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124-434: Of Sophocles' three Theban plays that have survived, and that deal with the story of Oedipus , Oedipus Rex was the second to be written, following Antigone by about a dozen years. However, in terms of the chronology of events described by the plays, it comes first, followed by Oedipus at Colonus and then Antigone . Prior to the start of Oedipus Rex , Oedipus has become the king of Thebes while unwittingly fulfilling

248-417: A chariot driven by his birth-father, King Laius . They fought over who had the right to go first and Oedipus killed Laius when the charioteer tried to run him over. The only witness of the king's death was a slave who fled from a caravan of slaves also traveling on the road at the time. Continuing his journey to Thebes , Oedipus encountered a Sphinx , who would stop all travelers to Thebes and ask them

372-453: 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 murderer of Laius in order to end a plague ravaging Thebes, unaware that the killer he is looking for is none other than himself. At the end of the play, after

496-512: A city in turmoil, Oedipus encounters the Sphinx , a legendary beast with the head and breasts of a woman, the body of a lioness, and the wings of an eagle. The Sphinx, perched on a hill, was devouring Thebans and travelers one by one if they could not solve her riddle . The precise riddle asked by the Sphinx varied in early traditions, and is not explicitly stated in Oedipus Rex , as the event precedes

620-508: A feud: Laius ordered Oedipus out of the road so his chariot could pass, but proud Oedipus refused to move. Second, in the play Jocasta has not killed herself at the discovery of her incest – otherwise, she could not play the prologue, for fathomable reasons – nor has Oedipus fled into exile, but they have stayed in Thebes only to delay their doom until the fatal duel of their sons/brothers/nephews Eteocles and Polynices : Jocasta commits suicide over

744-426: A messenger arrived from Corinth with the news that King Polybus had died. Oedipus was relieved, for the prophecy could no longer be fulfilled if Polybus, whom he believed to be his birth father, was now dead. Still, he knew that his mother was still alive and refused to attend the funeral at Corinth . To ease the tension, the messenger then said that Oedipus was, in fact, adopted. Jocasta, finally realizing that he

868-450: A metaphor for insight and knowledge , yet the clear-eyed Oedipus is blind to the truth about his origins and inadvertent crimes. The prophet Tiresias , on the other hand, although literally blind, "sees" the truth and relays what is revealed to him. Only after Oedipus gouges out his own eyes, physically blinding himself, does he gain prophetic ability, as exhibited in Oedipus at Colonus . It

992-419: A riddle. If the travelers were unable to answer her correctly, they would be killed and eaten; if they were successful, they would be free to continue on their journey. The riddle was: "What walks on four feet in the morning, two in the afternoon, and three at night?". Oedipus answered: "Man: as an infant, he crawls on all fours; as an adult, he walks on two legs and; in old age, he uses a 'walking' stick". Oedipus

1116-491: A rumour that he is not truly the son of Polybus and his wife, Merope . He asks the Delphic Oracle who his parents really are. The Oracle seems to ignore this question, telling him instead that he is destined to "mate with [his] own mother, and shed/With [his] own hands the blood of [his] own sire." Desperate to avoid this terrible fate, Oedipus, who still believes that Polybus and Merope are his true parents, leaves Corinth for

1240-502: A son against Apollo's command. At some point in the action of the play, a character engaged in a lengthy and detailed description of the Sphinx and her riddle – preserved in five fragments from Oxyrhynchus , P.Oxy. 2459 (published by Eric Gardner Turner in 1962). The tragedy also featured many moral maxims on the theme of marriage, preserved in the Anthologion of Stobaeus . The most striking lines, however, state that in this play Oedipus

1364-428: A terrible abomination and that the plague will only be lifted when the true murderer of old King Laius is discovered and punished for his crime. Oedipus swears to do this, not realizing that he is himself the culprit. The stark truth emerges slowly over the course of the play, as Oedipus clashes with the blind seer Tiresias , who senses the truth. Oedipus remains in strict denial, though, becoming convinced that Tiresias

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1488-424: A world order," although Kitto notes that whether or not that world order "is beneficent, Sophocles does not say." The science revolution attributed to Thales began gaining political force, and this play offered a warning to the new thinkers. Kitto interprets the play as Sophocles' retort to the sophists , by dramatizing a situation in which humans face undeserved suffering through no fault of their own, but despite

1612-417: Is a queen regnant ). A queen mother is a former queen consort, often a dowager queen, who is the mother of the reigning monarch. As of 2024, there are four queens dowager: Kesang Choden of Bhutan (who is the only living queen grandmother worldwide), Norodom Monineath of Cambodia (who is also queen mother), Lisa Najeeb Halaby (Noor Al'Hussein) of Jordan , and Sirikit Kitiyakara of Thailand (who

1736-473: Is a former queen, often a queen dowager, who is the mother of the current monarch. Not every queen mother is a queen dowager, such as Queen Paola of Belgium , who became the queen mother of her son Philippe after her husband Albert II abdicated the throne but retained the title of king. Not all queens dowager are the queen mother; they may have a relation other than mother to the reigning monarch, such as aunt or grandmother. For example, Mary, Queen of Scots ,

1860-421: Is a title or status generally held by the widow of a king. In the case of the widow of an emperor , the title of empress dowager is used. Its full meaning is clear from the two words from which it is composed: queen indicates someone who served as queen consort (i.e. wife of a king), while dowager indicates a woman who continues to hold the title from her deceased husband (a queen who reigns in her own right

1984-439: Is a unity; if, sometimes, we can see neither rhyme nor reason in it we should not suppose it is random. There is so much that we cannot know and cannot control that we should not think and behave as if we do know and can control." Oedipus Rex is widely regarded as one of the greatest plays, stories, and tragedies ever written. In 2015, when The Guardian ' s theatre critic Michael Billington , selected what he thinks are

