Oedipus Rex

That he is being accused of treasonous conspiracy is the reason why Creon confronts Oedipus 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. Oedipus can think of no reason other than his overthrow as to why such seemingly groundless accusations are being made. He promptly and groundlessly charges Teiresias with conspiring with Creon to grab all royal powers for themselves. Creon hears of Oedipus' charges and seeks to sort out the misunderstanding, which otherwise can end in his execution or exile.

That prophets make mistakes is Jocasta's response when told by Oedipus of Teiresias' accusing him of being Laius' murderer in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Queen Jocasta expresses a lack of confidence in prophets and prophecies. She brings up a chilling prophecy delivered to her and her first husband, King Laius. According to the prophecy, Laius is to die at the hands of his own son with Jocasta. But the prophecy does not come true to Jocasta's way of thinking since it is her understanding that Laius dies at the hands of robbers in an unfortunate meeting at the Daulia-Delphi crossroads in Phocis.

A prophet, Jocasta and the Theban shepherd all bring news of the curse of King Laius and Queen Jocasta in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Queen Jocasta tells her second husband, King Oedipus, of a cursed prophecy that her and her first husband King Laius' son will grow up to kill his father. She identifies the original news-bearing source as an unnamed prophet who is not in the same league as the widely renowned, widely respected Delphic Oracle. Subsequently, a Theban shepherd who also is Jocasta's most trusted servant confirms the prophetic curse on the royal couple.

That Oedipus will learn the true circumstances of his birth and identity and that the knowledge will destroy him personally and professionally is what Teiresias means when he says "This day will bring your birth and your death" in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Oedipus asks for help in finding the guilty in King Laius' murder. His royal advisor Teiresias the blind prophet gives an answer that Oedipus dislikes and shows that he dislikes. Teiresias holds fast to his answer and maintains that everything that Oedipus needs to know will be known, to his own detriment.

Pathos refers to suffering that manages to gain sympathy from a story's reading and viewing audience. It's a good word to describe the suffering that the audience finds in 'Oedipus Rex'. One example of an element of pathos in the play is Theban Queen Jocasta's committing suicide.

Life becomes unbearable when Jocasta realizes that the killer of her first husband, Theban King Laius, is her second husband, Theban King Oedipus. It becomes even more unbearable when she realizes that her second husband is none other than her only child by her first husband. She's tainted by the heinous crimes of father and king killing, through her interactions with the killer. She's tainted by the heinous crime of incest, through her wedding and bedding with her own son. These are all horrible crimes that she never wants to commit. Yet they're all on her doorstep. The only way to face such a life is to end it, according to Jocasta's tormented spirit and tortured mind.

Another example of an element of pathos is Oedipus' self mutilation. He blinds himself once he sees himself and his life for what they really are. He thinks of himself as a model sovereign, husband and father. He finds out that he's the exact opposite. He's a model king, because he's the killer of his royal predecessor. He's a model spouse and parent, because he's the wedder and bedder of his own mother.

Still another example of an element of pathos in the play is the struggle by Jocasta, Laius, and Oedipus toavoid their horrific fates. The harder they try to escape or subvert fate, the closer they embrace their horrendous destinies. Unfortunately, each one of their actions involves poor choices and poor decisions that betray their attempts at flight from, or negation of, their fates.

It is in Delphi that the oracle is located in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, there is a shrine to the sun god Apollo in Delphi. Apollo also is the god of prophecy. His most important medium, through whom he speaks of human futures, is the Pythia, who also is called the Delphic oracle.

That he is proud enough of his abilities that he thinks himself capable of outsmarting the gods is the way in which Oedipus' pride leads to his fall in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the Delphic oracle says that Oedipus will kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus already questions whether or not Corinthian monarchs Polybus and Merope are his biological parents. But he considers himself smart enough to escape his fate by running away, murdering an older version of himself, marrying an older woman, and forgetting to carry out mandatory purification rituals for his victim and for his wife's dead husband.

That Teiresias and Creon are conspiring to overthrow him is the false conclusion that Oedipus reaches as a result of his quarrel with Teiresias in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Teiresias the blind prophet accuses Theban King Oedipus of killing King Laius. Oedipus does not remember ever meeting Laius. It is a serious offense to kill a king, for which the current punishment is execution or exile. Either way, Creon stands to gain the royal job lost by Oedipus. Oedipus therefore thinks that Creon and Teiresias must be in cahoots.

