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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
How do you overcome Oedipus complex and electra among children?
Most children outgrow this as they mature into teenagers.
Does Antigone follow Creon's orders?
No, Antigone doesn't follow the orders of her uncle, Theban King Creon. The royal orders are burial of the loyal Theban dead, and non-burial of the disloyal Theban dead. The decree directly contradicts the god-given rights of the dead to equal access to proper burial procedures. Antigone respects the passage of mortals through life into death. So she chooses to be in compliance with the word of the gods, and in non-compliance with the King's orders.
Sophocles' character Antigone is the heroine of the Greek tragedy of the same name. As the virtuous protagonist, she choses to defy the king's edicts and bury her brother Polyneices. She clearly values the laws of nature and the gods over the orders of temporal rulers such as Creon. Her disobedience results in her eventual death.
When did Oedipus free Thebes from the Sphinx in 'Oedipus Rex'?
Some fifteen to twenty (15-20) years before the action of the play "Oedipus Rex" Oedipus is considered to have freed Thebes from the Sphinx.
Specifically, ancient Greek playwright Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.) gives no dates or times for the events before and during the action of the play. But Oedipus indicates that he is not worried about what will happen to his twin sons, Eteocles and Polyneices, who are already grown up. Based upon what is known about eligibility to take over the throne, which both of his sons could and would do, the general notion is that defeating the Sphinx, marrying Theban Queen Jocasta and becoming King of Thebes happened in Oedipus' life about 15-20 years before his fall from grace as a killer and sex offender.
Who becomes King of Thebes at the end of 'Oedipus Rex'?
Eteocles and Polyneices become the Kings of Thebes at the end of 'Oedipus Rex'. They're the twin sons and heirs of their father and half brother, Theban King Oedipus. They're supposed to alternate years of rule in a royal power sharing arrangement.
But Eteocles ends up refusing to give up the throne to Polyneices when his year ends. He forces Polyneices into exile. But Polyneices marries into the Argive royal house. He therefore comes back with a joint force of disgruntled Thebans and invading Argives. His quest to reclaim his royal rights ends in Argive defeat and the deaths of him and his brother.
What is the plot in the first half of 'Oedipus Rex'?
A pestilence afflicts Thebes, it can be ended only with punishing King Laius' killer, and Oedipus may be the prime suspect is the plot to the first half of "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).
Specifically, the Delphic oracle advises that the pestilence in Thebes will end with the identification and punishment by execution or exile of the guilty in King Laius' murder. Oedipus, Thebes' current king, heads the investigation and tries to gather clues to a 20-year-old murder. He looks to his royal advisor, Teiresias the blind prophet, for help. But Teiresias stuns Oedipus with the treasonous charge that Oedipus is the killer.
Does Sophocles portray Oedipus as a puppet of fate or a man with free will?
Answer #1
He portrays him as a puppet of fate. He does everything in his power after finding out about this prophesy to escape it. Somehow it still manages to come true.
Answer #2
Sophocles [496 B.C.E.-406 B.C.E.] portrays Theban King Oedipus as a man of free will who considers himself and therefore becomes a puppet of fate. For example, it's Oedipus who makes a critical decision upon hearing what he thinks are his biological parents described otherwise by a drunkard. It's Oedipus who decides to leave home without telling his parents, and find out what the Delphic Oracle has to say. It's Oedipus who decides not to go back home and tell the people whom he loves as parents of the non answer that the Oracle gives to his question. It's Oedipus who decides to respond in kind to the violence of a man similar to him in appearance and old enough to be his father. It's Oedipus who decides to marry a woman old enough to be his mother. It's Oedipus who decides to blind himself in response to finding dead Theban Queen Jocasta, who is his mother and his wife. And it's precisely at that point that Oedipus takes the final stand that his life is the fulfillment of a horrific fate that's beyond his control, and not the result of poor decision making
How does Oedipus react to the news of Polybus' death in 'Oedipus Rex'?
Cautiously optimistic is the way in which Oedipus reacts to the news of Polybus' death in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).
Specifically, Theban King Oedipus is relieved to hear of the death of his presumed father, Corinthian King Polybus. Oedipus knows that he is fated to kill his father and marry his mother. But Polybus leaves this world because of illness and old age during the years the his presumed son, King Oedipus, lives in Thebes. But Oedipus still worries since his presumed mother, Queen Merope, still lives.
How does Sophocles play Oedipus the King relate to Plato's Myth of the Cave?