2108-423: Is also queen mother). A queen dowager has an important royal position (whether or not she is the mother of the reigning sovereign) but does not normally have any rights to succeed a king as monarch on his death unless she happens to be next in line to the throne (one possibility would be if the king and queen were also cousins and childless, the king had no other siblings, and she in her other position as his cousin

2232-413: Is best to be done. Oedipus's two daughters (and half-sisters), Antigone and Ismene , are sent out and Oedipus laments their having been born to such a cursed family. He begs Creon to watch over them, in hopes that they will live where there is opportunity for them, and to have a better life than their father. Creon agrees, before sending Oedipus back into the palace. On an empty stage, the chorus repeats

2356-412: Is both brother and father. To the woman who gave birth to him he is son and husband and to his father, both, a sharer of his bed and his murderer. Go into your palace then, king Oedipus and think about these things and if you find me a liar then you can truly say I know nothing of prophecies. The audience knows the truth and what would be the fate of Oedipus. Oedipus, on the other hand, chooses to deny

2480-467: Is defined as a male child's unconscious desire for the exclusive love of his mother. This desire includes jealousy towards the father and the unconscious wish for that parent's death, as well as the unconscious desire for sexual intercourse with the mother. Oedipus himself, as portrayed in the myth, did not have this neurosis – at least, not towards Jocasta, whom he only met as an adult (if anything, such feelings would have been directed at Merope – but there

2604-593: Is deliberately ironic that the "seer" can "see" better than Oedipus, despite being blind. Tiresias, in anger, expresses such (lines 495–500): Oedipus 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. The story of Oedipus

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2728-442: Is no hint of that). Freud reasoned that the ancient Greek audience, which heard the story told or saw the plays based on it, did know that Oedipus was actually killing his father and marrying his mother; the story being continually told and played therefore reflected a preoccupation with the theme. Queen dowager Philosophers Works A queen dowager or dowager queen (compare: princess dowager or dowager princess )

2852-404: Is not his real mother. The messenger explains that years earlier, while tending his flock on Mount Cithaeron , a shepherd from the household of Laius brought him an infant that he was instructed to dispose of. The messenger had then given the child to Polybus, who raised him. Oedipus asks the chorus if anyone knows the identity of the other shepherd, or where he might be now. They respond that he

2976-404: Is said that Theseus took care of Oedipus and his daughter, Antigone . Creon eventually catches up to Oedipus. He asks Oedipus to come back from Colonus to bless his son, Eteocles. Angry that his son did not love him enough to take care of him, he curses both Eteocles and his brother, condemning them both to kill each other in battle. Oedipus dies a peaceful death; his grave is said to be sacred to

3100-543: Is somehow plotting with Creon to usurp the throne. Realization begins to slowly dawn in Scene II of the play when Jocasta mentions out of hand that Laius was slain at a place where three roads meet. This stirs something in Oedipus's memory and he suddenly remembers the men he fought and killed one day long ago at a place where three roads met. He realizes, horrified, that he might be the man he's seeking. One household servant survived

3224-468: Is supported by Jocasta's repetition of the oracle at lines 854–55: "Loxias declared that the king should be killed by/ his own son." In Greek, Jocasta uses the verb chrênai : "to be fated, necessary." This iteration of the oracle seems to suggest that it was unconditional and inevitable. Other scholars have nonetheless argued that Sophocles follows tradition in making Laius's oracle conditional, and thus avoidable. They point to Jocasta's initial disclosure of

3348-496: Is the princess dowager of the principality of Genovia. In the films, where Genovia is portrayed as a kingdom, Clarisse is portrayed as a dowager queen. In the fantasy novel series A Song of Ice and Fire , and later the HBO series Game of Thrones , the character Cersei Lannister became the queen mother to King Joffrey Baratheon after her husband Robert Baratheon was killed in a hunting accident, although she managed to strong-arm

3472-441: Is the same shepherd who witnessed the murder of Laius, and whom Oedipus had already sent for. Jocasta, realizing the truth, desperately begs Oedipus to stop asking questions. When Oedipus refuses, the queen runs into the palace. When the shepherd arrives, Oedipus questions him, but he begs to be allowed to leave without answering further. However, Oedipus presses him, finally threatening him with torture or execution. It emerges that

3596-407: Is the subject of Sophocles ' tragedy Oedipus Rex , which is followed in the narrative sequence by Oedipus at Colonus and then Antigone . Together, these plays make up Sophocles' three Theban plays . Oedipus represents two enduring themes of Greek myth and drama: the flawed nature of humanity and an individual's role in the course of destiny in a harsh universe. In the best-known version of

3720-460: Is unusual to indicate a former queen-consort as a dowager. In Sweden, there has also been another title for a dowager queen, called Riksänkedrottning , which means Queen Dowager of the Realm . This title was used in the 16th and 17th centuries. The last time the title queen dowager was used was in 1913. In the novel series The Princess Diaries , the character Princess Clarisse Marie Grimaldi Renaldo

3844-413: Is what is often called a " self-fulfilling prophecy ," whereby a prophecy itself sets in motion events that conclude with its own fulfilment. This, however, is not to say that Oedipus is a victim of fate and has no free will. The oracle inspires a series of specific choices, freely made by Oedipus, which lead him to kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus chooses not to return to Corinth after hearing

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3968-451: The Epigoni , of which only fragments have survived. As Sophocles ' Oedipus Rex begins, the people of Thebes are begging the king for help, begging him to discover the cause of the plague. Oedipus stands before them and swears to find the root of their suffering and to end it. Just then, Creon returns to Thebes from a visit to the oracle. Apollo has made it known that Thebes is harboring

