Oedipus Rex

That he will make every effort to end the pestilence before it ends Thebes is the promise that Oedipus makes to the priest and suppliants in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Oedipus knows that Thebes suffers from a pestilence of ailing livestock, dying children and failing crops. He learns that the pestilence will end with the identification and punishment of the guilty in King Laius' murder. He loves his city and its people. He promises that he will fight to death to find the guilty and end the pestilence.

It's unknown as to whether Theban King Oedipus was a living, breathing, real life hero. Some experts and specialists consider Oedipus to be a character who was made up, to prove a point and provide entertainment to ancient theater going audiences. A basis for such an opinion is the lack of the telling of the Oedipus story anywhere else.

But on the other hand, it indeed is possible that Oedipus really did exist. His story may not have been repeated, because of the heinousness of his offenses against the gods and against his fellow mortals. A basis for such an opinion is the birthplace of the story's most famous author. Sophocles [c. 496 B.C.E. - c. 406 B.C.E.] was born into a family who were longtime residents of Colonus. Colonus was reputed to be the final resting place of Oedipus.

Knowing Oedipus in Thebes and in Corinth is how the messenger knows what he does about the Theban King. Long ago, the messenger works as a shepherd in Thebes. Heis entrusted with Oedipus' care by a fellow shepherd who's supposed to leave the three day old baby to die. The messenger takes Oedipus back to Corinth with him. He gives the baby to the childless Corinthian monarchs, King Polybus and Queen Merope.

That's why the messenger knows that Oedipus is the adopted son of the Corinthian monarchs. That also is why he knows that a man who's fated to kill his father and marry his mother safely can go back to Corinth. And that's why he knows that Oedipus' real hometown is Thebes.

Birds, fiery gods and ships are metaphors that the priest uses in the beginning of "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the priest compares the Theban suppliants to fledgling birds. He makes the comparison of the pestilence to a fiery god. He notes that the city of Thebes will becomes an empty ship unless the pestilence soon is ended.

That he is ordered to share his information publicly is what happens when Creon returns from Delphi in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Oedipus asks Creon to consult with the Delphic oracle about how to end the pestilence. Creon comes back with a wreath on his head, a sign of good news. Oedipus demands that Creon share his news immediately in public instead of first in private inside the palace.

Jocasta is Laius' wife in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Jocasta is the royal consort and queen of Thebes. Her husband is her cousin, King Laius. The royal couple are the great-grandchildren of Cadmus, Thebes' founder and first king.

Jocasta's most trusted servant provides Oedipus with information that convinces him that he is Laius' child in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, a Theban shepherd is Theban Queen Jocasta's most trusted servant. A Corinthian shepherd turned messenger tells of receiving the infant Oedipus from the Theban shepherd and fostering him into the childless Corinthian royal house. The Theban shepherd reluctantly confirms this information and upon fear of torture and death reveals that Oedipus is the son of Laius, the man he kills before returning to Thebes, and of Jocasta, the woman he marries upon settling in Thebes.

Jocasta hands the infant Oedipus over to the shepherd to be exposed in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban monarchs Laius and Jocasta receive a prophecy that their son will grow up to kill his father. Laius therefore makes it clear that Jocasta must kill her three-day-old infant son Oedipus. Jocasta does not want to disobey her husband, but also does not want to carry out the deed herself. She therefore asks her most trusted servant, a Theban shepherd, to leave Oedipus exposed to the ravaging weather and scrounging wildlife on the mountains outside Thebes.

That he is an eyewitness to a crime for which Oedipus may be a suspect is the reason why Oedipus wants to see the surviving member of Laius' escort party in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Oedipus heads a murder investigation into the death of King Laius, his royal predecessor and his wife's first husband. It is difficult to follow clues and gather information. But Oedipus may be able to solve the murder mystery by talking with Jocasta's most trusted servant, the sole survivor of the attack that kills five out of seven people in the Delphi-Daulia intersection at the same uncomfortable time.

It is with insults and threats that Oedipus responds after Teiresias hints at the truth in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Oedipus does not like being charged with a murder that he does not remember committing. He therefore charges Teiresias with being a lying traitor who conspires with Oedipus' royal colleague Creon to grab all royal powers to themselves. He accuses Teiresias of accepting bribes and being a fake and even threatens him with corporal despite his advanced age.

The place that Theban King Oedipus mistakenly considers his hometown and a fleeting chance to escape an unenviable fate are what Corinth represent in the play "Oedipus Rex."

Specifically, Oedipus is born the son of King Laius and Queen Jocasta of Thebes. But according to a prophecy, Oedipus is fated to grow up to kill his father. Killing one's father and sovereign is viewed as seriously as disrespecting the gods.

So Oedipus' parents try to kill him just three days after his birth. They arrange to have him left exposed to the weather and the wildlife on the slopes of nearby Mount Kithairon. Killing one's child is viewed far, far less seriously than killing one's parent and ruler.

But Jocasta's servant instead gives Oedipus to a fellow shepherd who is returning home to Corinth. There, Oedipus is adopted into the royal household of the childless King Polybus and Queen Merope. He is raised without any knowledge of either his true identity or his biological parents.

Upon reaching adulthood, Oedipus hears a rumor that his real parents are other than the Corinthian monarchs he always has considered his mother and father. Then the Delphic oracle tells him of his fate to kill his father and marry his mother.

Oedipus' reaction is to run far, far away from Corinth. Unfortunately, Thebes is where he ends up. So the fate that Oedipus so seeks to avoid easily is carried out to the very last miserable detail.

Run away from home is what Oedipus does to defy the will of the gods in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Oedipus hears the prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother. He is horrified and repelled at the thought of murder and incest. He loves his presumed parents, Corinthian monarchs Polybus and Merope. He makes the decision to outrun fate and outwit the gods by moving well away from Corinth.

Yes, Oedipus is a tragic character in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, a tragic character experiences an unfortunate end, or meets with a misfortunate turn of events, in life. The description fits disgraced Theban King Oedipus. Oedipus moves from a position of great personal happiness and professional success to the depths of humiliation, loss and pain.

Carry out a needs assessment, conduct evaluations and assessments of current programs, investigate prevailing social services, and meet with the appropriate community leaders are ways in which modern leaders may respond to pleas similar to that of the Theban citizens at the beginning of "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, a needs assessment can be carried out to find out what the citizens expect and what private and public sources can provide. Current programs can be evaluated and assessed for efficacy at current capacity and for possibilities of expanded services. Meetings can be scheduled with concerned business, cultural, political and religious leaders.

That Teiresias is a participant if not the perpetrator of Laius' murder is the way in which Oedipus feels when Teiresias does not give him the desired information in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Oedipus asks Teiresias the blind prophet for help in identifying King Laius' killer. Teiresias begs to leave. Oedipus decides that Teiresias himself must be involved in the killing.