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Oedipus the King
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Theban plays: Book 1

Oedipus the King (429) (edit title/settings)

by Sophocles (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

(Also known as Oedipus Rex) One of the greatest of the classic Greek tragedies and a masterpiece of dramatic construction. Catastrophe ensues when King Oedipus discovers he has inadvertently killed his father and married his mother. Masterly use of dramatic irony greatly intensifies impact of... read more

Summary edit see section history

King Oedipus, aware that a terrible curse has befallen Thebes, sends his brother-in-law, Creon, to seek the advice of Apollo. Creon informs Oedipus that the curse will be lifted if the murderer of Laius, the former king, is found and prosecuted. Laius was murdered many years ago at a... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

King Oedipus, aware that a terrible curse has befallen Thebes, sends his brother-in-law, Creon, to seek the advice of Apollo. Creon informs Oedipus that the curse will be lifted if the murderer of Laius, the former king, is found and prosecuted. Laius was murdered many years ago at a crossroads.

Oedipus dedicates himself to the discovery and prosecution of Laius’s murderer. Oedipus subjects a series of unwilling citizens to questioning, including a blind prophet. Teiresias, the blind prophet, informs Oedipus that Oedipus himself killed Laius. This news really bothers Oedipus, but his wife Jocasta tells him not to believe in prophets, they've been wrong before. As an example, she tells Oedipus about how she and King Laius had a son who was prophesied to kill Laius and sleep with her. Well, she and Laius had the child killed, so obviously that prophecy didn't come true, right?

Jocasta's story doesn't comfort Oedipus. As a child, an old man told Oedipus that he was adopted, and that he would eventually kill his biological father and sleep with his biological mother. Not to mention, Oedipus once killed a man at a crossroads, which sounds a lot like the way Laius died.

Jocasta urges Oedipus not to look into the past any further, but he stubbornly ignores her. Oedipus goes on to question a messenger and a shepherd, both of whom have information about how Oedipus was abandoned as an infant and adopted by a new family. In a moment of insight, Jocasta realizes that she is Oedipus’s mother and that Laius was his father. Horrified at what has happened, she kills herself. Shortly thereafter, Oedipus, too, realizes that he was Laius’s murder and that he’s been married to (and having children with) his mother. In horror and despair, he gouges his eyes out and is exiled from Thebes.

Characters/People edit see section history

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Quotes edit see section history

  • ““It’s mine alone, my destiny-I am Oedipus.” line 1497”
    Oedipus
  • “Now my curse on the murderer. Whoever he is,a lone man unknown in his crimeor one among many, let that man drag outhis life in agony, step by painful step—”
    Oedipus
  • Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers
  • And he will turn out to be the brother of the children in his house—their father, too, both at once, and the husband and the son of the very woman who gave birth to them.
    Highlighted by 5 Kindle customers
  • For, Zeus, he slaughtered the hook-taloned Sphinx and stilled her cryptic song.
    Highlighted by 3 Kindle customers
  • He sowed the same womb as his father and murdered him. Go in and think on this.[460]
    Highlighted by 3 Kindle customers

Setting & Locations edit see section history

First Sentence edit see section history

My sons! Newest generation of this ancient city of Thebes!

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 1 of 3 in Theban plays. (standard series)

Followed by Oedipus at Colonus.

This book is in Western canon according to Harold Bloom. (community list)
This is book 23 of 73 in Robert B. Downs - Books that Changed the World. (authoritative list)

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Sophocles (Author)

Other Contributors:

  1. Nicholas Rudall
  2. William-Alan Landes (Translator)
  3. Bernard Knox (Translator)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: Greek
Publisher: Add the publisher.
Country: Greece
Publication Date: 429
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 102

Classification edit see section history

  • Library of Congress: PA4414.O7
  • Dewey: 888'.01

Books Influenced by This Book edit see section history

   
  • Antigone
  • Oedipus at Colonus
  • Wise Blood

Books That Cite This Book edit see section history

   
  • The Language Police

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