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The trilogy containing Oedipus Rex took second prize in the City Dionysia at its original performance. Aeschylus's nephew Philocles took first prize at that competition. [13] However, in his Poetics, Aristotle considered Oedipus Rex to be the tragedy which best matched his prescription for how drama should be made. [14]
However, the most popular version of the legend comes from the set of Theban plays by Sophocles: Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone. Oedipus was the son of Laius and Jocasta, king and queen of Thebes. Having been childless for some time, Laius consulted the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi. The Oracle prophesied that any son born to Laius ...
A nephew of Aeschylus, Philocles (his sister's son), was also a tragic poet, and won first prize in the competition against Sophocles' Oedipus Rex. [17] [24] Aeschylus had at least two brothers, Cynegeirus and Ameinias.
Seven Against Thebes (Ancient Greek: Ἑπτὰ ἐπὶ Θήβας, Hepta epi Thēbas; Latin: Septem contra Thebas) is the third play in an Oedipus-themed trilogy produced by Aeschylus in 467 BC. The trilogy is sometimes referred to as the Oedipodea. [2]
Aeschylus, in Seven Against Thebes, assigns each of the Seven to one of the seven gates of Thebes, as do Euripides in The Phoenician Women, and Apollodorus. [33] While the names of the gates are similar among these sources, there is little agreement with respect to the assignments. Aeschylus further assigns a Theban defender to each gate. [34]
Compared to Aeschylus, the chorus became less important in explaining the plot and there was a greater emphasis on character development and conflict. In Oedipus at Colonus, the chorus repeats "not to be born is best." The events that overwhelm the lives of the heroes are in no way explained or justified, and in this we see the beginning of a ...
Aeschylus is the earliest Greek tragic playwright for whom any plays have survived complete. Sophocles is famous for his tragedies about Oedipus, particularly Oedipus the King and Antigone. Euripides is known for his plays which often pushed the boundaries of the tragic genre.
The plot of Oedipus Rex may have been influenced by the Oedipodea. Sophocles also wrote another tragedy, Epigoni. Unfortunately, the script has been lost and only a few fragments remain. The Thebaid was probably the basis for a later Latin epic poem of the same title which describes the struggle of Polynices and Eteocles for the throne of Thebes.