4092-612: The Seven Against Thebes by Aeschylus and the Phoenician Women by Euripides ). The two brothers killed each other in battle. King Creon , who ascended to the throne of Thebes, decreed that Polynices was not to be buried. Antigone , Polynices' sister, defied the order but was caught. Creon decreed that she was to be put into a stone box in the ground, this in spite of her betrothal to his son Haemon . Antigone's sister, Ismene , then declared she had aided Antigone and wanted

4216-653: The Commonwealth realms in the period between the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952 and the death of her paternal grandmother on 24 March 1953, when, for slightly over a year, there were three queens alive: There were several former queens consort of England, Scotland, and later the United Kingdom, who were never queen mothers. The following queens were dowagers between the given dates, whether queen mothers or not: Of England : Of England and Ireland Of Scotland Of England, Ireland and Scotland Of

4340-485: The Oedipus Rex ", E.R. Dodds draws upon Bernard Knox 's comparison with Jesus ' prophecy at the Last Supper that Peter would deny him three times. Jesus knows that Peter will do this, but readers would in no way suggest that Peter was a puppet of fate being forced to deny Christ. Free will and predestination are by no means mutually exclusive, and such is the case with Oedipus. The oracle delivered to Oedipus

4464-548: The Renaissance . It was adapted by John Dryden in his very successful heroic drama Oedipus , licensed in 1678. The 1718 Oedipus was also the first play written by Voltaire . A version of Oedipus by Frank McGuinness was performed at the National Theatre in late 2008, starring Ralph Fiennes and Claire Higgins . In the late 1960s Ola Rotimi published a novel and play, The Gods Are Not to Blame , which retell

4588-470: The 101 greatest plays ever written, Oedipus Rex was placed second, just after The Persians . Fate is a motif that often occurs in Greek writing, tragedies in particular. Likewise, where the attempt to avoid an oracle is the very thing that enables it to happen is common to many Greek myths. For example, similarities to Oedipus can be seen in the myth of Perseus ' birth . Two oracles in particular dominate

4712-1048: The Garter , Lady of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle , Lady of the Imperial Order of the Crown of India , Grand Master and Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order upon whom had been conferred the Royal Victorian Chain , Dame Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire , Dame Grand Cross of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John , Relict of His Majesty King George

4836-480: The King as "this definitive tragedy" and notes that "the magisterial subtlety of Sophocles' characterization thus lend credibility to the breathtaking coincidences," and notes the irony that "Oedipus can only fulfill his exceptional god-ordained destiny because Oedipus is a preeminently capable and intelligent human being." H. D. F. Kitto said about Oedipus Rex that "it is true to say that the perfection of its form implies

4960-453: The Oedipus myth happening in the Yoruba kingdom . In 2011, U.S. writer David Guterson published his Oedipus-inspired novel "Ed King". In folkloristics , the myth of Oedipus is classified in the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index as tale type ATU 931, "Oedipus". Sigmund Freud used the name " the Oedipus complex " to explain the origin of certain neuroses in childhood. It

5084-456: The Oracle this uncertainty disappears, strangely enough, and is replaced by a totally unjustified certainty that he is the son of Merope and Polybus. We have said that this irrational behaviour—his hamartia , as Aristotle puts it—is due to the repression of a whole series of thoughts in his consciousness, in fact everything that referred to his earlier doubts about his parentage. The exploration of

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5208-468: The Oracle: "I was doomed to be murderer of the father that begot me" refers to Oedipus' real, biological father. Likewise the mother with polluted children is defined as the biological one. The wording of the drunken guest on the other hand: "you are not your father's son" defines Polybus as only a foster father to Oedipus. The two wordings support each other and point to the "two sets of parents" alternative. Thus

5332-670: The Sixth and Mother of Her Most Excellent Majesty Elizabeth The Second by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth , Defender of the Faith , Sovereign of the Most Noble Order of the Garter , whom may God preserve and bless with long life, health and honour and all worldly happiness. A queen mother

5456-407: The United Kingdom of the styles and titles of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother at her funeral on 9 April 2002 illustrates her dual status as a queen dowager and a queen mother: Thus it hath pleased Almighty God to take out of this transitory life unto His Divine Mercy the late Most High, Most Mighty and Most Excellent Princess Elizabeth, Queen Dowager and Queen Mother, Lady of the Most Noble Order of

5580-466: The United Kingdom: If the current queen consort, Queen Camilla , outlives the incumbent king, King Charles III , she will become a queen dowager, while King Charles’s son and daughter in law become the new king and queen consort respectively. She would not be known as a queen mother, as she is not the biological parent of Prince William. Note that in some of the countries mentioned below it

5704-501: The advice of the oracle at Delphi , concerning a plague ravaging Thebes. Creon returns to report that the plague is the result of religious pollution, since the murderer of their former king, Laius , has never been caught. Oedipus vows to find the murderer and curses him for causing the plague. Oedipus summons the blind prophet Tiresias for help. Tiresias admits to knowing the answers to Oedipus' questions, but he refuses to speak, instead telling Oedipus to abandon his search. Angered by

5828-425: The apparent randomness of the events, the fact that they have been prophesied by the gods implies that the events are not random, despite the reasons being beyond human comprehension. Through the play, according to Kitto, Sophocles declares "that it is wrong, in the face of the incomprehensible and unmoral, to deny the moral laws and accept chaos. What is right is to recognize facts and not delude ourselves. The universe

5952-408: The attack and now lives out his old age in a frontier district of Thebes. Oedipus sends immediately for the man to either confirm or deny his guilt. At the very worst, though, he expects to find himself to be the unsuspecting murderer of a man unknown to him. The truth has not yet been made clear. The moment of epiphany comes late in the play. At the beginning of Scene III, Oedipus is still waiting for

