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Prior to the start of Oedipus Rex, Oedipus has become the king of Thebes while unwittingly fulfilling a prophecy that he would kill his father, Laius (the previous king), and marry his mother, Jocasta (whom Oedipus took as his queen after solving the riddle of the Sphinx). The action of Sophocles's play concerns Oedipus's search for the ...
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.
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.
Unlike Corneille, Dryden and Lee put the dramatic love story of Oedipus and Jocasta in the centre of the dramatic plot. But also the main characters appearing in both versions – Oedipus and Creon – are presented differently. Sophocles designs his Oedipus as a just and merciful monarch, determined to rescue his kingdom from the dreadful disease.
A marble relief of a poet, perhaps Sophocles. Sophocles, the son of Sophillus, was a wealthy member of the rural deme (small community) of Hippeios Colonus in Attica, which was to become a setting for one of his plays; and he was probably born there, [2] [8] a few years before the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC: the exact year is unclear, but 497/6 is most likely.
Other scholars, such as Cedric H. Whitman, argue for a production date during the 430s, close to but probably before Oedipus Rex. [3] Evidence for a date near Oedipus Rex include a thematic similarity between the two plays. [3] Whitman believes the two plays represent "another large step in the metaphysics of evil, to which Sophocles devoted ...
Sophocles, The Antigone of Sophocles edited with introduction and notes by Sir Richard Jebb. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. 1893. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Sophocles, Sophocles. Vol 1: Oedipus the king. Oedipus at Colonus. Antigone. With an English translation by F. Storr. The Loeb classical library, 20. Francis Storr.
Legends differ as to the site of Oedipus's death; Sophocles set the place at Colonus, a village near Athens and also Sophocles's own birthplace, where the blinded Oedipus has come with his daughters Antigone and Ismene as suppliants of the Erinyes and of Theseus, the king of Athens.