Oedipus Rex

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.

It is his birth father that Oedipus is supposed to kill in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, a prophet tells Theban monarchs Laius and Jocasta that their son, Oedipus, will grow up to kill his father. As a young man, Oedipus goes to Delphi to consult the Pythia, ancient Greece's foremost oracle. He gets the disturbing news that he will grow up to kill his father and marry his mother. It therefore appears to be a prophecy about Oedipus' birth not adoptive father.

Seven is the number of captains who march against Thebes in "Seven Against Thebes" by Aeschylus (c. 525/524 B.C.E. - c. 456 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the captains lead attackers from the combined forces of disgruntled Thebans and supportive Argives. They each receive an assignment to a particular gate to attack and overwhelm. The following lists the leaders in the order of the assigned gates, 1-7: Tydeus; Capaneus; Eteoclus; Hippomedon; Parthenopeus; Amphiaraus; and Polyneices, the legitimate heir to the Theban crown and throne.

The divine curse on the royal house of Thebes is the base of the prophecy concerning Oedipus' birth in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the gods become angry with Cadmus, founder and first king of Thebes and grandson of the sea god Poseidon. They give his wife Harmonia as a wedding present an unlucky necklace that brings misfortune to Thebes in general and the royal family in particular. Additionally, the wine god Dionysos, who is Cadmus' nephew, becomes angry with Cadmus' son Polydorus and grandson Labdacus, both of whom die young and violently. So it is not unexpected that the gods choose an unenviable fate, as revealed by prophecy, to Cadmus' great-grandson Laius.

Another base that is identified by psychology is a stage in a boy's development in which he is drawn less to the father and more to the mother as the source of information and emotional support.

No, Oedipus' realization that all the prophecies come true is not the inciting incident in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the inciting incident is the event that makes the story possible. Without it, there is no story. It occurs in the beginning of the play. In contrast, Oedipus' realization occurs at the end.

No, Antigone does not have a dignified character, but she does have a superior one, in the play "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Princess Antigone always is described in terms of her emotions and her hard-headedness. For example, the chorus speaks of her stubborn passion. Her sister Ismene fears her refusal to do things quietly and her insistence upon speaking honestly about what she thinks is right and wrong. Her uncle Theban King Creon characterizes her as letting her emotions run wild and acting foolishly her entire life. So Antigone definitely is more passionate than dignified in her behavior and less conciliatory than superior in her communications and expressions.

Oedipus talking to the priest of Zeus and citizens of Thebes is what happens first in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. -- 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the priest and Thebans are gathered around altars set up outside the main entrance to the royal Palace of Thebes. Oedipus steps outside. Oedipus makes clear in what he says that he speaks to everyone present. But in terms of asking questions and reacting to statements, Oedipus interacts with the priest of Zeus.