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Thus sprung why should I fear to trace my birth?
Nothing can make me other than I am.
SOPHOCLES, OEDIPUS REX, LINES 1193-94; F. STORR TRANSLATION
Introduction
Oedipus Rex (or Oedipus the King) is one of, if not the most, shocking, troubling, and tragic plays of the Big Three tragic poets (Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides). It’s right up there with the terrible history of the House of Atreus as seen in Aeschylus’ Oresteia as well as the horrifying story in Euripides’ Medea (I’ll be covering Euripides after Sophocles and Herodotus). I would argue that Oedipus Rex is more tragic than those stories for reasons I’ll get to in the Impressions section.
If you’ve been with me on my journey so far, we already know the basic plot of Oedipus Rex. If you can recall all the way back to the Odyssey, Odysseus saw the ghost of Jocasta, Oedipus’ mother and wife, when he visited the land of the dead in Book 11. However, Homer refers to her as Epicaste (or Epicasta, depending on the translation):
“I also saw fair Epicaste mother of king Oedipodes whose awful lot it was to marry her own son without suspecting it. He married her after having killed his father, but the gods proclaimed the whole story to the world; whereon he remained king of Thebes, in great grief for the spite the gods had borne him; but Epicaste went to the house of the mighty jailor Hades, having hanged herself for grief, and the avenging spirits haunted him as for an outraged mother—to his ruing bitterly thereafter.”
Homer, Odyssey, Book 11; Samuel Butler translation
Like the story of Agamemnon’s murder (also told in the Odyssey), Homer either presented a sanitized version of the story, or the story changed over time and became more convoluted. By the time we get to Aeschylus a few centuries later, the story is a bit different and has added details (some of which didn’t appear in Oedipus Rex):
Indeed I speak of the ancient transgression, now swift in its retribution. It remains even into the third generation, ever since Laius – in defiance of Apollo who, at his Pythian oracle at the earth’s center, said three times that the king would save his city if he died without offspring – ever since he, overcome by the thoughtlessness of his longing, fathered his own death, the parricide Oedipus, who sowed his mother’s sacred field, where he was nurtured, and endured a bloody crop. Madness united the frenzied bridal pair.
… For whom have the gods and divinities that share their altar and the thronging assembly of men ever admired so much as they honored Oedipus then, when he removed that deadly, man-seizing plague from our land?
But when, his sanity regained, he grew miserable in his wretched marriage, then carried away by his grief and with maddened heart he accomplished a double evil. With the hand that killed his father he struck out his eyes, which were dearer to him than his children.
Next he launched brutal, wrathful words against the sons he had bred – ah! curses from a bitter tongue – that wielding iron in their hands they would one day divide his property. So now I tremble in fear that the swift-running Erinys will bring this to fulfillment.
Aeschylus, Seven Against Thebes; Herbert Weir Smyth translation
In Aeschylus’ account, there is no mention of Jocasta’s suicide, but there is of Oedipus’ blinding himself. There’s also a reference to Oedipus being Thebes’ hero after ridding the city of the Sphinx (I’m assuming “deadly, man-seizing plague” is a reference to the Sphinx). Lastly, Aeschylus mentions the Erinys, the Furies or avenging spirits, whom Homer mentioned tormented Oedipus after Jocasta hung herself. The Erinys are now bringing to fulfillment Oedipus’ curses, only uttered after the revelation of what he did to his mother came to light. It’s an interesting tie-in with Aeschylus’ portrayal of the Erinys in the Oresteia as the avenging spirits who torment Orestes after he killed his mother.
Anyway, the story of Oedipus getting rid of the Sphinx is mentioned multiple times in Oedipus Rex. The play makes mention of the Sphinx terrorizing Thebes, of a “tax” the people of Thebes had to pay it (human sacrifices?), and of the Sphinx’ riddle which Oedipus solved and thereby ended its reign of terror (that, or Oedipus slew the Sphinx after solving its riddle?). This was how Oedipus became champion and king of Thebes and married Jocasta, the current queen and widow of the previous king Laius. You have to look to outside sources to find out what the riddle was:
What walks on four legs in the morning,
Two legs in the afternoon,
And three legs in the evening?
