Oedipus Rex

It is with joy that Oedipus and Jocasta greet the news that Polynbus is dead in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Queen Jocasta rejoices to hear of the death of Corinthian King Polybus, her husband Oedipus' presumed father. Before the news, King Oedipus shares with his wife the horrible prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother. Jocasta thinks that the prophecy is disproven by Polybus' death from illness and old age whereas Oedipus still worries about the other half of the prophecy since Corinthian Queen Merope, his presumed mother, still lives.

Pestilence is the crisis in "Oedipus Rex."

Specifically, a crisis is a catastrophe whose effects force people to act. The description fits the pestilence, because of which livestock ail, children die at birth or shortly thereafter, and crops fail. The situation calls for a swift end to the pestilence before it ends all life in Thebes.

The messenger's announcement of Oedipus' self-blinding, Oedipus asking Creon to exile him from Thebes and visiting with his children, and Creon asking Oedipus to leave his children in Thebes is the sequence in which the preceding events occur in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the violent offstage act of disgraced Theban King Oedipus' blinding himself with his dead wife's brooches is announced onstage by a royal messenger. This announcement swiftly is followed by an interaction with newly crowned King Creon over punishment of and then visitation rights for Oedipus. Oedipus gets to see his children, but Creon insists about separating parent and daughters while awaiting divine judgment on whether to execute or exile Oedipus for criminal action and immoral behavior.

Getting your facts straight, looking before you leap and not allowing yourself to get out of control are what Oedipus teaches us in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Oedipus receives an unenviable prophecy and runs away instead of verifying the facts behind the the dreaded prediction. Despite the prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother, he proceeds to kill a stranger whom he resembles and who is old enough to be his father. He then marries a woman old enough to be his mother. Additionally, he knows that his wife's first husband dies under mysterious circumstances, but does nothing to carry out mandatory cleansing rituals. Finally, when his past catches up with him, Oedipus gets into a fight with his brother-in-law Creon, his councillor Teiresias the blind prophet, and the two witnesses to his parentage. Because he applies no brakes to his words, thoughts and deeds, Oedipus ends up friendless, homeless, jobless and sightless.

From a divine curse Oedipus rescues Thebes in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Oedipus rescues Thebes twice from a divine curse. The first takes place when he solves a riddle and thereby defeats the monstrous Sphinx that has all Thebes terrified. The second takes place when Theban King Oedipus ends the pestilence by identifying the killer of his royal predecessor, King Laius. Both curses are divine in origin, and both are leveled against Thebes for not carrying out mandatory cleansing rituals in the aftermath of a king's murder, a serious offense in ancient Greece.

It is the chorus leader who settles the dispute between Oedipus and Creon 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 royal powers for themselves. He does not back down from his groundless charges. Queen Jocasta, Oedipus' wife and Creon's sister, makes an almost successful attempt to reconcile the two men. But the chorus leader pushes until Oedipus backs down.

It is because of a childhood injury to his ankles that Oedipus limps in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Oedipus is injured when a rod is run through both ankles just three days after his birth. The rod is removed, but has lasting aftereffects. Oedipus moves around with a shuffling gait and has permanently scarred and swollen ankles.

That one deals with Oedipus' downfall and the other with his death is the difference between "Oedipus Rex" and "Oedipus at Colonus" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the two plays deal with the life and times of disgraced Theban King Oedipus. The first one of the two, "Oedipus Rex," identifies the how, when, where and why of Oedipus' fall from role model personal happiness and professional success to his miserable last years of homelessness, joblessness, loneliness and sightlessness. The second one of the two, "Oedipus at Colonus," indicates the how, when, where and why of Oedipus' death.

Othello, Oedipus, and Antigone are all tragic heroes. They do great deeds and have great power or strength. For example, Othello defeats Venice's enemies. Oedipus defeats the Sphinx and frees Thebes from heavy taxes. Antigone makes sure that a Theban right is a Theban due.

But fatal character flaws destroy the lives of all three heroes. All three suffer from pride and uncontrolled passion. Othello is so proud of his integrity and courage that he doesn't recognize his violent temper and his manipulability by Iago. Oedipus is so proud of his intelligence that he tries to escape a horrendous fate. He's so proud of his personal and professional accomplishments that he doesn't look the gift horses of throne and wife in the mouth. Antigone is so proud of her commitment to the true, the right, the proper, and the correct that she doesn't respect differing, less passionate opinions.

Additionally, all three of the heroes make duty their first priority. They do so to the exclusion of all else. Othello makes the sanctity of his marriage vows his quest. So he listens to the villainous Iago and ignores the oaths of Desdemona and the whisperings of his own conscience and his own heart. Oedipus makes the tracking down and punishing of his royal predecessor's murderer his quest. So he offends Creon, his brother-in-law and uncle; insults his friend, Teiresias the blind prophet; destroys Jocasta, his mother and his queen; and alienates not only his twin sons but also all of Thebes. And Antigone makes the proper burying of Polyneices, her traitorous brother, her quest. To that end, she sacrifices companionship, family ties, and romance.

