ANCIENT GREECE - SOPHOCLES - OEDIPUS THE KING

Author of Oidepous Rex

He was born at Colonus, a village outside the walls of Athens, where his father,
Sophillus, was a wealthy manufacturer of armour. Sophocles himself received a good education.
Because of his beauty of physique, his athletic prowess, and his skill in music, he was chosen in
480, when he was 16, to lead the paean (choral chant to a god) celebrating the decisive Greek sea
victory over the Persians at the Battle of Salamis.
The best known of his 123 dramas is Oedipus the King.
Sophocles of Kolōnos (c. 496 - c. 406 BCE) was one of the most famous and celebrated writers
of tragedy plays in ancient Greece and his surviving works, written throughout the 5th century
BCE, include such classics as Oedipus the King, Antigone, and Women of Trachis.
“Oedipus the King” (often considered his magnum opus)

The name Oedipus means “swollen feet”.

“Rex” means king.
Oedipus the King.
“Oedipus the King” (Gr: “Oidipous Tyrannos”; Lat: “Oedipus Rex”) is a tragedy by the ancient
Greek playwright Sophocles, first performed in about 429 BCE. It was the second of Sophocles'
three Theban plays to be produced, but it comes first in the internal chronology (followed by
“Oedipus at Colonus” and then “Antigone”). It follows the story of King Oedipus of Thebes as
he discovers that he has unwittingly killed his own father, Laius, and married his own mother,
Jocasta. Over the centuries, it has come to be regarded by many as the Greek tragedy par
excellence and certainly as the summit of Sophocles’ achievements
Oedipus the King
The plot of Oedipus the King (Greek Oidipous Tyrannos; Latin Oedipus Rex) is a structural
marvel that marks the summit of classical Greek drama’s formal achievements. The play’s main
character, Oedipus, is the wise, happy, and beloved ruler of Thebes. Though hot-tempered,
impatient, and arrogant at times of crisis, he otherwise seems to enjoy every good fortune. But
Oedipus mistakenly believes that he is the son of King Polybus of Corinth and his queen. He
became the ruler of Thebes because he rescued the city from the Sphinx by answering its riddle
correctly, and so was awarded the city’s widowed queen, Jocasta. Before overcoming the
Sphinx, Oedipus left Corinth forever because the Delphic oracle had prophesied to him that he
would kill his father and marry his mother. While journeying to Thebes from Corinth, Oedipus
encountered at a crossroads an old man accompanied by five servants. Oedipus got into an
argument with him and in a fit of arrogance and bad temper killed the old man and four of his
servants.
The play opens with the city of Thebes stricken by a plague and its citizens begging Oedipus to
find a remedy. He consults the Delphic oracle, which declares that the plague will cease only
when the murderer of Jocasta’s first husband, King Laius, has been found and punished for his
deed. Oedipus resolves to find Laius’ killer, and much of the rest of the play centres upon the
investigation he conducts in this regard. In a series of tense, gripping, and ominous scenes
Oedipus’ investigation turns into an obsessive reconstruction of his own hidden past as he begins
to suspect that the old man he killed at the crossroads was none other than Laius. Finally,
Oedipus learns that he himself was abandoned to die as a baby by Laius and Jocasta because they
feared a prophecy that their infant son would kill his father; that he survived and was adopted by
the ruler of Corinth (see video), but in his maturity he has unwittingly fulfilled the Delphic
oracle’s prophecy of him; that he has indeed killed his true father, married his own mother, and
begot children who are also his own siblings
Jocasta hangs herself when she sees this shameful web of incest, parricide, and attempted child
murder, and the guilt-stricken Oedipus then sticks needles into his eyes, blinding himself.
Sightless and alone, he is now blind to the world around him but finally cognizant of the terrible
truth of his own life
THEME

Self-Discovery
The play is full of self-discovery, but, as is often the case in a tragedy, the self-discovery is
painful if not deadly.
Fate versus Free Will
A major theme in Sophocles's plays is the idea that the gods, not human beings, determine the
fate of an individual. Sophocles was a religious man who did not question who was in control.
His plays reflect his belief that suffering serves as a way to clarify the power of the gods and
their intentions for humanity.
Blindness
Sophocles builds the theme of blindness by having all of the characters in Oedipus Rex either
start off as blind, become blind, refuse to see the truth, or wish they had never seen it. Blindness
symbolizes the characters' ignorance.
Pride
Pride figures prominently in many Greek tragedies. It is closely related to the Greek idea of
hubris, a character trait that leads a person to disregard the limits of human potential preordained
by the gods. Oedipus is an intelligent man, but his pride gets the best of him.

Lesson # 1
We must learn that we must take responsibility for our actions
Lesson # 2
The truth can sometimes hurt .
Lesson # 3
Don’t let anger overcome what you say to someone
Lesson # 4
You can't always control what your destiny is. You can steer it in the right path though. Also if
you want something done it is better to do it yourself. If you don't do it yourself don't rely on
anybody else.