Name: Oedipus Rex
Rating: 4.6 (20 reviews)
Author: Sophocles

What’s in it for me? A king discovers the tragic truth.

Oedipus Rex was first performed in Athens about 2,450 years ago. Today, the play remains as moving and disturbing as ever. The author, Sophocles, turned an old myth into a powerful tragedy. It’s the story of King Oedipus, who brings about his own downfall by uncovering the shocking truth about his identity.

If you’re looking for light entertainment, look elsewhere. With themes of incest, murder, suicide, and extreme self-harm, Oedipus Rex is harrowing, to say the least. But it’s also a masterpiece. It’s still regarded as one of the best tragedies ever written and as one of the greatest plays of all time. It’s also had a unique cultural influence, inspiring countless adaptations – not to mention Freud’s controversial theory of the Oedipus complex. Seeing a production of the play made him reflect on humans’ deepest, darkest desires. Oedipus Rex will give you plenty to think about too – big questions about fate, free will, and identity.

Before we get started, please keep those trigger warnings in mind – it’s going to get dark, and a bit gory. But if you’re feeling up to it, let’s begin. By the way, if you want to start with a very short summary, you can skip ahead to the last section.

King Oedipus must find a murderer and banish him

There’s a terrible plague in the city of Thebes. The streets are filling up with bodies. The king of Thebes, Oedipus, is determined to end the suffering. He’s sent his brother-in-law, Creon, to visit the oracle at Delphi to ask the gods for guidance.

When Creon returns, he tells Oedipus what he’s learned from the oracle. To end the plague, and save the city, they must find the man who killed King Laius years ago and banish him. Oedipus vows to track down this man, whoever he is. Perhaps the blind prophet Tiresias can help him find the killer.

Oedipus summons Tiresias to the palace. The prophet is initially reluctant to speak, but Oedipus insists. He has to know: Who killed Laius?

At last, Tiresias gives his answer. “It’s you,” says Tiresias. “You’re the murderer.” Oedipus is outraged. How dare Tiresias accuse him? After a heated argument, the prophet leaves the palace.

ANALYSIS

Oedipus is the hero of the tragedy. And because it’s a tragedy, we know from the beginning that he’s going to suffer a downfall. In fact, audiences in ancient Greece would have known even more. When Sophocles’s play was first performed, the story of Oedipus was already a well-known myth. The audience probably knew a lot more about Oedipus than he knew himself.

So, throughout the play, there’s dramatic irony. It can feel uncomfortable at times, watching the hero move toward his doom without realizing it. Especially as, in many ways, he seems like an admirable character. Sophocles portrays Oedipus as a man of action, and a strong, compassionate leader. He’s moved by the suffering of his people, and he urgently wants to identify Laius’s murderer.

At times, Oedipus even seems like a detective, interrogating other characters in his quest for the truth. But his interrogation of the prophet Tiresias leads to an unexpected response – that Oedipus himself is the murderer. In the angry confrontation that follows, Oedipus mocks Tiresias for his blindness, which, as we’ll see later, is deeply ironic. Actually, it’s Oedipus who’s blind to the truth. He just doesn’t realize it yet.

Before we move on, let’s look at another important theme – oracles and prophecies. Oracles were priests or priestesses who were considered portals to the gods. In ancient Greece, it was standard practice to consult them for advice. In Oedipus Rex, the recommendation to find and banish the murderer comes from an oracle, and Oedipus takes it seriously. Of course, he’ll do whatever the oracle suggests. But when another spokesperson for the gods – the prophet Tiresias – shares his knowledge, Oedipus doesn’t want to listen.

So, to sum up, Oedipus is inconsistent in his attitude toward divine messages. He wants to follow the oracle’s advice, but he doesn’t want to believe the prophet who tells him that he’s a murderer. It’s understandable. Of course, no one wants to be told they’re a killer, and the cause of a plague. And humans often are inconsistent in their beliefs or prone to biases. On a psychological level, Oedipus’s behavior is believable. This is one of the strengths of Sophocles’s play. Even if parts of the plot seem implausible, we believe in Oedipus and his reactions. Perhaps we can even identify with him.

Oedipus starts to suspect that he may be the murderer

Still furious, Oedipus focuses his anger on his brother-in-law Creon. As Oedipus and Creon argue, Jocasta arrives to break up the fight. She’s Oedipus’s wife and Creon’s sister. And she was also married to King Laius – the murder victim.

Jocasta reassures Oedipus that he can’t be the murderer. Years ago, there was a prophecy that Laius would be murdered by his son. But in fact, says Jocasta, Laius was killed by strangers. And the son she had with Laius was abandoned in the countryside as a newborn. So, Laius can’t have been killed by his son. And equally, Oedipus can’t have been the murderer. The prophecies were wrong.

Oedipus discovers the truth, which is even worse than he feared

A messenger arrives at the palace with news for Oedipus. His father, Polybus, has died. In the circumstances, this is good news. Polybus died a natural death. So Oedipus didn’t kill his father – the prophecy was wrong. But then, the messenger reveals something else. Polybus wasn’t Oedipus’s biological father.

After dropping this bombshell, the messenger goes on to tell the story. He knows what happened because he was there at the time. Years ago, the messenger was herding sheep when he stumbled across a newborn baby. That baby was none other than Oedipus. The messenger brought the baby to King Polybus, who raised Oedipus as his own son.

Having lost everything, Oedipus begs for banishment

A messenger reveals the horrors that have just taken place inside the palace. Utterly distraught, Jocasta kills herself. Oedipus finds her body hanging from a noose and lifts her down. Then he takes the pins from her brooches and stabs himself in the eyes. Oedipus, now blind and in agony, comes out of the palace and explains why he chose to injure himself in such a terrible way.

He’s overwhelmed by grief and devastated by shame and guilt. Knowing what he’s done, he wants to be blind. How can he look his children in the face? Or his parents, when he meets them again in the afterlife.

Key ideas in Oedipus Rex