That he cannot be Laius' killer and that not all prophecies come true are what Jocasta attempts to prove in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Oedipus recognizes that the death place of King Laius, his royal predecessor and his wife's first husband, is the very same place at which he himself commits murder against a similar person in a similar place at a similar time. Jocasta attempts to prove that Oedipus cannot be Laius' killer by insisting that more than one killer is involved and by arranging for an interview with the sole survivor.

Subsequently, Jocasta also attempts to prove that not all prophecies come true. Oedipus ascertains that his presumed father, Corinthian King Polybus, is dead but fears succeeding him as king since a prophecy warns of Oedipus killing his father and marrying his mother. Jocasta answers with the example of the presumed incorrect prophecy of Laius being killed by his own son when instead he dies by unknown hands.

That she believes some prophecies to be inaccurate is the reason why Jocasta dismisses the oracle's prophecy in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Queen Jocasta offers the example of an upsetting prophecy that her child with her first husband, King Laius, will grow up to kill his father. Jocasta hands the three-day-old infant Oedipus over to her most trusted servant for killing by exposure to weather and wildlife on the mountains outside Thebes. She believes her son to be dead and points out that Laius dies years later at the murderous hands of robbers in the neighboring land of Phocis. She therefore assumes that this is a case of a mistaken prophet and an equally mistaken prophecy.

Yes, Sophocles achieves his purpose as author of the play "Oedipus Rex."

Specifically, an author's most basic purpose is to tell a story, and Sophocles (495 B.C.E. -- 405 B.C.E.) tells the story of the kingship of Oedipus. The play's original title of "Oedipus Tyrannus" loses its meaning of taking power by illegal means in the Latin translation "Oedipus Rex" and in the English translation "Oedipus the King." But the original and the translations clearly support the author's intent at showing that no mortal finds lasting happiness in life. If nothing else, the gods are there to trip mortals up for not carrying out in full even the most self-destructive of divine orders.

They're the brothers of Antigone and Ismene who fought against each other in war and ended up killing each other.

They both took turns ruling a country, when it was the turn of Polynices, Eteocles wouldn't give him the throne because he thought that he was doing an excellent job at ruling, and didn't need to give it up. Polynices gets mad and puts together an army of other nations to go to war against Thebes (the country they both ruled).
They both end up killing each other in battle.

Because he is told that he is fated to kill his father and marry his mother, subsequent Theban King Oedipus runs away from Corinth in the play "Oedipus Rex."

Specifically, Oedipus hears rumors that he actually is the adopted not the real son of the royal couple whom he considers his parents. Surprisingly, Corinthian monarchs Polybus and Merope are uncooperative when Oedipus tries to discuss the rumors with them. So Oedipus goes off to Delphi to get answers from the Oracle.

But the Oracle does not answer any of Oedipus' questions. Instead, Oedipus is told of his unenviable fate to kill his father and marry his mother. Just like that, Oedipus forgets all doubts about his parentage. All he can think of is getting as far away from Corinth and Corinthians as possible.

A painful, rude meeting in an intersection is what happens to Oedipus on the way to Thebes in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Oedipus approaches the Delphi-Daulia intersection from the Delphi side. Theban King Laius and his escort party approach from the Theban side. Laius' charioteer gives Oedipus a push, which is followed by Laius' double whip. Oedipus responds in kind and in self-defense and leaves all but one of Laius' party dead in the intersection.

It is when he hears the eyewitness accounts of the Corinthian messenger and the Theban shepherd that Oedipus recognizes the truth of the situation in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, the Corinthian messenger identifies Theban King Oedipus as the adopted or foster son of Corinthian monarchs Polybus and Merope. The Theban shepherd indicates that Oedipus is the biological son of Theban monarchs Laius and Jocasta and that he is Laius' killer. At that point Oedipus recognizes the truth of his prophesied situation as his father's killer, his mother's husband and his children's half-sibling.

That they are bandits in the pay of anti-royalists in Thebes is a theory that Oedipus develops about Laius' death in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban King Oedipus learns that his royal predecessor, Laius, appears to be the murder victim of a band of robbers. That Laius is no ordinary personage and that he travels simply but as part of an escort party makes the event all the more daring and unbelievable to Oedipus. Oedipus therefore assumes that money from Thebans who oppose their king must be behind such an audacious, desperate, disrespectful measure.

Yes, Jocasta's fate is controlled in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Theban Queen Jocasta's fate is controlled by her own actions that lead to the inevitable fulfillment of a dreadful prophecy. For example, she is warned of a prophecy that her infant son with her first husband, King Laius, will grow up to kill his father. She therefore hands the three-day-old Oedipus over to be killed by her most trusted shepherd. But she does not verify that the killing actually takes place. Later, she does not pursue the agent of death when Laius actually dies as a murder victim. Finally, she accepts as her second husband Oedipus, who is a younger version of her first husband and who has feet injuries similar to those that her infant son receives by having rods run through both ankles.

That they mean business and never let things drop is what Oedipus learns about the gods in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).

Specifically, Oedipus receives a dreadful prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother. Rather than accept such a miserable fate, Oedipus makes an effort to avoid it by running away from his presumed family and settling down far away. But he ultimately discovers that all his choices and actions serve only to fulfill his unenviable destiny. He therefore comes to realize that the gods say what they mean, mean what they say and do whatever it takes to make sure that they always have the upper hand.