Oedipus+Rex

//**Oedipus Rex**//, is an Athenian tragedy written by Sophocles. It was first introduced and performed in 429 BCE. Oedipus Rex is a traditional Classical Greek Drama that has been widely read by a variety of audiences. The Story of the King is just one in a series of tragedies in The Royal House of Thebes. Sophocles himself created many Greek Tragedies including "Antigone".



=**The Setting:**= This play was set in a city-state called Thebes, which is located in Greece. Thebes played an important role in Greek myths and was the setting for many of the stories like: Oedipus, Cadmus, Dionysus, and others.

=**Main Characters:**= = = =**Backround:**= The plot of this play actually takes place before the whole story. When a man named Laius learns from an oracle that he is "doomed to perish by the hands of his own son", he orders his wife, Jocasta, to kill the infant (Oedipus). Because she was hesitant to do so, she ordered a servant to do the deed for her. The servant decides to take the baby Oedipus to a mountain top so he can die from exposure. A sheppard finds Oedipus and saves him by taking him to Corinth, and he is raised into royalty. When Oedipus is older, he hears a rumor that he is not the biological son of Polybus and his wife Merope. When he asks the king and queen they deny it, so he asks the Delphic Oracle. They ignore his question and instead tell him of his destiny. He runs away from Corinth to avoid fate and not harm his family, because he believes that Polybus and Perope are his real parents.
 * Oedipus- Main Character, protagonist
 * Tiresias-blind prophet
 * King Laius- King of Thebes
 * Queen Jocasta-Wife to Laius; mother to Oedipus
 * Creon -brother-in-law to Oedipus

On the road to Thebes, Oedipus meets Laius, his real father. They start to fight about whos cart should go first and Oedipus ends up killing Laius and all but one of the other men. He then solves the riddle of the Spynx and releives Thebes from a curse. He then marries Queen Jocasta, his biological mother, without realizing that the prophecy has come true.

=**Summary of the Play:**= = = The play starts with a priest and the chorus of Thebans at the palace to call upon King Oedipus. They ask Oedipus to save them from a plague that is ravaging through the city. Oedipus was made king twelve years earlier by Queen Jocasta for riding the city of a pestilence that was created by the presence of the riddling Sphinx. Shortly before Oedipus was made King, the former King, Laius had been killed. Oedipus has foreseen this problem (the plague) and sent Creon (Jocasta's brother) to Apollo's oracle to learn how to rid the city of the new plague. Creon returns and informs the Oedipus that all will be well again if Laius' murderer is found and banned from the city.

Determined to find the murderer, Oedipus calls for the blind prophet, Tiresias. After a long debate, Tiresias reluctantly informs Oedipus that he himself is the culprit. Oedipus is infuriated at the accusation and rejects it as a plot of Creon to take the throne. Jocasta arrives just in time to prevent a battle between the two men. Seers, she tells Oedipus, are not infallible. She cites the old prophecy that her son (Jocasta and Laius' son) would kill Laius and have children with Jocasta. She said they prevent the prophecy's fulfillment by abandoning their infant son in the mountains. As for Laius, he had been murdered by robbers years later at the "Junction of Three Roads" on the route to Delphi. This information is unsettling for Oedipus sense he recalls having killed a man matching Laius' description at the spot while fleeing from his home in Corinth. He was trying to avoid the fulfillment of a similar prophecy.

At this point, a messenger arrives from Corinth, Oedipus' home city, to announce the death of King Polybus. This is the supposed father of Oedipus and he has elected Oedipus as king in his stead. Because of the old prophecy he has been trying to flee, Oedipus refuses to return to Corinth until his mother is dead. The messenger attempts to calm Oedipus assuring him that he is not the true blood son of Polybus and Merope (King and Queen of Corinth), but a foundling from the house of Laius previously deserted in the mountains.

This is confirmed by the shepherd whom Jocasta had appointed the task of abandoning her son. With this news, Tiresias' accusation is confirmed and the ancient prophecy is fulfilled in every way. Jocasta in her horror hangs herself and Oedipus brutally stabs his eyes out. He then imposes on himself the penalty of exile which he had sworn for the murderer of Laius.

For the [|Full Text Version] click here. This is a translated version of the entire play if you want to understand better.

**Michael & Cheyenne-**
Can you guys format the references, do the setting, and add any other info you think is necessary? Spaid and i did the summary, main characters, and intro. If you want us to do more, let me know... (Cheyenne text me.) Feel free to format anything any way you want but if u want to delete a bunch of stuff let me know so i can change it in our document thingy.

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