Summary The scene opens with Creon’s denial of plotting against Oedipus. When Oedipus angrily repeats his charges, Creon again denies it, arguing rationally that he has no motivation to usurp the throne. The wrangling stops when Jocasta — the queen and Creon’s sister — divides the men, sending Creon home. […]
Read more Summary and Analysis: Oedipus the King Lines 573-953Summary and Analysis: Oedipus the King Lines 527-572
Summary In this ode, the chorus wonders at the prophet’s accusation that Oedipus is the murderer of Laius. As loyal subjects, they are horrified and confused. Still, they will stand by their king unless the charges are proved. Analysis The ode continues the theme of belief in spiritual power contrasted […]
Read more Summary and Analysis: Oedipus the King Lines 527-572Summary and Analysis: Oedipus the King Lines 245-526
Summary With the people of Thebes assembled before him, Oedipus calls upon anyone who knows the murderer of Laius to come forward with the truth. As an incentive, the king promises leniency — exile, not death — to the murderer and a reward to anyone providing information. When no one […]
Read more Summary and Analysis: Oedipus the King Lines 245-526Summary and Analysis: Oedipus the King Lines 169-244
Summary The chorus chants a prayer to the gods Zeus, Apollo, Athena, and Artemis, describing the horrors of the Theban plague. In the name of the people, they beg for deliverance from the gods, but worry about the sacrifice that may be demanded in return. Analysis At this point, the […]
Read more Summary and Analysis: Oedipus the King Lines 169-244Summary and Analysis: Oedipus the King Lines 1-168
Summary As the play opens, Oedipus, king of Thebes, receives a group of citizens led by an old priest. The priest describes the plague that is destroying the city — a blight on the land causing famine and sickness. Recalling Oedipus’ early triumph over the Sphinx, the priest begs the […]
Read more Summary and Analysis: Oedipus the King Lines 1-168Character List
Oedipus the King Oedipus King of Thebes. As a young man, he saved the city of Thebes by solving the riddle of the Sphinx and destroying the monster. He now sets about finding the murderer of the former king Laius to save Thebes from plague. Creon The second-in-command in Thebes, […]
Read more Character ListAbout the Oedipus Trilogy
Historical Background The Athens Sophocles knew was a small place — a polis, one of the self-governing city-states on the Greek peninsula — but it held within it the emerging life of democracy, philosophy, and theater. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle wrote and taught in Athens, and their ideas gave birth […]
Read more About the Oedipus TrilogyPlay Summary Antigone
After the bloody siege of Thebes by Polynices and his allies, the city stands unconquered. Polynices and his brother Eteocles, however, are both dead, killed by each other, according to the curse of Oedipus, their father. Outside the city gates, Antigone tells Ismene that Creon has ordered that Eteocles, who […]
Read more Play Summary AntigonePlay Summary Oedipus at Colonus
In Oedipus at Colonus, Sophocles dramatizes the end of the tragic hero’s life and his mythic significance for Athens. During the course of the play, Oedipus undergoes a transformation from an abject beggar, banished from his city because of his sins, into a figure of immense power, capable of extending […]
Read more Play Summary Oedipus at ColonusPlay Summary Oedipus the King
Oedipus the King unfolds as a murder mystery, a political thriller, and a psychological whodunit. Throughout this mythic story of patricide and incest, Sophocles emphasizes the irony of a man determined to track down, expose, and punish an assassin, who turns out to be himself. As the play opens, the […]
Read more Play Summary Oedipus the King