Oedipus Rex

An attempt to learn the truth regarding an upsetting rumor about his parentage is the reason why Oedipus goes to the oracle as a young man in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. -- 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, a dinner guest who remains nameless says that Oedipus is not Corinthian King Polybus' son. Oedipus is shocked and distressed, because he feels very loved by his father and his mother, Queen Merope. When his parents fudge on answering his questions, Oedipus does what any royal would do in a similar situation in ancient Greece: he consults the nearest oracle.

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.

That the crisis over the Sphinx is solved by Oedipus, not Teiresias, is the reason why Oedipus brings up the Sphinx and calls Teiresias a pious fraud in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Oedipus comes as a young man to Thebes. He defeats the Sphinx, who is asking an impossible question and killing and eating all Thebans who do not have the correct answer. Teiresias the blind prophet already is in Thebes, but does nothing to end the Sphinx's reign of terror. Oedipus refers to this to question Teiresias' motives for action and inaction.

Recklessness is a character trait revealed by Oedipus' accusation against Creon in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, recklessness shows an unconcern or disregard for human life. The description fits Theban King Oedipus when he chooses to disregard Creon's track record. Creon does what Oedipus tells him to do and behaves as though he has no interest in grabbing all the royal powers for himself. But Oedipus claims just that when he hears upsetting, treacherous charges from Teiresias the blind prophet. He can only think that he is being framed for murder so that Teiresias and Creon, who stand to gain with Oedipus' overthrow, can take over.

"What living being gets around on fours in the morning, twos in the afternoon and threes in the evening?" and "This day shall be thy birthday, and thy grave" are the two (2) riddles to be found in the play "Oedipus Rex."

Specifically, the first riddle is the one that Oedipus must solve in order to become King of Thebes. He realizes that it is a human that crawls on fours in the morning of youth, walks on both feet in the afternoon of maturity, and on both feet through the help of a cane in the evening of life. But it is not so easy for him to understand and solve the second riddle.

The second riddle is presented by the blind prophet Teiresias, who refers to Oedipus having an incorrect self-image. The day that Teiresias make his enigmatic statement Oedipus is born into the knowledge that those whom he considered his parents were not biologically so, that he whom he so casually murdered was his father and his sovereign, and that she whom he considers his wife was first and foremost his mother. On that same die, Oedipus becomes a dead man to decent society and to divine favor because of his serious offenses as murderer and sex offender.

That it makes him more considerate in his interactions is an effect that Oedipus' blinding has on him in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Oedipus has an assertive personality that dominates events and peoples. He loses some of the impatience that accompanies his domineering nature. He shows considerable caution in trying to get Creon, his brother-in-law and royal successor, to do things his way and considerable sensitivity in warning his young daughters, the sister Princesses Antigone and Ismene, of their changed royal circumstances.

Suicide is what happens to the Sphinx when Oedipus solves the riddle in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the Sphinx demands upon pain of death the answer to an impossible riddle. Oedipus figures out the answer and thereby deprives the Sphinx of her food supply. In despair, she throws herself over a nearby cliff.

An unidentified individual in a flashback and the Corinthian messenger during the play tell Oedipus that he is adopted in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, a nameless individual says that Oedipus is not the biological son of his presumed parents, Corinthian monarchs Polybus and Merope. He receives evasive answers from the royal couple and a disturbing prophecy from the Delphic oracle. So he runs away to Thebes, where he becomes the happily married King of Thebes. But years later, a Corinthian messenger brings the news of Polybus' death and in the process says that Oedipus is the monarch's adopted son.

Dramatic irony

apex :)

It is his murder of five people that Oedipus relates about his past to explain his fear in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Oedipus becomes fearful when he hears of King Laius' death place as the Delphi-Daulia intersection in the land of Phocis. He explains that he indeed is a secret murderer. Just before settling down in Thebes, he kills five people at the very same intersection at about the same time as Laius' death.

It is nothing that Jocasta says to the gods after learning of Polybus' death in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Jocasta characterizes the news of Corinthian King Polybus' death as verification that prophecies do not always come true. She never mentions the gods during the rest of the interaction with the Corinthian messenger and her second husband, King Oedipus. But before the news, she offers sacrifices to Apollo the god of prophecy and prayers for Oedipus and for a swift end to the pestilence in Thebes.

Conciliatory, practical and straightforward are the first impressions of Jocasta in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Queen Jocasta demonstrates a conciliatory nature in promoting peace between Creon and Oedipus. She exhibits practicality in analyzing the source and course of the disagreement between her brother and her second husband. She expresses straightforwardness in not mincing her words.

That Oedipus must end the pestilence in Thebes before it ends all life in the city, that the solution demands the identification and punishment of the guilty in Laius' murder and that Oedipus appears to be the prime suspect is a summary of the first part of "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Oedipus must end the pestilence before it leaves him with no city over which to rule. He therefore does what any well-trained royal does in ancient Greece: he seeks to understand divine will as expressed by the Apolline oracle and Teiresias the blind prophet. The oracle charges him with identifying and punishing the guilty in the unsolved murder of his royal predecessor, King Laius. Teiresias calls him the very murderer whose execution or exile all gods and Thebans demand. After learning that Laius' crime scene and that of a murder committed by him against a similar person at about the same time, Oedipus believes that Teiresias may be right. He therefore begins to look into his own past.

It is about the Delphic oracle, Laius' death, lies, and the outcome of his overthrow that Oedipus asks Creon in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Oedipus asks Creon about the Delphic oracle's insights on how to end the current pestilence in Thebes. He poses questions about finding the guilty in King Laius' murder. He questions Creon about the lies that appear to be told by Teiresias the blind prophet. Finally, he seeks to know if he can be exiled instead of executed and if he can see his daughters, the sister Princesses Antigone and Ismene.

That he fears Oedipus' reaction is the reason why Teiresias initially refrains from divulging the truth to Oedipus and the others assembled outside in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Teiresias the blind prophet is Thebes' wisest citizen. He knows all past, present and future knowledge relating to Thebans and Thebes. At first, he prefers not to say anything because of Oedipus' violent temper and because of the shocking, treasonous truths that he must reveal.