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Oedipus Rex is widely regarded as one of the greatest plays, stories, and tragedies ever written. [21] [22] In 2015, when The Guardian ' s theatre critic Michael Billington, selected what he thinks are the 101 greatest plays ever written, Oedipus Rex was placed second, just after The Persians. [23]
Oedipus (UK: / ˈ iː d ɪ p ə s /, also US: / ˈ ɛ d ə-/; Ancient Greek: Οἰδίπους "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes.A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby bringing disaster to his city and family.
In Greek mythology, Eteocles (/ ɪ ˈ t iː ə k l iː z /; Ancient Greek: Ἐτεοκλῆς) was a king of Thebes, the son of Oedipus and either Jocasta [1] or Euryganeia. Oedipus killed his father Laius and married his mother without knowing his relationship to either. When the relationship was revealed, he was expelled from Thebes.
The Creon of Oedipus Rex is in some ways different and in some ways similar to the Creon of Antigone. In Oedipus Rex, he appears to favor the will of the gods above decrees of state. Even when Oedipus says that, once dethroned, he must be exiled, Creon waits for the approval of the gods to carry out the order once he has been crowned king.
Oedipus gradually established an image of superior intelligence. The Oedipodea may be a reference for the Oedipus Rex. The evolution of the image of Oedipus and Sphinx also reflects the face of Greek society at that time. To say, in the era of tragedy, civil society may put forward higher demands on the knowledge of the king rather than the force.
The play opens with a summary of the story of Oedipus and its aftermath told by Jocasta, who in this version has not committed suicide.She explains that after her husband blinded himself upon discovering that he was her son, his sons Eteocles and Polynices locked him away in hopes that the people might forget what had happened.
Oedipus Separating from Jocasta by Alexandre Cabanel. In Greek mythology, Jocasta (/ dʒ oʊ ˈ k æ s t ə /), also rendered Iocaste [1] (Ancient Greek: Ἰοκάστη Iokástē [i.okástɛː]) and also known as Epicaste (/ ˌ ɛ p ɪ ˈ k æ s t iː /; Ἐπικάστη Epikástē [2]), was a daughter of Menoeceus, a descendant of the Spartoi Echion, [3] and queen consort of Thebes.
There are several accounts of how Eteocles and Polynices shared the rule after Oedipus' departure from the city. In Hellanicus' account, Eteocles offers his brother his choice of either the rule of the city or a share of the property. In Pherekydes, however, Eteocles expels Polynices by force, and keeps the rule of Thebes and the inheritance.