I’ll put the answer in a footnote in case you haven’t heard this classic riddle.1
All quotes from Oedipus Rex are from the Francis Storr translation which is in the public domain. This translation appeared in the Loeb Classical Library. I had to rely on the Robert Fagles translation for the line numbers, so they may not be 100% accurate.
As always, I encourage you to read Oedipus Rex for yourself. You can do it! Read the publicly available Storr translation, which might be difficult if you’re not used to a poetic structure. You will have to have a dictionary nearby, as Storr uses some outdated words, but it’s not too bad. Many of the words you can figure out through context. If you prefer a modern translation, I again recommend Robert Fagles. Otherwise, Richmond Lattimore and David Grene also translated and/or edited the plays of Sophocles (and other Greek playwrights) and compiled them into multiple volumes. Lastly, I just recently discovered a modern translation that the translator Ian Johnston offers for free! He’s also translated other ancient Greek works like the Iliad and the Odyssey. You can find them here.
Summary
Oedipus, the king of Thebes, goes to meet a group of suppliants in response to their petitions. A Priest of Zeus, serving as spokesman for the suppliants, tells Oedipus a plague has been ravaging Thebes which is affecting food, livestock, and people and they have come to Oedipus for help and relief. Oedipus assures everyone that he’s well aware of what’s happening and that he’s sent his brother-in-law Creon to Delphi to inquire the oracle of Apollo about the plague.
Just as Oedipus finishes explaining this, Creon returns with a message from the oracle of Apollo: the plague ravaging Thebes is due to the pollution of shed blood. The previous king, Laius, had been on his way to Delphi to get advice about dealing with the Sphinx, a monster which had been terrorizing Thebes, when he was murdered. Oedipus vows to get to the truth of the matter and leaves with Creon to give a proclamation to the people of Thebes
As a Chorus of Theban elders pray to the gods for relief from the plague, Oedipus appears and asks them they know anything about Laius’ murder or if the murderer is among them. He promises that if the murderer confesses now, they will be exiled rather than executed. Oedipus then curses the murderer and proclaims that he will find him and bring him to justice, even if he is in Oedipus’ own household.
The Chorus tell him they don’t know who the murderer is, but they did hear a rumor that it was a traveler who murdered Laius. However, they believe Oedipus could get answers if he consults the blind prophet Tiresias. Oedipus tells the Chorus he’s sent for Tiresias twice already, but Tiresias hasn’t shown up for some reason.
Tiresias shows up and Oedipus implores him to share what he knows about Laius’ murder. Tiresias, however, refuses to reveal what he knows and asks Oedipus to drop the matter. Oedipus accuses Tiresias of being the one who plotted Laius’ assassination and the exasperated Tiresias fires back that Oedipus is the one responsible for Laius’ murder and the reason a plague inflicts Thebes. Oedipus refuses to believe Tiresias and accuses him of working with Creon to usurp the throne. Angry, Tiresias tells Oedipus he is a curse upon his own family and the truth will be his undoing. He also prophesies that Oedipus will go blind, exchange his royal robes for beggars clothes, and leave Thebes. Tiresias then leaves and Oedipus storms off.
As the Chorus contemplate Tiresias’ words, Creon appears to protest Oedipus’ accusations of treason. Oedipus interrogates Creon and asks if Tiresias ever accused Oedipus of murdering Laius in the past. Creon tells Oedipus he didn’t and he’s not sure why. He also argues with Oedipus that he has no desire to be king and that he’s happy with the position he’s in now as brother of the queen. If Oedipus doubts him, go question the oracle of Apollo at Delphi and Tiresias. Oedipus doesn’t believe Creon and considers putting him to death and the two begin to argue.