6076-464: The blind prophet Tiresias that religious forces are against him, each king claims that the priest has been corrupted. It is here, however, that their similarities come to an end: while Creon sees the havoc he has wreaked and tries to amend his mistakes, Oedipus refuses to listen to anyone. (The above text comes almost directly from David Grene's introduction to Sophocles I , University of Chicago Press, 1954.) Sophocles uses dramatic irony to present

6200-537: The body of his deceased fiancée but failing to kill Creon he killed himself. When Creon's wife, Eurydice , was informed of the death of Haemon , she too took her own life. At the beginning of Euripides ' Phoenissae , Jocasta recalls the story of Oedipus. Generally, the play weaves together the plots of the Seven Against Thebes and Antigone . The play differs from the other tales in two major respects. First, it describes in detail why Laius and Oedipus had

6324-407: The boy to a servant to abandon ("expose") on the nearby mountain. However, rather than leave the child to die of exposure, as Laius intended, the servant passed the baby on to a shepherd from Corinth , who then gave the child to another shepherd. The infant Oedipus was eventually adopted by Polybus and Merope, the king and queen of Corinth, as they were without children of their own. Little Oedipus

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6448-489: The child he gave away was Laius' own son. In fear of a prophecy that the child would kill his father, Jocasta gave her son to the shepherd in order to be exposed upon the mountainside. Everything is at last revealed, and Oedipus curses himself and fate before leaving the stage. The chorus laments how even a great man can be felled by fate, and following this, a servant exits the palace to speak of what has happened inside. Jocasta has hanged herself in her bedchamber. Entering

6572-477: The city of Thebes. On the road to Thebes, Oedipus encounters an old man and his servants. The two begin to quarrel over whose chariot has the right of way. While the old man moves to strike the insolent youth with his scepter, Oedipus throws the man down from his chariot, killing him. Thus, the prophecy in which Oedipus slays his own father is fulfilled, as the old man—as Oedipus discovers later—was Laius, king of Thebes and true father to Oedipus. Arriving at Thebes,

6696-429: The clear. A man arrives from Corinth with the message that Polybus , who raised Oedipus as his son, has died. To the surprise of the messenger, Oedipus is overjoyed, because he can no longer kill his father, thus disproving half of the oracle's prophecy. However, he still fears that he might somehow commit incest with his mother. Eager to set the king's mind at ease, the messenger tells him not to worry, because Merope

6820-563: The common Greek maxim that "no man should be considered fortunate until he is dead." The two cities of Troy and Thebes were the major focus of Greek epic poetry . The events surrounding the Trojan War were chronicled in the Epic Cycle , of which much remains, and those about Thebes in the Theban Cycle , which have been lost. The Theban Cycle recounted the sequence of tragedies that befell

6944-456: The curse I have laid on others. This is ironic as Oedipus is, as he discovers, the slayer of Laius, and the curse he wishes upon the killer, he has actually wished upon himself. Glassberg (2017) explains that “Oedipus has clearly missed the mark. He is unaware that he is the one polluting agent he seeks to punish. He has inadequate knowledge...” Literal and metaphorical references to eyesight appear throughout Oedipus Rex . Clear vision serves as

7068-462: The dead king – and the hand in marriage of the king's widow, who was also (unbeknownst to him) his mother Jocasta. Years later, to end a plague on Thebes, Oedipus searched to find who had killed Laius and discovered that he himself was responsible. Jocasta, upon realizing that she had married her own son, hanged herself. Oedipus then seized two pins from her dress and blinded himself with them. The legend of Oedipus has been retold in many versions and

7192-428: The downfall of Oedipus. At the beginning of the story, Oedipus is portrayed as "self-confident, intelligent and strong willed." By the end, it is within these traits that he finds his demise. One of the most significant instances of irony in this tragedy is when Tiresias hints to Oedipus what he has done; that he has slain his own father and married his own mother (lines 457–60): To his children he will discover that he

7316-423: The elder Xenocles . The Bibliotheca , a Roman-era mythological handbook, includes a riddle for the Sphinx, borrowing the poetry of Hesiod : What is that which has one voice and yet becomes four-footed and two-footed and three-footed? Due to the popularity of Sophocles's Antigone (c. 442 BC), the ending (lines 1005–78) of Seven against Thebes was added some fifty years after Aeschylus' death. Whereas

7440-455: The end of the battle, the brothers killed each other, after which Jocasta's brother, Creon, took the throne. He decided that Polynices was a "traitor", and should not be given burial rites. Defying this edict, Antigone attempted to bury her brother. In Sophocles' Antigone , Creon had her buried in a rock cavern for defying him, whereupon she hanged herself. However, in Euripides' lost version of

7564-590: The fate of the City of Thebes , during and after the reign of King Oedipus, and have often been published under a single cover. Originally, Sophocles had written the plays for three separate festival competitions , many years apart. Not only are the Theban plays not a true trilogy (three plays presented as a continuous narrative), they are not even an intentional series and contain some inconsistencies among them. Sophocles also wrote other plays focused on Thebes, most notably

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7688-412: The gods. In Sophocles' Antigone , when Oedipus stepped down as king of Thebes, he gave the kingdom to his two sons, Eteocles and Polynices , both of whom agreed to alternate the throne every year. However, they showed no concern for their father, who cursed them for their negligence. After the first year, Eteocles refused to step down and Polynices attacked Thebes with his supporters (as portrayed in

7812-420: The greatest extant Greek play..." Whitman himself regarded the play as "the fullest expression of this conception of tragedy," that is the conception of tragedy as a "revelation of the evil lot of man," where a man may have "all the equipment for glory and honor" but still have "the greatest effort to do good" end in "the evil of an unbearable self for which one is not responsible." Edith Hall referred to Oedipus

7936-419: The herdsman, Oedipus learned that the infant who was raised as the adopted son of Polybus and Merope, was the son of Laius and Jocasta. Thus, Oedipus finally realized that the man he had killed so many years before was his father and that he had married his mother. Events after the revelation depend on the source. In Sophocles ' plays, Oedipus went in search of Jocasta and found she had killed herself . Using