That what goes well is his own doing and that what goes badly is the doing of the gods are the beliefs of Oedipus in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Oedipus appears to believe that things are best done himself. He has confidence in his ability to meet challenges. For example, he makes an effort to outrun his prophesied fate as his father's killer and his mother's husband. When things fall apart personally and professionally, he turns around and blames the gods instead of his own panic stricken behavior and secretive nature.

Blasphemy and murder are the ways in which Oedipus is guilty in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Oedipus receives a divine prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother. He reacts by running away and doing everything he can to oppose the fates that the gods have in store for him. Then he kills one person in self-defense and three more for the same reason or because of his uncontrolled passions and temper. He does not carry out cleansing rituals that he knows must be done, in the case of these four murders and in regard to the murder of his royal predecessor, Theban King Laius. Instead, he can think only of marrying the beautiful, older widowed queen of Thebes and of starting on a family and holding down his job as Theban king. He therefore becomes guilty of blasphemy in terms of the first, third and fourth acts and of murder of three individuals in the second.

The Sphinx, the pestilence and the murder are Oedipus' challenges in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Oedipus confronts the challenge of the Sphinx when he first moves to Thebes. He endures the second and third challenges after a number of years as king of Thebes. The challenge of the murder be solved in order to end the challenge of the pestilence.

That he is given to them as a gift from a local shepherdis how Polybus and his wife Merope adopt Oedipus in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, a Corinthian shepherd is tending his flock in the mountains outside Thebes. He meets a local shepherd, who has an abandoned three-day-old infant. The Corinthian takes the infant back to his hometown and gives him to the city's childless royal couple, King Polybus and Queen Merope of Corinth.

That the death of Polybus is due to natural causes and not to murder by his own son is the reason why Jocasta finds comfort in the news of his demise in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Oedipus says that a prophecy warns that he will kill his father and marry his mother. Theban Queen Jocasta points out that prophecies do not always come true. She then points out that Oedipus is in Thebes and Polybus in Corinth when the death of the latter occurs due to illness and old age instead of at Oedipus' hands.

Oedipus heading a murder investigation and extending the applicability of punishment are examples of dramatic irony in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, dramatic irony refers to an incomplete or incorrect understanding of a situation. The description fits Theban King Oedipus' actions in looking for the guilty in the murder of his royal predecessor, King Laius. For example, Oedipus finds himself at the head of the murder investigation that ironically will prove him to be Laius' killer. Additionally, he extends the punishment of the guilty to all who have, but do not share, information and all who harbor or help the guilty even if they be members of the royal household. Oedipus does not realize when he gets so carried away with zeal that he deprives himself of any hope for pardon or mitigating circumstances once his crime becomes known and is judged.

Yes, Oedipus is accompanied by his children in exile in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the audience does not know whether or not Theban King Oedipus lives and if he lives whether or not he goes into exile in the company of his children, the Princesses Antigone and Ismene. Oedipus tries to force his royal successor, King Laius, to exile him to the mountains outside Thebes. But the choice of exile over execution as punishment of criminal acts and immoral behavior will have to await the expression of divine will since this is a call that only the gods get to make.

The Sphinx is the name of the monster from whom Oedipus frees Thebes in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the Sphinx is a monstrous combination of assorted body parts from a woman and wildlife. She has no other name. She appears almost immediately after Theban King Laius is killed while away from Thebes and on a consulting trip to Delphi.

Exile him and let him be with his daughters are what Oedipus wants Creon to do in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Oedipus awaits divine indications as to whether he is to be executed or exiled for criminal acts and immoral behavior. He does not want to be executed since he feels punished enough with the horrors of his life and with his self-blinding. He makes an attempt to get Creon, his brother-in-law and royal successor, to usurp divine decision making and exile him. He also makes an effort to get Creon to let him see his daughters even though he is supposed to be immediately isolated and placed under house arrest. He succeeds and therefore tries to get Creon to exile him and let him be accompanied by his daughters.