Oedipus Rex

Yes, justice is served, but no, it is not yet complete, at the end of "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, justice requires the identification and punishment of whoever is guilty of killing Theban King Laius. Theban King Oedipus is found to be guilty and punishes himself with blindness. But the actual punishment is either exile or execution, and Creon awaits the expression of divine will as to which to apply.

Yes, it is possible for 21st century readers to identify with Oedipus' plight in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Oedipus' plight is one of mistaken self-identity. Technological breakthroughs lead to surrogate mothers and test tube babies. Conflicts and natural catastrophes leave babies orphans without any accompanying evidence of parentage. All three situations make it easy for people to grow up with mistaken self-images.

There are five (5) scenes in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the play begins with a prologue in which Theban King Oedipus appears as the main character and hero. The following parados introduces the singing skills of the chorus of Theban elders. Then there are four scenes, each separated by a choral ode. The exodus is the fifth and last scene.

Sophocles wrote the play "Antigone."

Specifically, ancient Greek playwright Sophocles (495 B.C.E. -- 405 B.C.E.) is thought to have written over 120 plays. Only a handful survive, of which "Antigone" is one. There is not much of a paper trail for the playwright and his works, but the play is guesstimated to have been written by 442 B.C.E.

Actually, Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.) did not write his Theban plays "Oedipus Rex," "Oedipus at Colonus" and "Antigone" as a trilogy.

Specifically, the ancient Greek dramatist did not write his Theban plays as an official three volume set of plays. Instead, he spaced the writing over the last forty (40) years of his life. The order of publication was not in correct chronological order in terms of the occurrence of the events within disgraced Theban King Oedipus' life:

1. "Antigone," around 441-440 B.C.E.;

2. "Oedipus Rex," around 430 B.C.E.;

3. "Oedipus at Colonus," in the last years of the playwright's life.

The thirteenth (13th) century B.C.E. is the historical period for "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, precise information is lacking in the play as to dates. But from other sources and archaeological evidence, it is possible to date the play to the thirteenth century. This guesstimate may be made based on the evidence of human occupation in Thebes at that time and on genealogical and literary information. Theban King Oedipus is the grandfather of King Thersander, a contemporary if not participant in the Trojan War (1194 B.C.E. - 1184 B.C.E.).

That it is untrue and that it carries a capital punishment are reasons why Creon considers Oedipus' accusation so serious in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Oedipus accuses Creon of conspiring with Teiresias the blind prophet to grab royal powers all for themselves. He charges that Creon and Teiresias are telling lies that Oedipus is King Laius' killer. It is treasonous to make false statements against the king. The liar receives a punishment of execution or exile. Oedipus seeks the death sentence.

No, Antigone does not deny burying her brother Polyneices in the play "Antigone" by ancient Greek playwright Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Antigone openly admits burying her brother. The Sentry brings her before her uncle and future father-in-law, Theban King Creon. Creon asks Antigone whether or not the charges are true of her having broken the law against non-burial of the disloyal Theban dead. In the R.C. Jebb translation available online, Antigone says in Episode 2 Line 290, "I avow it; I make no denial."

Governing Thebes is Oedipus' responsibility in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Oedipus is king of Thebes. He shares royal powers with his wife, Queen Jocasta, and his brother-in-law Creon. But he tends to be the main royal responsible for the well-being of Thebes and Thebans.

That he is the god of prophecy is the reason why Apollo is mentioned so early in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the play deals with the tragic attempts of Theban monarchs Jocasta, Laius and Oedipus to escape prophecies of unenviable fates. Apollo the sun god also is in charge of prophecy. He makes prophecies available at his shrines, of which the most famous is the oracular shrine at Delphi.

Apollo, Ares and Athena are three gods in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Apollo is the god of prophecy whose presence is evidenced in the predicted fates of Theban monarchs Jocasta, Laius and Oedipus. Ares is the war god whose presence is hinted in the self-defensive murders committed by Oedipus at the Delphi-Daulia intersection. Athena is the goddess of wisdom whose presence is implied in Oedipus' solving the Sphinx's riddle and King Laius' murder.

That Oedipus arrives at Colonus, befriends Theseus, curses his sons and Creon, dies, and gives luck to Athens through his death is a summary of "Oedipus at Colonus" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Princesses Antigone and Ismene accompany their father, disgraced Theban King Oedipus, in exile. The trio arrive at Colonus, a village outside Athens and location of a grove sacred to the Furies. Oedipus becomes friends with Athenian King Theseus, who protects him from local hostility and all three from violent forays by Creon, Oedipus' brother-in-law and former royal colleague. He meets with and curses his son Polyneices, who plans to attack Thebes in order to defend the royal power seized from him by his brother Eteocles and his uncle Creon. Oedipus then meets with Theseus and says that Colonus is the death place identified in an otherwise dreadful prophecy and that his death will bring good luck to Theseus' city. A sudden, fierce storm thunders through the area as a divine sign of Oedipus' imminent death. Oedipus says his goodbyes to Antigone and Ismene and walks to death in a secret, sacred place with only Theseus as witness.

That he descends from the cursed house of Labdacusis the reason why King Laius is cursed in "Oedipus Rex" (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Labadacus and his father King Polydorus both are cursed by Dionysos the wine god. Dionysos is their cousin, but family ties do not soften a god's heart in terms of mortals. Divine curses pass from generation to generation until the gods know that the last descendant of the individual on their hate list expires under the weight of cumulative divine wrath.

Following is a list of natural imagery that is used in the choral odes in the play "Antigone" by ancient Greek playwright Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

In the Parados:

1. "Eye of golden day" describes the suns;

2. An eagle with snow-white edges to outer rear edges of his wings describes Polyneices;

3. An eagle's plumage describes the soldiers of Polyneices;

4. A fight between an eagle and a dragon describes the battle that takes place outside Thebes just before the action of the play;

5. "Clanging gold" describes the combined forces of disgruntled Thebans and invading Argives that attack Thebes;

In Stasimon 1:

6. "The eldest of the gods" describes the Earth;

7. Plows describe the hooves of the horses;

8. The wind describes thoughts;

9. Arrows describe frost and rain;

In Stasimon 2:

10. Vexation to the headlands against which it blows describes the wind during a storm;

11. A roar describes the response of the headlands to the wind mentioned above;

12. A snare by which everybody gets caught describes sleep.

Try to end a fight between Oedipus and Creon, sendfor the eyewitness to Laius' murder, receive the news of the Corinthian messenger, try to talk Oedipus out of the interview of the two shepherds, and kill herself are what Jocasta does in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban monarchs Jocasta and Oedipus are in the middle of a murder investigation into the long-ago mysterious death of Laius, Jocasta's first husband. Oedipus gets into a fight with Creon, his brother-in-law and royal colleague. Jocasta tries to end the fight by separating the two and sending for the sole eyewitness to Laius' murder. While waiting, Jocasta learns from a Corinthian messenger that Oedipus' presumed father is dead. During the eyewitness' interview, Jocasta tries to stop the information-gathering process. She realizes that Oedipus is her own son and Laius' killer and kills herself because of that knowledge.

No, Ismene is not the protagonist in "Antigone" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Princess Ismene is one of the main characters since she has a name and interacts with the other main characters. But the protagonist is the main character around whom the play's action revolves. That description fits Ismene's sister, Theban Princess Antigone.

Sophocles and Jean Anouilh are two playwrights who each wrote a play titled "Antigone."

Specifically, the earlier version is by ancient Greek playwright Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.). His play is suspected to have been written around 442 B.C.E. French dramatist Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh (June 23, 1910 - October 3, 1987) wrote his play about the ancient Theban heroine in 1942.