The Oedipus Plays

Guide Note: The cycle of ancient Greek tragedies known as The Oedipus Plays was written over a 36-year period by the dramatist Sophocles, during the 5th Century, B.C. The cycle, which is based on an earlier oral tradition, is considered to be foundational to modern Western drama, and references to it appear throughout the Western literary canon.

The plays: The three plays in the cycle include Oedipus Rex (also called Oedipus The King and Oedipus Tyrannus), Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone. They tell the story of the tragic downfall of the family of Oedipus, King of Thebes. Plot summary: In Oedipus Rex, the supposedly-orphaned Oedipus fulfills a dire prophecy by mistakenly killing his father and marrying his mother. He flees and blinds himself. In Oedipus at Colonus Oedipus wanders the earth in self-chosen exile while his sons fight for the throne. Oedipus dies, and the throne is taken by his uncle, Creon. In Antigone Oedipus's daughter Antigone breaks the law to perform burial rites for her brother, and Creon's punishment of her leads to the downfall of the family. Fast Facts:

1. Also known as The Theban Plays, Oedipus Cycle, and Oedipus Trilogy
2. Inconsistencies exist in the plays, particularly about Creon
3. Oedipus Rex and Antigone set in Thebes
4. Oedipus at Colonus set in Colonus
5. Greek audience already familiar with the events in the plays

Important Quotations:

1. People of Thebes, my countrymen, look on Oedipus. He solved the famous riddle with his brilliance, he rose to power, a man beyond all power. Who could behold his greatness without envy? Now what a black sea of terror has overwhelmed him. Now as we keep our watch and wait the final day, count no man happy till he dies, free of pain at last.
2. So, you mock my blindness? Let me tell you this. You with your precious eyes, you're blind to the corruption of your life, to the house you live in, those you live with-who are your parents? Do you know? All unknowing you are the scourge of your own flesh and blood, the dead below the earth and the living here above, and the double lash of your mother and your father's curse will whip you from this land one day, their footfall treading you down in terror, darkness shrouding your eyes that now can see the light!
3. Fear? What should a man fear? It’s all chance, chance rules our lives. Not a man on earth can see a day ahead, groping through the dark. Better to live at random, best we can.