King Oedipus by Sophocles

Oedipus Rex

Sophocles

Written 430-420 BC

Athenian Tragedy

⭐⭐⭐

The Well-Educated Mind Poetry

This was the second play from The Well-Educated Mind Reading Challenge, and unlike Agamemnon, I was familiar with the plot, though the details were fuzzy.

Before the play began, there was a tale about Oedipus. Ahead of his birth, Oedipus' parents, king and queen of Thebes, Laius and Jocasta, discovered through Apollo's oracle that their son would one day kill his father and marry his mother. Not willing to kill him themselves, Laius and Jocasta handed him over to a servant to abandon the baby in the mountains and leave him to die. The servant, obeying the word of Apollo, took the baby beyond the borders of his country and left him with a messenger, who in turn took him to the childless king of Corinth, Polybus. 

Of course, in adulthood, Oedipus was exposed to the rumor of the curse, through Apollo, and wanting to alter the course of the prophecy, he left those whom he believed to be his true parents and went straight to Thebes, which was in chaos. King Laius had been murdered and the Sphinx was terrorizing the city. Oedipus had arrived in time, solved the riddle to rid Thebes of the Sphinx, eliminated her dominance, and was rewarded with the loyalty of the people as king. He married Jocasta and together they had four children. 

After fifteen years of peace, a devastating plague was devouring the city, and the people looked to their king for salvation. 

Oedipus sought answers from Creon, his brother-in-law, and Creon told him they needed to find out who killed Laius first. Therefore, Oedipus proclaimed that if anyone knew about the death of Laius, they must speak up. 

The blind prophet of Apollo directly told Oedipus that he was the killer. This caused much conflict between Oedipus, Creon, and the Chorus, the male elders of Thebes.

Remember, up to this point, Oedipus had no idea that the king and queen of Corinth were not his natural parents. He still believed that he avoided his fate by fleeing. But when Jocasta entered the conversation, she filled in details about the oracle, how she gave up her son as an infant. However, Jocasta was sure that her baby died when she and Laius sent him away with the servant. 

Oedipus filled in the blanks and revealed that he did kill several men on the road, and since one man had  escaped (none other than the servant), he wanted to hear from him what he remembered from the attack on Laius. Thus, they sent for the servant. 

Long story short, this servant, the same who was given orders to dispose of the cursed infant, admitted that he was instrumental in preserving the child's life. Thus, the parties concluded that Oedipus was the grown son of Laius and Jocasta. 

Upon revelation, Jocasta killed herself and Oedipus put out his eyes.

What should I do with eyes where all is ugliness? 

Where is there any beauty for me to see? Where loveliness of sight or sound? Away! Lead me quickly away out of this land. I am lost, hated of gods, no man so damned. 

I will not believe that this was not the best that could have been done. Teach me no other lesson. How could I meet my father beyond the grave with seeing eyes; or my unhappy mother, against whom I have committed such heinous sin as no mere death could pay for? Could I still love to look at my children, begotten as they were begotten? 

CHORUS:

Then learn that mortal man must always look to his ending, and none can be called happy until that day when he carries his happiness down to the grave in peace.  

* * *

THEME(S)

One major theme of this play is fate. Fate is "the development of events beyond man's control, regarded as determined by a supernatural power." Oedipus' parents thought they could change their fate by abandoning their son, and Oedipus thought he was able to affect or escape the predicted outcome of the oracle by fleeing his "parents"; and yet, they all stepped right into the prophecy. 

Is man truly in control of his own life, having free will, or is his life already preset? I suppose if you have a curse upon your head, you know the answer.

Today, the question of free will and fate still perplexes us, and some people still seek oracles (fortune tellers, horoscopes, astrologers, etc.). What do you think? Fate or free will? Are we in control of our destiny; can we affect change at all? Or is life in the hands of God?

The Finding of Oedipus - unknown (1600-1799)

The next play in TWEM reading list is Medea by Euripides.