Jocasta, Oedipus’ wife and Creon’s sister, enters and tells them both to stop arguing in public. When she finds out about Oedipus’ accusation, she asks him to believe Creon that he isn’t a traitor. The Chorus also argues for Creon’s innocence. Oedipus finally relents and lets Creon go, but tells Creon he is still suspicious of him. After Creon leaves, Jocasta asks everyone what the arguing and accusations were about. Oedipus tells her that Creon used Tiresias to accuse him of murdering Laius. Jocasta assures Oedipus that Tiresias is could be wrong. The oracle of Apollo previously prophesied that Laius would be murdered by his son, but he was murdered by bandits instead at a crossroad of three roads. Laius’ son, meanwhile, was left out to die of exposure as an infant after piercing his ankles together and leaving him on the mountainside. The oracle was wrong then and they could be wrong now.
When Oedipus hears the details of Laius’ murder, he gets a bit shaken and asks Jocasta for more information. Jocasta tells Oedipus where Laius was murdered, how long ago it was, what Laius looked like, and who was with him at the time. With every detail Jocasta gives, Oedipus gets more and more troubled. Oedipus asks if there were any survivors and Jocasta tells him a slave survived the encounter. However, shortly after Oedipus became king, the slave begged her to allow him to work as far away from Thebes as possible which she granted.
Oedipus orders for the slave to be brought to him at once and Jocasta asks him to share what’s troubling him. Oedipus tells Jocasta how he ended up in Thebes. During a party in his hometown, a drunkard proclaimed that he wasn’t his parents’ real son. Oedipus questioned his parents, but they denied the accusation. However, Oedipus couldn’t leave it alone and went to inquire the oracle of Apollo at Delphi. The oracle told Oedipus he would murder his father and have children with his mother. On the way back from Delphi, he ran into a man in a mule cart with a small entourage at a crossroad of three roads. When they tried to run Oedipus off the road, he defended himself which resulted in him killing all of them. The leader matched Jocasta’s description of Laius. Therefore it’s possible that Oedipus is the one who murdered Laius and must therefore be exiled for his crime. If that happens, he would be putting his father and mother in danger as stated by the oracle of Apollo.
The Chorus tells Oedipus to wait for the slave’s testimony before jumping to conclusions which Oedipus agrees. A foreign Messenger appears with news that Oedipus’ father, Polybus the king of Corinth, is dead from illness and Oedipus is to become king of Corinth. Jocasta is first to hear the news and relays it to Oedipus. Both of them are relieved to hear the news since it calls into question the prophecy Oedipus received years ago about him killing his father. When the Messenger hears about the prophecy and Oedipus’ reluctance to go back home, he assures Oedipus that nothing of the sort would happen because the king and queen of Corinth are not his real parents. The Messenger goes on to explain that he used to be a shepherd and one day another shepherd employed by Laius gave him an infant with a pin through his ankles. That infant was Oedipus. The Messenger then gave the infant to the king and queen of Corinth as a gift because they were childless. When Oedipus asks the Chorus if the shepherd is still around, they tell him he’s the slave who Oedipus wanted to see earlier.
Jocasta, worried, tries to talk Oedipus out of meeting with the slave. When Oedipus refuses, Jocasta leaves upset. After this, the Herdsman whom the Messenger was talking about and who was a slave of Laius appears. When the Messenger reminds the Herdsman about the day he gave him an infant, the Messenger tells him that man was Oedipus. The Herdsman is suddenly horrified and curses the Messenger for saying such a thing. Oedipus, surprised, tells the Herdsman to start talking, but he refuses. Oedipus threatens him with torture if he doesn’t speak and the Herdsman finally admits that the infant was Laius’ and Jocasta’s son. Rather than leaving the infant to die of exposure, the Herdsman took pity on him and gave him to the Messenger instead to take care of.
