Oedipus Rex

Yes, "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.) is an example of a legend.

Specifically, a legend tells a story that happens at some point in human history. The events seem possible because they tend not to be fantastic or far-fetched. The descriptions fit the play. Ancient Greek audiences considered Theban King Oedipus a figure from Thebes of the 13th century B.C.E.

That he is as much the victim of his own choices as he is of fate is an assessment of Oedipus at the end of "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Oedipus has some behavior patterns that lead to questionable choices. For example, a rumor of his parentage and hedging answers by his presumed parents send him running off to the Delphic Oracle. The oracle says that Oedipus will kill his father and marry his mother. So Oedipus runs away from home, kills a man who looks to be an older version of himself, does not engage in cleansing rituals for the killing, and marries a woman old enough to be his mother. Ultimately, he discovers that the prophecy comes true and that his own choices contribute to the fulfillment of that prophecy every step that he thinks to be a distancing from that miserable fate.

The story of the rise to royal power and the fall to blind exile is the myth of Oedipus, and knowledge of that story heightens the audience's involvement in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the myth of Theban King Oedipus was familiar to the cultured, theater going Athenian audience of the dramatist's time. Knowledge of the course of events and outcome of Oedipus' life kept the audience's attention focused on how information was revealed instead of being distracted by second guesses as to the outcome. Additionally, it emphasized the interaction of the main themes of fate and free will.

Apollo is to blame for what happens to Oedipus in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Apollo the sun god receives the blame for Oedipus' personal and professional disgrace according to Teiresias the blind prophet and Theban King Oedipus. Oedipus concedes that he himself is to blame for blinding himself but that all his other misfortunes are due to miserable Apolline prophecies. But the audience also may direct the blame to Oedipus' biological parents for trying to kill him, the Corinthian and Theban shepherds for saving his life, the Corinthian monarchs for adopting him but not informing him of his true identity, and Oedipus' own poor decisions.

Corinth, Delphi, Phocis, and Thebes are the places to which Oedipus travels in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Oedipus is born in Thebes, but fostered as an infant into the royal house of Corinth. As a young man, he travels to Delphi to consult the famous, respected Delphic oracle about a troubling rumor regarding his parentage. He then travels from Delphi, through the land of Phocis and on to Thebes by way of the Delphi-Daulis-Thebes crossroads.

One of sovereign to subjects is Oedipus' relationship with the people of Thebes in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Oedipus is king of Thebes. He has the job because it is his reward for stopping the Sphinx from eating freshly killed Thebans. But he earns and keeps his people's love and respect by anticipating their needs and being open with them

There is nothing that Jocasta convinces Oedipus to do to Creon in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the chorus leader advises Creon and his brother-in-law Theban King Oedipus that they need to end their quarrel. He cautions that Queen Jocasta, Creon's sister and Oedipus' wife, will do it for them. But in fact, Jocasta contributes nothing to the quarrel's resolution. Instead, it is the chorus leader who manages to get Oedipus to back down from executing his brother-in-law.

"Oedipus, thy lord, hath bid me choose (O dread alternative!) an outlaw's exile or a felon's death" is the climax line in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Theban King Oedipus asks Creon to make a most difficult choice. His brother-in-law and uncle must decide between a fate of death or of exile for Oedipus. The above-mentioned line is Creon's commentary on the situation to Queen Jocasta, his sister and Oedipus' wife.
Oedipus realizes that the prophecies have all come true.

That his niece already is dead, that his son tries to kill him and that his son then kills himself is what happens when Theban King Creon goes to rescue Theban Princess Antigone in the play "Antigone" by ancient Greek playwright Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Creon recognizes the lament of his son, Theban Prince Haemon, from within the opening to the previously walled-up entrance to the cave in which Antigone is buried alive. He sees Haemon next to Antigone's body hanging from the noose made from her own clothing. He sidesteps Haemon's angry charge with sword drawn and then witnesses his son's suicide.

