Oedipus Rex

This article is about the play by Sophocles. For other uses, see Oedipus Rex (disambiguation).
Oedipus Rex
Louis Bouwmeester as Oedipus in a Dutch production of Oedipus Rex, c. 1896
Written bySophocles
ChorusTheban Elders
Characters
MuteDaughters of Oedipus (Antigone and Ismene)
Date premieredc. 429 BC
Place premieredTheatre of Dionysus, Athens
Original languageClassical Greek
SeriesTheban Plays
GenreTragedy
SettingThebes

Oedipus Rex, also known by its Greek title, Oedipus Tyrannus (Ancient Greek: Οἰδίπους Τύραννος, pronounced [oidípuːs týrannos]), or Oedipus the King, is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed c. 429 BC.[1] Originally, to the ancient Greeks, the title was simply Oedipus (Οἰδίπους), as it is referred to by Aristotle in the Poetics. It is thought to have been renamed Oedipus Tyrannus to distinguish it from Oedipus at Colonus, a later play by Sophocles. In antiquity, the term "tyrant" referred to a ruler with no legitimate claim to rule, but it did not necessarily have a negative connotation.[2][3][4]

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 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 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.[5][6]

  1. ^ Although Sophocles won second prize with the group of plays that included Oedipus Rex, its date of production is uncertain. The prominence of the Theban plague at the play's opening suggests to many scholars a reference to the plague that devastated Athens in 430 BC, and hence a production date shortly thereafter. See, for example, Knox, Bernard (1956). "The Date of the Oedipus Tyrannus of Sophocles". American Journal of Philology. 77 (2): 133–147. doi:10.2307/292475. JSTOR 292475.
  2. ^ Bridgewater, William, ed. "tyrant". The Columbia Encyclopedia. Columbia University Press. (1963) p. 2188
  3. ^ Lloyd-Jones, Hugh. Introduction and trans. Sophocles: Ajax, Electra, Oedipus Tyrannus. By Sophocles. Loeb Classical Library ser. vol. 20. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0674995574.
  4. ^ Mulroy, David. trans. “Introduction”. Sophocles, Oedipus Rex. Univ of Wisconsin Press, (2011) ISBN 9780299282530. p. xxviii
  5. ^ Aristotle: Poetics. Edited and translated by St. Halliwell, (Loeb Classical Library), Harvard 1995
  6. ^ Belfiore, Elizabeth (1992). Tragic Pleasures: Aristotle on Plot and Emotion. Princeton. p. 176. ISBN 9780691068992.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)