Oedipus Rex

That others know who is guilty of Laius' murder and that Oedipus does not know is an example of the dramatically ironic knowledge of the audience in the play "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. -- 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Laius, the previous king of Thebes, is killed without the guilty being sought or punished and without cleansing rituals being carried out. Teiresias the blind prophet, Queen Jocasta's most trusted servant and audiences familiar with the Oedipus story all know in advance that the killer is Oedipus. This is dramatically ironic since Oedipus has no clue that the person he promises to track down and punish is himself.

The importance of following proper procedure is what today's leaders can learn from Oedipus' example in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Oedipus' tragedy derives in part from not following proper procedure. For example, he gets a disturbing prophecy that affects him and his family and runs away instead of sharing. He kills five people on the way to Thebes, where he marries a widowed queen. He neglects proper procedure by not carrying out cleansing rituals for his crimes and the death of his wife's first husband. The inattention to proper procedure ultimately trips Oedipus up because the gods become angry and send a pestilence to Thebes. Oedipus' example underscores the importance of doing what it supposed to be done when it needs to be done.

Declining animal and human birth rates and failing harvests are the problems affecting Thebes in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, there is a pestilence in Thebes. It is behaving as pestilences often do in ancient Greece: threatening the populations of all life forms and the production of crops. In ancient Greece, pestilences often are interpreted as divine pleasure over a human commission or omission in regard to the gods and their rules.

That he anticipates his city's needs, that he calls it "my city," and that he prefers to be exiled to its outskirts are ways of describing Oedipus' patriotism in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Oedipus does not need to be told about the current pestilence, against which he has a plan of action already in place. He gets helpful information from the Delphic oracle and from key information sources within the city. He heads the investigation that will end the pestilence before it ends Thebes. He refers to Thebes as "my city" even though he assumes himself to be Corinthian born and bred. With his downfall, he wishes to spend the rest of his miserable life in the mountains just outside the beloved city that he no longer can see.

That it is the place connected with the most important events in his life is the importance that the city of Thebes has for Oedipus in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Thebes is the place of King Oedipus' birth, marriage, and parenting. It is the place where he makes his reputation by defeating the invincible Sphinx, ending the pestilence and finding the guilty in King Laius' murder. It is the place where he rules as the city's role model of personal happiness and professional success until his overthrow for criminal acts and immoral behavior.

The Sphinx, pollution lingering from an unsolved murder and pestilence are three things that plague the city in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the Sphinx camps outside the city to plague incoming and outgoing Thebans with her seemingly unanswerable riddle. She is defeated, but followed albeit unknowingly by a subtle environmental pollution that establishes itself because of neglected carrying out of mandatory cleansing rituals in the aftermath of King Laius' death. The pollution magnifies into a full blown pestilence whereby children die, crops fail and livestock fail.

That you cannot escape fate is a moral lesson in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban monarchs Jocasta and Laius hear the horrifying prophecy that their son will grow up to kill his father. The royal couple is in love and decide to have their three-day-old infant son Oedipus killed rather than grow up to a fate so offensive to gods and mortals. But Oedipus manages to survive. As an adult, he receives the prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother. He runs away and starts a new life in Thebes. But it turns out that the man whom he kills on the way to Thebes is his father and the mother whom he marries is his mother.

Talk Oedipus out of learning the truth of his parentageis what Jocasta attempts to do in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, a Corinthian messenger comes to Thebes to inform Theban King Oedipus of Polybus' death and of his eligibility as heir to the Corinthian throne. Oedipus is reluctant to return because his mother Merope still lives. According to a prophecy, he will kill his father and marry his mother. The Corinthian quickly tells of Oedipus' actual birth in, but abandonment by, the royal house of Thebes. Oedipus' wife Jocasta wants to hear no more since she realizes to her horror that her husband is also her son and her first husband's killer.

It is his intelligence, problem-solving and word of honor that is Oedipus' pride and integrity in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Oedipus demonstrates intelligence in defeating the Sphinx. He evidences problem-solving abilities in organizing the investigation of King Laius' murder. He is committed to carrying out his word to end problems and help his people in his beloved city of Thebes.

That he will kill his father and marry his mother are the horrible things that the oracle claims that Oedipus will do in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, it is the Delphic oracle that speaks to Oedipus of these horrible things. This oracle is located at Delphi and is considered the most famous and most respected oracle in ancient Greece. What the Delphic oracle says therefore tends to be taken seriously, and Oedipus does what any really frightened person does: He runs.

That he has a mistaken self-identity and that Laius' murder happens before he moves to Thebes are the reasons why Oedipus does not recognize the truth when he hears it in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Oedipus finds it difficult to believe that he can be King Laius' killer. All he knows is that Laius' death takes place before his own move to Thebes. He may be a spoiled only child who considers himself special. He may be raised to see the differences instead of the similarities between him as a royal and others as his subjects.

It is as a man that Teiresias meets Oedipus in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Teiresias the blind prophet has a complete gender experience. He knows what it is like to be a woman before and after his life as a man. He presents himself in permanent male form when he advises Theban King Oedipus.

Recognition of Theban King Oedipus as the killer of King Laius is what makes the lone surviving slave of the royal party plead his departure from Thebes. The sole survivor sees Oedipus taking over his royal predecessor's job and wife. This survivor is the most trusted servant of Theban Queen Jocasta. So he knows she'll grant his request for a hasty departure before he possibly may be recognized by Oedipus.

The surviving slave ultimately can draw on knowledge that will ruin the life of the Queen whom he respects. He's a former shepherd whom Jocasta entrusts with the killing of her three day old son. The killing of a child is deemed far less heinous than the killing of one's father and sovereign in ancient Greece. And that's exactly what the child's fated to grow up to do, and more.

So when all the pieces of informaton from the surviving slave are put together, Oedipus also stands to lose all that he cherishes in life: his wife, his sense of self, his reputation, his possessions, his job, his home, and his family. The reason lies in the person that, albeit unknowingly, he really is: a murderer of father and king, and a sex offender with his own mother.

The Sphinx is terrorizing Thebes when Oedipus arrives in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Oedipus arrives in Thebes to find a monstrous Sphinx camped outside the city's entrance. She asks a riddle whose answer she demands upon pain of death. No one knows what the correct response can be. Thebans therefore fear having to go back and forth about their daily business around Thebes.