Sophocles' Oedipus Rex and Plato's Allegory of the Cave are similar in that they both have reoccurring themes of blindness and sight.
In Oedipus, the prophet Teiresias is literally blind, but is figuratively able to see better than Oedipus because he knows about the prophecy behind the king's past. (the prophecy being that Oedipus married his mother and killed his father.) Although Teiresias makes several attempts to convince Oedipus of his true lineage, the pompous king refuses to accept this truth and accuses him of lying. Eventually, Oedipus realizes this and his wife Jocasta is unable to bear the truth that was suddenly revealed. Her inability to cope with such a traumatic event causes her to commit suicide. Once Oedipus realizes what he has done, he blinds himself so he would not be able to see the results of his unholy deeds, and is ashamed to see his children, as well as the hardships and pain he had put his family through.
On the other hand, Plato's literary work discusses and fully embraces the quote "ignorance is bliss" while introducing the theme of blindness as a prisoner faces a wall in a cave that only portrays shadows from a fire of what is happening in the outside world. Sight comes in as the prisoner is suddenly released and let out into the world. (Darkness represented lies and falsity/ Light symbolized the truth, reality, and enlightenment) The prisoner is disoriented and hurt at first because he was drastically forced out of the darkness of the cave and into the sunlight. He then was able to see actual detailed images of the shadows that he was previously confined to viewing, but when he decided to try and explain this newfound discovery to other prisoners who were chained in the cave, they denied it. Despite his efforts to attempt to share the truths of reality with others who had been deprived of this experience, they doubted him because they refused to believe that all they had seen was a lie. This shows that the truth is sometimes difficult to accept.
Teiresias, the blind prophet parallels the prisoner's character in that they were both enlightened by the truth, but then were doubted while trying to divulge the truth to others who were proven to be unknowledgeable. This may have resulted because people sometimes choose what they want to believe and have a hard time accepting that all that they had ever known was truly a lie. Another aspect of Oedipus Rex that relates to The Allegory of the Cave was when the truth of Oedipus marrying his mother was uncovered. Both Jocasta and Oedipus are unable to bear this sudden revelation and are startled and caught off guard. (similar to the way the prisoner was when he was thrust out into the light of reality.)
Why were masks used in Oedipus?
Where people sat in the audience was sometimes far from the stage and so they used masks to see the actors expressions from far away, and these masks were about 2 times larger than their face
Thebes is the setting of Oedipus Rex because it is the place where the story begins.
Does Oedipus' conduct invite the disaster that overtakes him and his entire family in 'Oedipus Rex'?
Yes, Oedipus' conduct invites the disaster that overtakes him and his entire family in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).
Specifically, Theban King Oedipus behaves arrogantly and recklessly. For example, he demonstrates arrogance when he decides to elaborate on the divinely identified punishment for the guilty in King Laius' death. Obedience not elaboration is his royal responsibility to the gods. Additionally, he recklessly makes the punishment apply to those who know but do not share information and those who harbor or help the guilty. He thereby opens his family to divine punishment whose scope he illegally extends. In fact, he species that he will carry out punishment even against members of his own royal household.
Why does Oedipus seek the oracle?
To check the credibility of a rumor is the reason why subsequent Theban King Oedipus seeks the Delphic Oracle. He hears a rumor that he isn't the biological son of those whom he considers his parents, King Polybus and Queen Merope of Corinth. But the Oracle answers his question with the starting news that he's fated to kill his father and marry his mother. The revealing of such a horrendous fate is so unexpected that Oedipus forget his initial reason for even being in Delphos.
How does Creon punish Antigone?
By sentencing her to death through starvation and exposure to uncomfortable cave temperatures and scary cave denizens, through having her walled up with a limited food supply in a remote cave, is how Theban King Creon punishes his niece and intended daughter-in-law Antigone for having treasonously disobeyed his law against non burial of the disloyal Theban dead.
How is Teiresias' blindness relevant to Oedipus in 'Oedipus Rex'?
That he is blind but sees the truth is the reason why Teiresias' blindness is relevant to Oedipus in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).
Specifically, Teiresias the blind prophet is the royal advisor to every Theban king since the city's founding by King Cadmus. He knows the entire past, present and future of Thebes through his innate wisdom and through skilled reading of ritual sacrifices. He manages to be so insightful despite being blind whereas the sighted Theban King Oedipus cannot see the murder and incest that are staring him right in the face.