8060-600: The honor in youthful contests and the brunt of war, a scion of aid to the house of Adrastos. In 467 BC, the Athenian playwright, Aeschylus , most notably wrote a trilogy based on the myth of Oedipus, winning him the first prize at the City Dionysia . Of the plays, Laius was the first, Oedipus was second , and Seven Against Thebes was the third play and the only one to have survived. In Seven Against Thebes , Oedipus's sons Eteocles and Polynices kill each other warring over

8184-455: The house of Laius , of which the story of Oedipus is a part. Homer 's Odyssey (XI.271ff.) contains the earliest account of the Oedipus myth when Odysseus encounters Jocasta (named Epicaste) in the underworld . Homer briefly summarises the story of Oedipus, including the incest, patricide, and Jocasta's subsequent suicide. However, in the Homeric version, Oedipus remains King of Thebes after

8308-468: The infant's feet together with a pin and orders Jocasta to kill him. Unable to do so to her own son, Jocasta orders a servant to expose the infant on a mountaintop. The servant, moved by pity, gives the child to a shepherd, who unbinds the infant's ankles, and names him Oedipus , "swollen foot". The shepherd brings the infant to Corinth , and presents him to the childless king Polybus , who raises Oedipus as his own son. As he grows to manhood, Oedipus hears

8432-410: The killer, and the fact that Oedipus was living in shame because he did not know who his true parents were. Oedipus angrily blamed Creon for the false accusations, and the two argued. Jocasta entered and tried to calm Oedipus by telling him the story of her first-born son and his supposed death. Oedipus became nervous as he realized that he may have murdered Laius and so brought about the plague. Suddenly,

8556-437: The messenger knows that it is not true. He is the man who found Oedipus as a baby in the pass of Cithaeron and gave him to King Polybus to raise. He reveals, furthermore that the servant who is being brought to the city as they speak is the very same man who took Oedipus up into the mountains as a baby. Jocasta realizes now all that has happened. She begs Oedipus not to pursue the matter further. He refuses, and she withdraws into

8680-429: The modern conception of fate and fatalism , readers of the play have a tendency to view Oedipus as a mere puppet controlled by greater forces; a man crushed by the gods and fate for no good reason. This, however, is not an entirely accurate reading. While it is a mythological truism that oracles exist to be fulfilled, oracles do not cause the events that lead up to the outcome. In his landmark essay "On Misunderstanding

8804-399: The murderer of King Laius must be brought to justice, and Oedipus himself cursed the killer of his wife's late husband, saying that he would be exiled. Creon also suggested that they try to find the blind prophet Tiresias , who was widely respected. Oedipus sent for Tiresias, who warned him not to seek Laius' killer. In a heated exchange, Tiresias was provoked into exposing Oedipus himself as

8928-509: The myth, Oedipus was born to King Laius and Queen Jocasta of Thebes. Laius wished to thwart the prophecy, so he sent a shepherd-servant to leave Oedipus to die on a mountainside. However, the shepherd took pity on the baby and passed him to another shepherd who gave Oedipus to King Polybus and Queen Merope to raise as their own. Oedipus learned from the oracle at Delphi of the prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother but, unaware of his true parentage, believed he

9052-399: The myth, including Homer , state that Oedipus continued to rule Thebes after the revelations and after Jocasta's death. Oedipus's two sons, Eteocles and Polynices, arranged to share the kingdom, each taking an alternating one-year reign. However, Eteocles refused to cede his throne after his year as king. Polynices brought in an army to oust Eteocles from his position and a battle ensued. At

9176-469: The news, but they denied this. Oedipus went to the same oracle in Delphi that his birth parents had consulted. The oracle informed him that he was destined to murder his father and marry his mother. In an attempt to avoid such a fate, he decided not to return home to Corinth, but to travel to Thebes, which was closer to Delphi. On the way, Oedipus came to Davlia , where three roads crossed. There he encountered

9300-456: The option of making the oracle to Laius conditional ( if Laius has a son, that son will kill him) or unconditional (Laius will have a son who will kill him). Both Aeschylus and Euripides write plays in which the oracle is conditional; Sophocles...chooses to make Laius's oracle unconditional and thus removes culpability for his sins from Oedipus, for he could not have done other than what he did, no matter what action he took." This interpretation

9424-429: The oracle at lines 711–14. In Greek, the oracle cautions: " hôs auton hexoi moira pros paidos thanein / hostis genoit emou te kakeinou para . " The two verbs in boldface indicate what is called a "future more vivid" condition: if a child is born to Laius, his fate to be killed by that child will overtake him. Whatever the meaning of Laius's oracle, the one delivered to Oedipus is clearly unconditional. Given

9548-469: The oracle, just as he chooses to head toward Thebes, to kill Laius, and to take Jocasta specifically as his wife. In response to the plague at Thebes, he chooses to send Creon to the Oracle for advice and then to follow that advice, initiating the investigation into Laius' murder. None of these choices are predetermined. Another characteristic of oracles in myth is that they are almost always misunderstood by those who hear them; hence Oedipus misunderstanding

9672-446: The palace as the servant is arriving. The old man arrives, and it is clear at once that he knows everything. At the behest of Oedipus, he tells it all. Overwhelmed with the knowledge of all his crimes, Oedipus rushes into the palace where he finds his mother-wife, dead by her own hand. Ripping a brooch from her dress, Oedipus blinds himself with it. Bleeding from the eyes, he begs his uncle and brother-in-law Creon, who has just arrived on

