OEDIPUS SUMMARY

Oedipus, King of Thebes, sends his brother-in-law, Creon, to ask the advice of the oracle (a priest
that predicts the future) at Delphi, concerning a plague (a disease that affects humans and other
mammals) ravaging Thebes (the City they live in). Creon returns to report that the plague is the
result of religious pollution, since the murderer of their former king, Laius, has never been caught.
Oedipus vows to find the murderer and curses him for causing the plague.
Oedipus summons the blind prophet Tiresias for help. Tiresias admits to knowing the answers to
Oedipus' questions, but he refuses to speak, instead telling Oedipus to abandon his search. Angered
by the seer's reply, Oedipus accuses him of complicity in Laius' murder. The offended Tiresias then
reveals to the king that "[y]ou yourself are the criminal you seek". Oedipus does not understand how
this could be, and supposes that Creon must have paid Tiresias to accuse him. The two argue
vehemently, as Oedipus mocks Tiresias' lack of sight, and Tiresias retorts that Oedipus himself is
blind. Eventually, the prophet leaves, muttering darkly that when the murderer is discovered, he shall
be a native of Thebes, brother and father to his own children, and son and husband to his own
mother.
Creon arrives to face Oedipus's accusations. The King demands that Creon be executed; however,
the chorus persuades him to let Creon live. Jocasta, wife of first Laius and then Oedipus, enters and
attempts to comfort Oedipus, telling him he should take no notice of prophets. As proof, she
recounts an incident in which she and Laius received an oracle which never came true. The
prophecy stated that Laius would be killed by his own son; instead, Laius was killed by bandits, at
a fork in the road.
The mention of the place causes Oedipus to pause and ask for more details. Jocasta specifies the
branch to Daulis on the way to Delphi. Recalling Tiresias' words, he asks Jocasta to describe Laius.
The king then sends for a shepherd, the only surviving witness of the attack to be brought from his
fields to the palace.
Confused, Jocasta asks Oedipus what the matter is, and he tells her. Many years ago, at a banquet
in Corinth, a man drunkenly accused Oedipus of not being his father's son. Oedipus went to Delphi
and asked the oracle about his parentage. Instead of answering his question directly, the oracle
prophesied that he would one day murder his father and sleep with his mother. Upon hearing this,
Oedipus resolved never to return to Corinth. In his travels, he came to the very crossroads where
Laius had been killed, and encountered a carriage that attempted to drive him off the road. An
argument ensued, and Oedipus killed the travelers—including a man who matched Jocasta's
description of Laius. However, Oedipus holds out hope that he was not Laius' killer, because Laius
was said to have been murdered by several robbers. If the shepherd confirms that Laius was
attacked by many men, then Oedipus will be in the clear.
A man arrives from Corinth with the message that Polybus, who raised Oedipus as his son, has
died. To the surprise of the messenger, Oedipus is overjoyed, because he can no longer kill his
father, thus disproving half of the oracle's prophecy. However, he still fears that he might somehow
commit incest with his mother. Eager to set the king's mind at ease, the messenger tells him not to
worry, because Merope is not his real mother.
The messenger explains that years earlier, while tending his flock on Mount Cithaeron, a shepherd
from the household of Laius brought him an infant that he was instructed to dispose of. The
messenger had then given the child to Polybus, who raised him. Oedipus asks the chorus if anyone
knows the identity of the other shepherd, or where he might be now. They respond that he is the
same shepherd who witnessed the murder of Laius, and whom Oedipus had already sent for.
Jocasta, realizing the truth, desperately begs Oedipus to stop asking questions. When Oedipus
refuses, the queen runs into the palace.
When the shepherd arrives, Oedipus questions him, but he begs to be allowed to leave without
answering further. However, Oedipus presses him, finally threatening him with torture or execution. It
emerges that the child he gave away was Laius' own son. In fear of a prophecy that the child would
kill his father, Jocasta gave her son to the shepherd in order to be exposed upon the mountainside.
Everything is at last revealed, and Oedipus curses himself and fate before leaving the stage. The
chorus laments how even a great man can be felled by fate, and following this, a servant exits the
palace to speak of what has happened inside. Jocasta has hanged herself in her bedchamber.
Entering the palace in anguish, Oedipus called on his servants to bring him a sword, that he might
slay Jocasta with his own hand. But upon discovering the lifeless queen, Oedipus took her down,
and removing the long gold pins from her dress, he has gouged out his own eyes in despair.
The blinded king now exits the palace, and begs to be exiled. Creon enters, saying that Oedipus
shall be taken into the house until oracles can be consulted regarding what is best to be done.
Oedipus's two daughters (and half-sisters), Antigone and Ismene, are sent out and Oedipus laments
their having been born to such a cursed family. He begs Creon to watch over them, in hopes that
they will live where there is opportunity for them, and to have a better life than their father. Creon
agrees, before sending Oedipus back into the palace.
On an empty stage, the chorus repeats the common Greek maxim that "no man should be
considered fortunate until he is dead." [11]