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Oedipus Rex
More than 2,420 years old but still studied today, the play ‘Oedipus Rex’ tells a tragic tale of mistaken identities, inescapable fates, and horrific human misdeeds. Contributors typically compare and contrast the play’s characters, storytelling techniques, and subject matter with similar pieces of literature from the same and different settings and time periods.
3,240 Questions
Why does Oedipus bring up the Sphinx and call Teiresias a pious fraud in 'Oedipus Rex'?
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.
What happens to the Sphinx when Oedipus solves the riddle in 'Oedipus Rex'?
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.
Who tells Oedipus that he is adopted in 'Oedipus Rex'?
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.
The placement of loyalty to his fiancée over loyalty to Creon, who is both his father and his king, is Haemon's tragic flaw. A tragic flaw is a weakness or imperfection in an individual's character or personality that leads to that person's death, destruction, or downfall. Haemon's disrespect is his fatal flaw, because it encourages uncontrolled passion. In his passion, Haemon doesn't mince his words or his actions. In fact, he goes so far as to attempt to kill his own father and his own king. According to the laws of mortals and of the gods, the authority of a father and of a king must be respected. Especially is it a serious matter to disrespect one's sovereign, as that constitutes treason. Additionally, both mortals and the gods frown upon both murderous attempts and murderous deeds.
Who does Oedipus Rex send out to fix the plague?
Creon, he goes to find out from Apollo what has caused the plauge
What happen to oedipus's children?
Polynices attempts to claim the throne of Thebes by force from his brother Eteocles. The two fight to the death killing each other.
In Sophocle's Antigone, Antigone buries Polynices against the orders of King Creon and is sentenced to death by starvation. She hangs herself first.
Other accounts have that Creon's son Haemon marries her secretly and she lives sercretly with Haemon's shepards. They have a son together whom Creon recognizes by a serpent mark which is on all the descendants of Cadmus and sentences his grandson to death where upon Haemon kills himself and Antigone. (The Greek Myths Complete Edition by Robert Graves, page 380.)
What does Oedipus relate about his past to explain his fear in 'Oedipus Rex'?
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.
Why would an audience want to see a play such as 'Oedipus Rex' when they already know the ending?
Dramatic irony
apex :)
What does Jocasta say to the gods after learning of Polybus' death in 'Oedipus Rex'?
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.
What is the summary of the first part of 'Oedipus Rex'?
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.
What are the first impressions of Jocasta in 'Oedipus Rex'?
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.
What does the shepherd tell Oedipus?
If you mean the shepherd from Corinth, the man who brings the news the Oedipus' supposed father, Polybus, is dead, he tells Oedipus that Polybus was actually no relation to him. The shepherd was given Oedipus as a tiny baby by another shepherd, from there in Thebes. Because the KIng and Queen of Corinth had no children, the shepherd from their country had given them the baby, who had its feet pinned together, to raise as theirs.
The tragic Greek tale of the man who killed his father and married his mother was written by?
The play Oedipus Rex was written by Sophocles.
What is Polyneices' punishment?
Polyneices' punishment was non-burial. The application of the sentence was his corpse being left, above ground and exposed to the weather, the dogs, and the birds. This sentence wasn't in keeping with the way that Polyneices had led his life and made ready for his death. Polyneices was the Theban descendant of Thebes' founder, Cadmus [fl. 2000 B.C.E.*]. As a Theban, and particularly as a founding member's descendant, he was supposed to be guaranteed of a burial in accord with the god-given rites and rituals. It didn't matter that he had helped his hometown's enemies lead a treacherous, but ultimately disastrous, invasion of Thebes. The hatreds of a lifetime were supposed to end with death. But Polyneices' uncle, Theban King Creon, decided that family ties ended, in life and in death, with betrayal of the hometown by a hometown boy. He therefore continued Polyneices' punishment in life into death. He did so by denying his nephew the god-given right to a proper below-ground burial. *Before the Christian Era.
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.
What does Oedipus ask Creon in 'Oedipus Rex'?
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.
Why is 'Antigone Rising' the name of the band?
It's possible that the name 'Antigone Rising' just reflects the university backgrounds of the band's members. Classical mythology always is a popular subject in the ending years of high school and the beginning years of college. It's a subject that ties the two otherwise disparate experiences together. In the play 'Antigone', the main character of the same name refuses to accept an obedient, subordinate, subservient follower role in Theban society. She speaks her mind, and follows her conscience and her heart. In the play, her maverick defense of tradition against tradition-busting change earns her a death sentence. But other versions of her story indicate that she escapes capital punishment and starts life anew elsewhere with a newborn son of the husband that she can't save. Either way, Antigone ultimately is seen as the victorious defender of ancient, classical traditions. So the 'Rising' part of the band's name may refer to the classical figure's ultimate victories. And the band indeed traces its initial successes to a faithfulness to classic rock in a time of experimentation.
What social psychological and or aesthetic role did the chorus serve in the play 'Antigone'?
The social role of the chorus is the voicing of consensus and conflict within Thebes. The psychological role is the articulating of the conflicts within the minds of the main characters. And the aesthetic role is the representation of the community onstage.
What kind of person is Creon in 'Oedipus Rex' and 'Antigone'?
A compassionate bureaucrat and a heartless dictator is the kind of person that Creon respectively is in "Oedipus Rex" and "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).
Specifically, Creon follows proper procedure but leaves room for compassion and respect when he team rules with Theban King Oedipus, his brother-in-law and royal colleague. For example, he keeps a respectful stance when he defends himself against Oedipus' rabid, unfounded charges of treasonous conspiracy. He lets Oedipus meet with his children even though the latter needs to be arrested and confined pending divine judgment for criminal acts and immoral behavior.
But Creon makes an about face once he becomes sole ruler of Thebes. He heartlessly refuses to honor for the disloyal Theban dead their god-given rights as Thebans to below ground burials. He rejects all pleas to give the disloyal Theban dead below ground protection from ravaging weather and scrounging wildlife. He rules alone, arbitrarily, cruelly and most dictatorially.
Is Oedipus a pawn of the gods?
No, but he is under the impression that he is. In that time a King was a relative of God himself, well this is what they believed. He is fated to do what he does, but also has free will. He can make choices for himself.
What happens to Thebes after the first years of Oedipus' rule?
Thebes prospers for awhile but then the famine comes in and can only end after Oedipus leaves.
What is the purpose of the prologue in 'Oedipus Rex'?
To introduce the main character and theme is the purpose of the prologue in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).
Specifically, the prologue introduces to the audience Theban King Oedipus as the main character. It also introduces the main theme of the pestilence and the hunt for the murderer. Both events show that something is wrong in the city of Thebes and that the play will be spent working that out.
Does Oedipus marry his mother in 'Oedipus Rex'?
Yes, Theban King Oedipus marries his own mother in the play "Oedipus Rex."
Specifically, Oedipus is the son of Theban monarchs Laius and Jocasta. Oedipus grows up thinking that his foster parents, King Polybus and Queen Merope of Corinth, are his biological parents. As an adult, he leaves Corinth, kills an arrogant elderly man on the way to Thebes and marries the King's widow ... his own mother Jocasta.