Oedipus, now knowing that the prophecy about him came to pass, that he murdered his father and had children with his mother, leaves distraught. A Theban Messenger approaches the Chorus with shocking news: Jocasta has hung herself and Oedipus blinded himself with the brooches of Jocasta’s robes. Oedipus reemerges and publicly laments what he’s done and the suffering he’s caused. Creon appears, having forgiven Oedipus for his past accusations, and chastises the crowd for gawking at Oedipus. Oedipus asks Creon, who is now king of Thebes, to help him go into exile. Creon refuses, and tells Oedipus he must consult the gods on the matter. Oedipus asks Creon to take care of his daughters Antigone and Ismene. Creon brings Oedipus’ daughters to him and Oedipus laments the hard life his daughters are going to experience because of who their family is. Creon then leads Oedipus away to consult the gods about his future.
Oedipus Rex As a Thought Experiment?
I want to start by saying it’s possible (or probable) that Sophocles merely set out to tell a compelling story with Oedipus Rex. A story meant to entertain and captivate his audience (and thereby win the competition where this play was performed) rather than force any deep philosophical questioning. Or, maybe Sophocles was trying to do both? I really don’t know. I just wanted to make it clear that my exploration of this play, or any other play by Sophocles, is just my own pursuit and it’s possible I’m taking the play way too seriously. Not every story needs to have a deep message, or virtue signal, or try to critique the culture it came out of.
I find Oedipus Rex to be disturbing for more reasons than just the story itself. Oedipus was a man who was truly just and compassionate. We see this from the very outset of the play. When the citizens beg Oedipus to help them with the plague, Oedipus assures them that he’s already been investigating it and hopes to have answers soon. When he finds out the plague is the result of ritual pollution due to the murder of the previous king Laius, Oedipus promises the murderer will be found and will pay the price for his crime, even if the murderer is in Oedipus’ own house. Oedipus wants to see justice served, but more importantly, he wants to see his people find relief from the plague. Even though Oedipus is a foreigner, and Thebes is not his hometown and the Theban people are not his people, he still takes his duties as king seriously.
The depth of Oedipus’ character is revealed more and more as the play continues. We learn that as soon as Oedipus found out about the prophecy about him killing his father and having children with his mother, he ran away from Corinth to prevent this from happening. We also see how much he cares for his wife and how much he values her input. Lastly, at every step of the way, Oedipus persists in his pursuit of the truth of Laius’ murder, even as the mounting evidence painted a more and more disturbing picture. When he found out he was Laius’ murderer, he accepted it and was willing to face the punishment for his crime. When the whole truth of the matter comes out, Oedipus punishes himself and then demands he be exiled for his sins.
Even though Oedipus was a just man, even though all he wanted to do was spare his parents from something heinous, free the people he ruled from a plague, and ensure the previous king got the justice he deserved, the results of his persistence in doing the right thing were unspeakable horrors. This is compounded by the fact that part of the reason Oedipus got into the situation he was in is was because he was deceived. The whole chain of events started when some drunkard implied that Oedipus’ parents were not his real parents. When Oedipus confronted his adopted parents, they lied and said he was their son. However, because of Oedipus’ propensity for wanting to know the truth, he consulted the oracle at Delphi. It was here that he learned of the ghastly prophecy about himself and ran away from home. Everything went downhill from that point.
You could even trace back Oedipus’ misfortune further to his father Laius. Laius, as we learned in both Seven Against Thebes and Oedipus Rex, was warned not to have children because it would be his and Thebes’ undoing. Laius didn’t listen and had a son. Then, he tried to get rid of his son which ultimately failed because his slave had a moral dilemma. He set up his son for a life of suffering as a result.
The implications are quite horrifying. What kind of message is Sophocles trying to convey? You can’t escape Fate? The pursuit of the truth will lead you down dark paths? Your character is meaningless before Fortune and Destiny? It’s better to not know the future because it changes your present behavior?
