Oedipus Rex

The direct descendants of the founder and first king of Thebes is what is meant by the House of Cadmus. The city's founding dates back to 2,000 B.C.E., when Cadmus leaves his hometown of Tyre, Phoenicia. He's the son of King Agenor; the grandson of Poseidon the sea god [and therefore the great nephew of Zeus the king of the gods]; the great grandson of Cronus and Rhea on his father's side, and of Oceanus and Tethys on his mother's side; and the great great grandson of the world's first parent and single mother, Gaia.

Theban Queen Jocasta and Theban King Creon are the great great great grandchildren of Cadmus through the founder's daughter, Princess Agave. Theban King Oedipus is the great great great grandson of Cadmus through the founder's son, Theban King Polydorus.

In the aftermath of the cycle of three Oedipus plays, it's the line of descent through Oedipus' and Jocasta's son Polyneices that triumphs. Polyneices' son Thersander takes over the Theban throne and gains a good reputation that's continued by his direct descendants. For example, Thersander's great great great grandsons become the ancestors of the Kings of Sparta.

Defeating the Sphinx, meeting with his people, sending Creon to Delphi and solving Laius' death are four examples of how Oedipus acts as a good king in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Oedipus acts to end the Sphinx's reign of terror when he solves the riddle. He is accessible to his people, who know that he will meet with them when they gather outside the main entrance to the Theban royal palace. He knows of the pestilence and sends Creon, his brother-in-law and royal colleague, to consult with the Delphic oracle as to causes and solutions. He persists in investigating King Laius' murder even though he becomes a prime suspect.

A pestilence and a sign of divine displeasure is what the plague is in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, a pestilence afflicts all Thebes. It causes crops to fail, livestock to ail and newborns to die. It signifies divine displeasure over human commissions or omissions regarding such offenses as murder.

That she and the Theban throne are offered as rewards that he accepts, that he does not know her true identity and that he is not being cautious are the reasons why Oedipus ends up marrying his mother in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Oedipus receives the dreadful prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother. He already questions whether Corinthian monarchs Polybus and Merope are his biological parents. But he panics and runs away to Thebes, where his reward for killing the monstrous Sphinx is marriage with Thebes' beautiful widowed Queen Jocasta. A problem is that he may resemble his wife in gesture, feature or expression and that she is old enough to be his mother, which she indeed turns out to be.

What Oedipus thought was unlucky about Laius's fatherhood was that no one defended him or sought out his murderer.

What was truly unlucky about Laius's fatherhood was the prophecy that his son, Oedipus, was destined to slay him and sleep with his wife, Jocasta. Indeed, the prophecy was fulfilled, which is considered Laius's unluckiness.

Practically, proactively and sympathetically is the way that Oedipus reacts to the priest's words in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Oedipus tells the priest of Zeus that he already knows about and sympathizes with the sufferings of his people from the effects of the pestilence. Even before meeting with the priest, he takes the immediate, practical, proactive step of contacting the oracle.

It is by charging him with Laius' murder that Oedipus gets Teiresias to say what he knows 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 solving the long unsolved murder of King Laius. Teiresias hesitates and even requests permission to go back home. Oedipus insists that Teiresias must not be sharing information because he is the organizer if not also the perpetrator in Laius' murder.

Corinth is where Oedipus is raised "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, this information comes out in the course of the play. The play begins with the audience meeting Oedipus as King of Thebes. Oedipus assumes that he is Corinthian born and bred because that is where he is relocated not too long after birth in Thebes.

That Oedipus' flaw comes out and that his fate is met at the intersection of three roads is the reason why crossroads is the theme of "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Oedipus dislikes his prophesied fate as his father's killer and his mother's husband. He leaves home, but makes a murderous mistake at the Delphi-Daulia intersection on the way to Thebes. He makes the decision to respond in kind, and in self-defense, to the unwarranted violence of a man whom he resembles and who is old enough to be his father.

It is after he accuses Creon of treasonous conspiracythat Oedipus tells Jocasta of Teiresias accusing him of murdering Laius 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 cannot remember ever meeting Laius. He decides that Teiresias as his royal advisor and Creon as his royal colleague have the most to gain in grabbing all royal powers to themselves. He flings groundless charges of treasonous conspiracy at both Teiresias and Creon. It is after Creon hears the charges and leaves that Oedipus updates his wife, Queen Jocasta, on the situation.

That he will identify and punish the guilty and thereby avenge the gods, Laius and Thebans and protect himself is what Oedipus promises in lines 138-147 of the play "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, line counts are not the same across the play's different editions. But it seems likely that the reference is to the end of Theban King's interaction with the priest of Zeus and the suppliants outside the royal Palace of Thebes. Oedipus makes his mission personal and indicates that he will not give up until divinely-expressed will is carried out, justice is done and Thebes is pestilence-free.

That he likes to interact directly and openly with his people and keep them informed is what the line "Speak out to all" reveals in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. -- 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the statement is Theban King Oedipus' answer to Creon, his brother-in-law and royal colleague. Creon offers to go inside and in private tell Oedipus about the results of his visit to the oracle at Apollo's shrine. Oedipus prefers to have his people hear the news now instead of later.

Theban King Oedipus appears to be the kind of sovereign who's popular with his people. He appears to be an effective problem solver and a protector of his city and its inhabitants. He also appears to be an open communicator. For example, he wants to hear what his brother-in-law and uncle, Theban King Creon, has to say at the same time as Thebans, and not in advance or in private. At the same time, he appears to like to dominate in a power sharing arrangement with Theban Queen Jocasta and Theban King Creon.

So perhaps Oedipus' type of rule over Thebes and Thebans is described best as benevolently despotic. In fact, such a description fits well with the original Greek title for the play by Sophocles [496 B.C.E.-406 B.C.E.]. According to the original Greek, Oedipus is a tyrant. Tyrannical rule in ancient Greece refers to the taking of power by illegal means. And that's what Thebans learn: Oedipus takes power by killing previous Theban King Laius, who is his sovereign and his father. The taking of power by even the unknowing killing of father and king is considered heinously illegal in Greek political thought, religious beliefs, and dramatic literature.