9796-448: The palace in anguish, Oedipus called on his servants to bring him a sword, that he might slay Jocasta with his own hand. But upon discovering the lifeless queen, Oedipus took her down, and removing the long gold pins from her dress, he gouged out his own eyes in despair. The blinded king now exits the palace, and begs to be exiled . Creon enters, saying that Oedipus shall be taken into the house until oracles can be consulted regarding what

9920-525: The palace. Confused, Jocasta asks Oedipus what the matter is, and he tells her. Many years ago, at a banquet in Corinth, a man drunkenly accused Oedipus of not being his father's son. Oedipus went to Delphi and asked the oracle about his parentage. Instead of answering his question directly, the oracle prophesied that he would one day murder his father and sleep with his mother. Upon hearing this, Oedipus resolved never to return to Corinth. In his travels, he came to

10044-501: The person who defeated the Sphinx. He makes no mention of Oedipus's troubled experiences with his father and mother. Seneca the Younger wrote his own play on the story of Oedipus in the first century AD. It differs in significant ways from the work of Sophocles. Some scholars have argued that Seneca's play on the myth was intended to be recited at private gatherings and not actually performed. It has however been successfully staged since

10168-568: The pin from a brooch he took off Jocasta's gown, Oedipus blinded himself and was then exiled . His daughter Antigone acted as his guide as he wandered through the country, finally dying at Colonus where they had been welcomed by King Theseus of Athens. However, in Euripides ' plays on the subject, Jocasta did not kill herself upon learning of Oedipus's birth, and Oedipus was blinded by a servant of Laius. The blinding of Oedipus does not appear in sources earlier than Aeschylus . Some older sources of

10292-600: The play (and the trilogy of which it is the last play) was meant to end with somber mourning for the dead brothers, the spurious ending features a herald announcing the prohibition against burying Polynices, and Antigone's declaration that she will defy that edict. Oedipus was a figure who was also used in the Latin literature of ancient Rome . Julius Caesar wrote a play on Oedipus, but it has not survived into modern times. Ovid included Oedipus in Metamorphoses , but only as

10416-404: The play. However, according to the most widely regarded version of the riddle, the Sphinx asks "what is the creature that walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three in the evening?" Oedipus, blessed with great intelligence, answers correctly: "man" (Greek: anthrôpos ), who crawls on all fours as an infant; walks upright in maturity; and leans on a stick in old age. Bested by

10540-408: The plot of Oedipus Rex . Jocasta relates the prophecy that was told to Laius before the birth of Oedipus (lines 711–4): [The oracle] told him that it was his fate that he should die a victim at the hands of his own son, a son to be born of Laius and me. The oracle told to Laius tells only of the patricide , whereas the incest is missing. Prompted by Jocasta's recollection, Oedipus reveals

10664-455: The position of regent as well, and was thus known as the "queen regent". In the episode " High Sparrow ", the new queen consort, Margaery Tyrell , mocks Cersei's loss of power by asking her to clarify whether she should be addressed as queen mother or dowager queen. In the 2015 Indian movie Baahubali-The Beginning and its sequel Baahubali-the Conclusion , actress Ramya Krishnan portrays

10788-418: The prince, the Sphinx throws herself from a cliff, thereby ending the curse. Oedipus' reward for freeing Thebes from the Sphinx is kingship to the city and the hand of its dowager queen , Jocasta. None, at that point, realize that Jocasta is Oedipus' true mother. Thus, unbeknownst to either character, the remaining prophecy has been fulfilled. Oedipus , King of Thebes, sends his brother-in-law, Creon , to ask

10912-541: The prophecy which caused him to leave Corinth (lines 791–3): that I was fated to lie with my mother, and show to daylight an accursed breed which men would not endure, and I was doomed to be murderer of the father that begot me. The implication of Laius's oracle is ambiguous. One interpretation considers that the presentation of Laius's oracle in this play differs from that found in Aeschylus 's Oedipus trilogy produced in 467 BC. Smith (2005) argues that "Sophocles had

11036-647: The prophet leaves, muttering darkly that when the murderer is discovered, he shall be a native of Thebes, brother and father to his own children, and son and husband to his own mother. Creon arrives to face Oedipus's accusations. The King demands that Creon be executed; however, the chorus persuades him to let Creon live. Jocasta , wife of first Laius and then Oedipus, enters and attempts to comfort Oedipus, telling him he should take no notice of prophets. As proof, she recounts an incident in which she and Laius received an oracle which never came true. The prophecy stated that Laius would be killed by his own son; instead, Laius

11160-434: The quality of Oedipus Rex , even if they don't always agree on the reasons. For example, Richard Claverhouse Jebb claimed that "The Oedipus Tyrannus is in one sense the masterpiece of Attic tragedy. No other shows an equal degree of art in the development of the plot; and this excellence depends on the powerful and subtle drawing of the characters." Cedric Whitman noted that "the Oedipus Rex passes almost universally for

11284-464: The question of two sets of parents, biological and foster, is raised. Oedipus' reaction to the Oracle is irrational: he states he did not get any answer and he flees in a direction away from Corinth, showing that he firmly believed at the time that Polybus and Merope are his real parents. The scene with the drunken guest constitutes the end of Oedipus' childhood. He can no longer ignore a feeling of uncertainty about his parentage. However, after consulting

11408-533: The reality that has confronted him. He ignores the word of Tiresias and continues on his journey to find the supposed killer. His search for a murderer is yet another instance of irony. Oedipus, determined to find the one responsible for King Laius' death, announces to his people (lines 247–53): I hereby call down curses on this killer... that horribly, as he is horrible, he may drag out his wretched unblessed days. This too I pray: Though he be of my house, if I learn of it, and let him still remain, may I receive

11532-435: The rest of the prophecy. Oedipus and Jocasta had four children: sons Eteocles and Polynices (see Seven Against Thebes ) and daughters Antigone and Ismene . Many years later, a plague of infertility struck the city of Thebes, affecting crops, livestock, and the people . Oedipus asserted that he would end the pestilence. He sent Creon to the Oracle at Delphi, seeking guidance. When Creon returned, Oedipus learned that