What does Creon tell Oedipus to do if Creon is found out to be a liar in 'Oedipus Rex'?
Make his life miserable is what Creon tells Oedipus to do if he finds out Creon lies to him in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).
Specifically, Theban King Oedipus accuses Creon, his brother-in-law and royal colleague, of conspiring with Teiresias the blind prophet to grab all the royal power for himself. Creon is unsuccessful in getting Oedipus to allow him a self-defense. But he manages to get in the oath that he is telling the truth and that he deserves the worst if he is not.
With Theseus, Oedipus went to a grove, saluted the Sky and Earth and suddenly was just gone … Only Theseus knows where Oedipus' body is and how he died, but he is sworn to silence.
Did Peter Bull narrate a film about 'Oedipus Rex' in the 1950's or 1960's?
No, British character actor Peter Bull [March 21, 1912-May 20, 1984] didn't narrate a film about 'Oedipus Rex' in the 1950's. But Canadian actor Roland Bull [b. June 16, 1930] did participate in the 1957 version of 'Oedipus Rex' by Sir William Tyrone Guthrie [July 2, 1900-May 15, 1971].
A narration is the telling of a story. In the case of 'Oedipus Rex', that story is told strictly by the characters in the episodes, and by the chorus in the odes. The 1957 film version began with one of the actors giving background. But the credits didn't identify which of the masked actors he was.
What is the tragic conflict in 'Oedipus Rex'?
That Oedipus seeks a killer and that he may be that killer is the tragic conflict in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).
Specifically, Theban King Oedipus has to find and punish the guilty in the murder of his royal predecessor, King Laius. But he is warned by his royal advisor, Teiresias the blind prophet, that he is the murderer. Oedipus therefore must resolve whether or not to continue in an investigation that may prove him guilty and that may lead to his execution or exile.
What does Teiresias say about the identity of Laius' murderer in 'Oedipus Rex'?
That the killer is a respected member of Thebansociety, that he is Laius' son and that his name is Oedipusare what Teiresias says about the identity of Laius' murderer in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).
Specifically, Teiresias the blind prophet is called to help Theban King Oedipus in the investigation into the unsolved murder of King Laius, Oedipus' royal predecessor. Teiresias is reluctant to share the vast knowledge to which he is privy as royal advisor to every Theban king since Thebes' founding by King Cadmus. What he says is shocking and may be considered treasonous since he accuses Oedipus of being the very killer that all Thebes wants identified and punished.
Is Oedipus guilty of murder in 'Oedipus Rex'?
Yes, Oedipus is guilty of murder in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).
Specifically, Oedipus has the right-of-way at the Delphi-Daulia crossroads in the land of Phocis. But that right is disrespected by an arrogant, older version of himself and the stranger's five-member escort party. The charioteer jostles Oedipus, who jostles back. Then the older lookalike raps Oedipus firmly on the head with a double whip, which is insulting and really hurts. Oedipus strikes back with his staff in self-defense, but does not stop striking until five out of six people are dead. The exact nature of the guilty charges will depend upon whether Oedipus acts in self-defense, which he may claim since he is so outnumbered.
What role does politics play in the appointment of cabinent secretaries?
Politics plays a larger role today than in the past. Prior to the 2008 election of Pres. Barack Obama, a president nominated who he liked for cabinet posts, and unless that nominee was particuarly unqualified, he/she was confirmed by the Senate. However in trying to frustrate Obama's ability to govern, the GOP refused to confirm, or even bring to a vote, hundreds of Obama's appointees.
Why does no one know how the king before Oedipus dies in 'Oedipus Rex'?
That the death does not take place in Thebes and that their attention is caught up with more pressing matters are the reasons why no one knows how the king before Oedipus dies in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).
Specifically, King Laius is killed while traveling from Thebes to Delphi. Immediately after Laius' death, the Sphinx moves outside Thebes and starts killing and eating Thebans who cannot answer her impossible riddle. Then Oedipus solves the riddle, marries Thebes' beautiful widowed queen and distracts all Thebes with his role model family life and royal rule. Mandatory investigations into and cleansing rituals for the divine offense of killing a king take a back seat.
What is the attitude toward the gods at the end of 'Oedipus Rex'?
Serious recognition of divine power is the attitude toward the gods at the end of "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).
Specifically, the gods rule in life and death. They stand for no opposition to their will. They will track down and punish any slight no matter how personally happy and professionally successful the mortal may be.
