Oedipus the King
Sophocles (ca. 496-ca. 406 B.C.E.)
Composed ca. 429-420 B.C.E. Greece
Although Sophocles wrote over one hundred plays, only seven survive. In competitions during religious festivals for Dionysus, which required three playwrights to present three dramatic plays each (plus a farce), Sophocles won first place at least twenty times; the rest of the time, he came in second (never third). Greek plays previously had a chorus and one actor on stage; Aeschylus (ca. 525-456) introduced the idea of a second actor, while Sophocles was the first to have three actors, plus painted scenery as a backdrop for the action. Masks allowed the (all male) actors to portray men, women, children, and gods without confusion. Since the stories were familiar to the audience, the popularity of Sophocles stems from his clever wordplay and insightful grasp of psychology. The three plays that cover the story of Oedipus and his family are referred to as the Theban cycle, although they were written for different competitions over 36 years of his career: Antigone, which was written first, but chronologically is the last story; Oedipus Tyrannos (or just Oedipus), which was written second, but chronologically is the first story; and Oedipus at Colonus, which was written last, but chronologically is the second story. Oedipus begins in medias res, with the city of Thebes suffering from a plague; as the king, Oedipus is trying to discover why the gods are punishing the city.
Written by Laura J. Getty
Oedipus the King
Oedipus Tyrannus
License: CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
Sophocles, Translated by D. W. Myatt
Characters:
Oedipus, King of Thebes
Jocasta, his Consort and wife
Creon, brother of Jocasta
Tiresias, the blind prophet
A Priest, of Zeus
First Messenger Second Messenger A Shepherd
Chorus, of Theban Elders
Scene: Before the wealthy dwelling of Oedipus at Thebes
OEDIPUS
My children—you most recently reared from ancient Cadmus—
Why do you hasten to these seats
Wreathed in suppliant branches?
Since the citadel is filled with incense,
Chants and lamentations
I did not deem it fitting, my children, to hear
The report of some messenger—so I come here myself:
I, Oedipus the renowned, who is respected by you all.
As you, Elder, are distinguished by nature,
You should speak for these others. Is your manner
One of fear or affection? My will is to assist you
For I would be indifferent to pain
Were I not to have pity after such a supplication as this.
Enwreathed like them, our people sit in the place of markets,
By the twin shrines of Pallas
And by the embers of the Ismenian oracle.
Our clan, as you yourself behold, already heaves
Too much—its head bent
To the depths bloodily heaving.
Decay is in the unfruitful seeds in the soil,
Decay is in our herds of cattle—our women
Are barren or abort, and that god of fever
Swoops down to strike our clan with an odious plague,
Emptying the abode of Cadmus and giving dark Hades
An abundance of wailing and lamentation.
Not as an equal of the gods do I