11656-631: The revelation and neither blinds himself, nor is sent into exile. In particular, it is said that the gods made the matter of his paternity known, whilst in Oedipus the King , Oedipus very much discovers the truth himself. In 467 BC, Sophocles's fellow tragedian Aeschylus won first prize at the City Dionysia with a trilogy about the House of Laius, comprising Laius , Oedipus and Seven Against Thebes (the only play which survives). Since he did not write connected trilogies as Aeschylus did, Oedipus Rex focuses on

11780-426: The royal family hosting him at the time. Extant vases show a fury hovering over the lecherous Laius as he abducts the rape victim. Furies avenged violations of good order in households, as can be seen most clearly in such texts as The Libation Bearers by Aeschylus. Euripides wrote also an Oedipus , of which only a few fragments survive. The first line of the prologue recalled Laius' hubristic action of conceiving

11904-456: The same fate, but Creon eventually declined to execute her. The gods, through the blind prophet Tiresias , expressed their disapproval of Creon's decision, which convinced him to rescind his order, and he went to bury Polynices himself. However, Antigone had already hanged herself in her tomb, rather than suffering the slow death of being buried alive. When Creon arrived at the tomb where she had been interred, his son Haemon attacked him upon seeing

12028-446: The scene, to exile him forever from Thebes. Creon agrees to this request. Oedipus begs to hold his two daughters Antigone and Ismene with his hands one more time to have their eyes full of tears and Creon out of pity sends the girls in to see Oedipus one more time. In Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus , Oedipus becomes a wanderer, pursued by Creon and his men. He finally finds refuge in the holy wilderness right outside Athens, where it

12152-453: The seer's reply, Oedipus accuses him of complicity in Laius' murder. The offended Tiresias then reveals to the king that "you yourself are the criminal you seek". Oedipus does not understand how this could be, and supposes that Creon must have paid Tiresias to accuse him. The two argue vehemently, as Oedipus mocks Tiresias' lack of sight, and Tiresias retorts that Oedipus himself is blind. Eventually,

12276-405: The servant to be brought into the city, when a messenger arrives from Corinth to declare that King Polybus of Corinth is dead. Oedipus, when he hears this news, feels much relieved, because he believed that Polybus was the father whom the oracle had destined him to murder, and he momentarily believes himself to have escaped fate. He tells this all to the present company, including the messenger, but

12400-479: The significance of the Delphic Oracle. He visits Delphi to find out who his real parents are and assumes that the Oracle refuses to answer that question, offering instead an unrelated prophecy which forecasts patricide and incest. Oedipus' assumption is incorrect: the Oracle does, in a way, answer his question. On closer analysis, the oracle contains essential information which Oedipus seems to neglect. The wording of

12524-471: The story, it appears that Antigone survives. Most, if not all, of our knowledge of Oedipus, comes from the 5th century BC . Though these stories principally deal with his downfall, various details still appear on how Oedipus rose to power. King Laius of Thebes hears of a prophecy that his infant son will one day kill him. He pierces Oedipus' feet and leaves him out to die, but a shepherd finds him and carries him away. Years later, Oedipus, not knowing he

12648-465: The theme of state control in Oedipus Rex is paralleled by the examination of the conflict between the individual and the state in Antigone . The dilemma that Oedipus faces here is similar to that of the tyrannical Creon : each man has, as king, made a decision that his subjects question or disobey; and each king misconstrues both his own role as a sovereign and the role of the rebel. When informed by

12772-470: The throne instead of dying in battle. Additionally, rather than his children being by a second wife, Oedipus's children are now by Jocasta (hence, they are his brothers as well). In his second Olympian Ode , Pindar writes: Laius' tragic son, crossing his father's path, killed him and fulfilled the oracle spoken of old at Pytho. And sharp-eyed Erinys saw and slew his warlike children at each other's hands. Yet Thersandros survived fallen Polyneikes and won

12896-413: The throne. Much like his Oresteia , the trilogy would have detailed the tribulations of a House over three successive generations. The satyr play that followed the trilogy was called The Sphinx . The three surviving works of Sophocles' " Theban plays " consist of: Oedipus Rex (also called Oedipus Tyrannus or Oedipus the King ), Oedipus at Colonus , and Antigone . All three plays concern

13020-419: The title of " Dowager Princess of Wales " (a precedent was Henry VII of England 's mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort , titled "My Lady the King's Mother"); Srinagarindra meanwhile received the designation "Princess Mother". As there is only one monarch, there can only be one queen mother. It is possible for there to be a queen mother and one or more queens dowager alive at any one time. This situation occurred in

13144-551: The titular character while hinting at the larger myth obliquely, which was already known to the audience in Athens at the time. 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. However, in his Poetics , Aristotle considered Oedipus Rex to be the tragedy which best matched his prescription for how drama should be made. Many modern critics agree with Aristotle on

13268-587: The total absence of ancient descriptions or résumés – though it has been suggested that a part of Hyginus ' narration of the Oedipus myth might in fact derive from Euripides' play. Some echoes of the Euripidean Oedipus have been traced also in a scene of Seneca's Oedipus (see below), in which Oedipus himself describes to Jocasta his adventure with the Sphinx. At least three other 5th-century BC authors who were younger than Sophocles wrote plays about Oedipus. These include Achaeus of Eretria , Nichomachus and

13392-458: The truth finally comes to light, Jocasta hangs herself while Oedipus, horrified at his patricide and incest , proceeds to gouge out his own eyes in despair. In his Poetics , Aristotle refers several times to the play in order to exemplify aspects of the genre . The misfortunes of Thebes are believed to be the result of a curse laid upon Laius for the time he had violated the sacred laws of hospitality (Greek: xenia ). In his youth, Laius