Where the murderous event takes place is the detail of Jocasta's story that troubles Oedipus in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Queen Jocasta speaks about the death of her first husband King Laius to her second husband King Oedipus. She tells of the little that she knows, which basically comes down to the number of people killed and the place where the killings take place. The last detail upsets Oedipus, because it is in that place and at that time that he kills five men just before settling down in Thebes.

In self-defense and then in anger are the reasons why Oedipus kills five men at the crossroads in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Oedipus enters the crossroads from Delphi. A six-member group enters the crossroads from the Thebes side. Oedipus has the right-of-way, but the charioteer jostles him. Oedipus shoves back. The elderly man in the carriage then strikes Oedipus on the head with a double whip, and it really hurts. Oedipus hits back with his staff. He then goes on to kill all but one in the entire party. So the first two interactions are in self-defense, and the remaining lethal force is carried out in anger.

The sister of Antigone is who the character Ismene is in the play "Antigone."

Specifically, that blood relationship also makes her the sister of the decreased twins, Theban Kings Eteocles and Polyneices. It also makes her the daughter of disgraced Theban monarchs Oedipus and Jocasta. It makes her the niece of currently reigning Theban King Creon. Finally, women do not rule in Thebes, but she is in the direct line of descent from Cadmus, Founder and first King of Thebes.

That she hopes he never knows his identity is what Jocasta says to Oedipus when she knows that he is her son in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Queen Jocasta makes connections when she hears the testimony of the Corinthian messenger. She seeks to stop her second husband, King Oedipus, in his attempts to find the truth of his birth. She wishes that he never know who he is when she cannot get him to stop.

No, Ismene is neither the protagonist nor the antagonist in the play "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Princess Ismene is not the protagonist because she is not the main character around whom the play's action revolves. She is not the antagonist because she does not get in the way of or harm the protagonist. Instead, her sister Antigone is the protagonist, and her uncle Creon is the antagonist.

Proper rites of burial for Jocasta, a meeting with his daughters and exile instead of execution are three requests made by Oedipus to Creon in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Oedipus' wife Jocasta hangs herself upon realizing that her husband is also her son. Oedipus must step down as king for the offense of incense and the crime of killing Laius, his father and Jocasta's first husband. He asks Creon, his brother-in-law and royal successor, to give Jocasta a proper Theban-style burial, let him see his daughters/half-sisters one last time, and select exile instead of execution as the punishment for his offenses.

Additionally, Oedipus asks for his daughters' protectionby Creon against an otherwise miserable life of isolation, poverty, shunning and spinsterhood. He also asks for his meeting with his daughters not to end when Creon tries to separate father and daughters/half-siblings.

Polyneices is still alive and therefore unburied in "Oedipus Rex." But that the gods may have buriedPolyneices is what the chorus leader thinks in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, in Episode 1, a guard tells Theban King Creon that the previously exposed body of Polyneices now is covered with dust. Even this partial burial contradicts Creon's recent law denying disloyal Thebans the god-given right of funeral services and below-ground burials to all Thebans. It is no wonder then that the chorus leader suggests that the carrying out of a divinely expressed guarantee may be the work of the gods.

No, Oedipus can be no other than a tragic hero in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, a hero is someone who is capable of great deeds. The tragic hero ends up suffering, usually because of his own errors and flaws. The phrase therefore describes Theban King Oedipus, who defeats the monstrous Sphinx, but then suffers great personal and professional losses because of hasty decision-making and spontaneous, passionate outbursts.

That Oedipus is executed or that he is exiled alone or with his daughters are three possible endings to "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, these suggestions take into consideration that the murder of a father and of a king seriously offends the gods. The gods therefore can be counted on to punish. But there actually is yet a fourth option, which is presented in Book 23 of "The Iliad" by Homer (fl. 8th century B.C.E.): Oedipus is placed under house arrest and lives out his life in Thebes, where funeral games are held after his death.

No one kills Oedipus in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the play ends without the audience learning whether disgraced former Theban King Oedipus will be executed or exiled for criminal acts and immoral behavior. Instead, Oedipus' death is the subject of "Oedipus at Colonus" by the same ancient Greek dramatist. According to the latter play, Oedipus dies the special death of being here one minute and then gone the next.