy of the fate the gods had in store for him, Oedipus attempted to escape this fate. In the ancient Greek mentality, this idea that a mere mortal could avoid the path the gods had determined he follow, is the ultimate statement of pride. The Greek gods were thought to be infallible, and by necessity anything they said of course would be inevitably true. Oedipus should not have been so proud as to think that he could go against the will of the gods. And so it is his attempt to avoid the fate laid out for him that led him straight to his prophesied end. If he had accepted the word of the gods and remained with his foster parents instead of traveling, he never would have met his father at a crossroads and killed him in a quarrel, nor would he have ever met, much less wedded, his biological mother.
What is ironic about Oedipus punishment?
The irony of the punishment brought forth by Oedipus is the fact that he himself declared that the man who murdered Laius to be murdered. When Oedipus makes this declaration, he is unaware that he is the murderer.