13516-406: The two men's dead bodies, and Antigone follows Oedipus into exile. In Chrysippus , Euripides develops backstory on the curse: Laius' sin was to have kidnapped Chrysippus, Pelops ' son, in order to violate him, and this caused the gods' revenge on all his family. Laius was the tutor of Chrysippus, and raping his student was a severe violation of his position as both guest and tutor in the house of

13640-446: The very crossroads where Laius had been killed, and encountered a carriage that attempted to drive him off the road. An argument ensued, and Oedipus killed the travelers—including a man who matched Jocasta's description of Laius. However, Oedipus holds out hope that he was not Laius' killer, because Laius was said to have been murdered by several robbers. If the shepherd confirms that Laius was attacked by many men, then Oedipus will be in

13764-426: The widowed Queen Jocasta, unaware that she is his mother. A plague falls on the people of Thebes. Upon discovering the truth, Oedipus blinds himself, and Jocasta hangs herself. After Oedipus is no longer king, Oedipus's brother-sons kill each other. Some differences with older stories emerge. The curse of Oedipus' sons was elaborated on retroactively to include Oedipus and his father, Laius. Oedipus now steps down from

13888-413: Was adopted, leaves home in fear of the same prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother. Laius journeys out to seek a solution to the Sphinx's mysterious riddle. As prophesied, Oedipus and Laius cross paths, but they do not recognize each other. A fight ensues, and Oedipus kills Laius and most of his guards. Oedipus goes on to defeat the Sphinx by solving a riddle to become king. He marries

14012-544: Was also his heiress presumptive ). A queen dowager continues to enjoy the title, style , and precedence of a queen, but is no longer referred to as the queen. A new reigning king would have (at accession or eventually) a wife who would be the new queen consort and therefore the queen; a queen regnant would also be called the queen. Many former queens consort do not formally use the word "dowager" as part of their titles. There may be more than one queen dowager at any given time. The Garter King of Arms 's proclamation in

14136-469: Was blinded by Laius' attendants and that this happened before his identity as Laius' son had been discovered, therefore marking important differences with the Sophoclean treatment of the myth, which is now regarded as the 'standard' version. Many attempts have been made to reconstruct the plot of the play, but none of them is more than hypothetical, because of the scanty remains that survive from its text and of

14260-410: Was fated to murder Polybus and marry Merope, and so he left for Thebes. On his way, he met an older man, who was (unbeknownst to him) his father, and killed him in a quarrel. Continuing on to Thebes, he found that the king of the city (Laius) had recently been killed and that the city was at the mercy of the Sphinx . Oedipus answered the monster's riddle correctly, defeating it and winning the throne of

14384-404: Was her son, begged him to stop his search for Laius' murderer. Oedipus misunderstood her motivation, thinking that she was ashamed of him because he might have been born of low birth. Jocasta, in great distress, went into the palace, where she hanged herself. Oedipus sought verification of the messenger's story from the very same herdsman who was supposed to have left Oedipus to die as a baby. From

14508-402: Was killed by bandits, at a fork in the road (τριπλαῖς ἁμαξιτοῖς, triplais amaxitois). The mention of the place causes Oedipus to pause and ask for more details. Jocasta specifies the branch to Daulis on the way to Delphi . Recalling Tiresias' words, he asks Jocasta to describe Laius. The king then sends for a shepherd, the only surviving witness of the attack to be brought from his fields to

14632-420: Was named after the swelling from the injuries to his feet and ankles ("swollen foot"). The word "oedema" (British English) or "edema" (American English) is from this same Greek word for swelling: οἴδημα , or oedēma . After many years, Oedipus was told by a drunk that he was a "bastard", meaning at that time that he was not their biological son. Oedipus confronted his parents (the king and queen of Corinth) with

14756-411: Was neither a queen dowager nor the queen mother because her husband, Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent , had never been king. Similarly, whilst being the mothers of monarchs, both Augusta of Saxe-Gotha and Srinagarindra of Thailand were not styled queen dowager because their respective husbands, Frederick, Prince of Wales and Mahidol Adulyadej, Prince of Songkla , were never kings. Instead, Augusta held

14880-410: Was queen dowager of France after the death of her husband Francis II , to whom she bore no children. Similarly, Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen was queen dowager after her husband William IV was succeeded by his niece Victoria . Not every mother of a reigning monarch is the queen mother or a queen dowager. For example, the mother of Queen Victoria of United Kingdom , Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld ,

15004-412: Was taken in as a guest by Pelops , king of Elis , where he would become tutor to the king's youngest son, Chrysippus , in chariot racing . Apollo , the protector of youth and boys, cursed him for kidnapping and raping Chrysippus. When Laius' son is born, he consults an oracle as to his fortune. To his horror, the oracle reveals that Laius "is doomed to perish by the hand of his own son." Laius binds

15128-451: Was the first to answer the riddle correctly; the Sphinx was so embarrassed that someone had solved her riddle that she killed herself by jumping off of a cliff; in some versions, however, Oedipus kills her. Queen Jocasta's brother, Creon , had announced that any man who could rid the city of the Sphinx would be made king of Thebes and given the recently widowed Queen Jocasta's hand in marriage. This marriage of Oedipus to Jocasta fulfilled

15252-456: 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 would kill him. In an attempt to prevent this prophecy's fulfillment, when Jocasta indeed bore a son, Laius had his son's ankles pierced and tethered together so that he could not crawl; Jocasta then gave

15376-421: Was used by Sigmund Freud to name and give mythic precedent to the Oedipus complex . Variations on the legend of Oedipus are mentioned in fragments by several ancient Greek poets including Homer , Hesiod , Pindar , Aeschylus and Euripides . 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

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