Maybe Sophocles, or someone who came before him, was doing a thought experiment. What if there was someone who found out they were fated to commit some atrocity and resisted with all of their might to keep themselves from committing that atrocity? Would they succeed? No, because you can’t escape Fate. Well, then, what does that say about Fate? What does that say about existence? What does that say about the gods who ensure that Fate is carried out? What does that say about the relationship between mortals and gods?
Greek mythology is full of stories of men who tried to defy their fate. All of them failed. Why did they resist? Why did they believe they could defy Fate? Why didn’t they resign themselves? Why keep living? What is it about humans and struggling against the inevitable?
A very superficial answer is: a story about a character who accepts their fate, rather than attempt to resist it, is not a very interesting story. If I were to take this a bit deeper, it makes me think of someone who finds out they have, say, six weeks to live. Who would make a bigger impact on the world around them? The one who spent that remaining time with family and friends, imparting their final bits of wisdom, doing some activity they’ve always wanted to do or visiting some place they’ve always wanted to visit? Or, the person who decides to end their life the day they find out how long they have to live? The one who resisted, or the one who resigned?
What worldview did Oedipus have that enabled him to try and resist his fate rather than resign to it?
That’s something I want to know.
If it Weren’t for the Plague…
The only reason the events of Oedipus Rex happened was because of the plague that inflicted Thebes. A plague that was sent by the gods due to ritual pollution. If it weren’t for the plague, no one would have known the dark truth under the surface. Oedipus, Jocasta, their family, and the people of Thebes, could have lived out their lives in peace, blissfully unaware of what was going on. Of course, that raises more questions like: if you were in Oedipus’ and Jocasta’s shoes, would you want to know if you were unknowingly in an incestuous relationship?
The gods wanted this dark truth brought to the surface even though it would bring a lot of suffering as a result. The question I keep coming back to is: if the gods were so concerned about the murder of Laius being dealt with, why did they wait so long? Why did they wait until after Oedipus married his mother and had four children with her to bring a plague on Thebes for a murder that took place years before? Why didn’t the plague hit right after the murderer was made king?
If the plague was really about the incestuous relationship between Oedipus and Jocasta, why didn’t the gods stop it beforehand? It would have been one thing if Oedipus and Jocasta knew they were son and mother and decided to have a relationship anyway. I would understand the plague then (although that would raise a different dilemma: why inflict a plague on a people for the actions of their rulers?). However, neither knew the truth, and neither wanted an incestuous relationship.
There is so much Oedipus Rex makes me think about—even though I don’t even know where to begin with concerning answers. Or even what questions to ask.
Uncomfortable Thoughts
As if everything I’ve written till now hasn’t been uncomfortable enough…
If Laius had heeded the prophecy about him, Oedipus wouldn’t have existed. If Oedipus hadn’t existed, then neither would his two sons and two daughters. Five lives that would not have existed.
If Oedipus had successfully escaped his fate, Eteocles, Polynices, Antigone, and Ismene would not have existed. Four lives that wouldn’t have existed. Or, perhaps, other lives would have existed instead.
Would it have been better if Oedipus, Eteocles, Polynices, Antigone, and Ismene not existed? What would they think? Would they have rather not been born? The fact that they kept on living, even after the truth came out, makes the answer complicated.
If you were one of those five, what would be your answer? Would you want to exist if you had a dark background like that? If so, would you want to know about that dark background? Or, stay forever ignorant of it?
That's all for Oedipus Rex.
May your days be filled with grace.
-Andronikos
Buy my other books Revenge and its Discontents: My Journey Through the Iliad and 1001 Nights of the Soul: My Journey Through the Odyssey. Kindle and paperback versions available.
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Thumbnail: Bénigne Gagneraux, The Blind Oedipus Commending His Children to the Gods, 1784. Public domain.
1The answer to the riddle is: Man. A person, when he is born, crawls on all fours. Then, he spends a majority his life walking on two legs. When he gets old, he walks with with a walking stick.