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'''''Oedipus the King''''' ([[Greek language|Greek]] Oδίπoυς τύραννoς, "Oedipus Tyrannos"), also known as '''''Oedipus Rex''''', is a Greek tragedy, written by [[Sophocles]] and first performed in [[428 BC]]. The play was the second of Sophocles' [[three Theban plays]] to be produced, but comes first in the internal chronology of the plays, followed by ''[[Oedipus at Colonus]]'' and then ''[[Antigone (Sophocles)|Antigone]]''. Many critics, including Aristotle, consider it the greatest tragedy ever written.

==Plot==

The main character of the tragedy is [[Oedipus]], son of King [[Laius]] of [[Thebes]] and Queen [[Jocasta]]. Oedipus is a [[Greek mythology|mythical]] character who was sent to die or be killed with his ankles bound and his feet punctured, where he was left for dead on a mountainside as an infant in an effort to avoid a prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother. However, he was found by a shepherd and raised in the court of King [[Polybus]] of [[Corinth]] and his wife [[Merope]]. (The Shepherd gave Oedipus to the Messenger who then gave him to King Polybus) Hearing from an oracle that he was destined to kill his father and marry his mother, and believing Polybus and Merope to be his real parents, he left Corinth. Meeting Laius by chance on a road and not recognizing him, Oedipus became involved in a fight with Laius and killed him. Oedipus went on to solve the [[Sphinx]]'s riddle, "What uses four legs in the morning, two in the day, and three at night?"--the answer is Man (infants crawl on their four limbs, adults walk on two legs, and, finally, the elderly walk with the aid of a cane) --and his reward for this is the kingdom of Thebes, and the hand of Jocasta; again, neither recognizes the other.

The play begins after Thebes has been struck with a plague by the gods in outrage at Oedipus' unintentional wrongdoing. The play shows Oedipus' investigation, in which he curses and promises to exile those responsible for the murder. Although the blind prophet [[Tiresias]] explicitly tells Oedipus at the beginning of the play that he is the cause of the plague, Oedipus at first does not understand. Instead he accuses Tiresias of conspiring with [[Creon]], Jocasta's brother, to overthrow him.

Oedipus then calls for a former servant of Laius, the only surviving witness of the murder, who fled the city when Oedipus became king. Soon a messenger from Corinth also arrives to inform Oedipus of the death of Polybus, whom Oedipus still believes is his real father, until the messenger informs him that he was in fact adopted. In the subsequent discussions between Oedipus, Jocasta, the servant, and the messenger, Jocasta discovers the truth and runs off; Oedipus learns the truth more slowly, but later runs off-stage as well. A second messenger fills in the unseen details: Jocasta has hanged herself, and Oedipus, upon discovering her body, blinds himself with the brooches of her dress. The play ends with Oedipus entrusting his children to Creon and going into exile, as he promised at the beginning.

==See also==
* [[Oedipus]]

==Translations==

* Thomas Francklin, 1759 - verse
* Edward H. Plumptre, 1865 - verse: [http://www.bartleby.com/8/5/ full text]
* Richard C. Jebb, 1904 - prose: [http://www.perseus.org/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0192:line=1 full text]
* Francis Storr, 1912 - verse: [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/31 full text]
* David Grene, 1942 (revised ed. 1991) - verse
* E.F. Watling, 1947
* Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald, 1949 - verse
* Theodore Howard Banks, 1956 - verse
* Albert Cook, 1957 - verse
* Paul Roche, 1958 - verse
* Bernard Knox, 1959 - prose
* H. D. F. Kitto, 1962 - verse
* Stephen Berg and Diskin Clay - verse
* Robert Bagg, 1982 (revised ed. 2004) - verse
* Robert Fagles, 1984 - verse
* Nick Bartel, 1999 - verse: [http://www.sfusd.edu/schwww/sch618/GreeksMultimediaProject/Oedipus/OedipusReadersTheater.html abridged text]
* George Theodoridis, 2005 - prose: [http://www.users.bigpond.net.au/soloword/Oedipus.htm full text]

==Links==
*[http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/antigone.html#Theban%20plays Oedipus the King: A Study Guide]

{{Credit wikipedia}}

[[Category:Ancient Greek plays]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:34, December 27, 2006
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−	'''''Oedipus the King''''' ([[Greek language\|Greek]] ~~Oδίπoυς~~ τύραννoς, "Oedipus Tyrannos"), also known as '''''Oedipus Rex''''', is a Greek tragedy, written by [[Sophocles]] and first performed in [[428 BC]]. The play was the second of Sophocles' [[three Theban plays]] to be produced, but comes first in the internal chronology of the plays, followed by ''[[Oedipus at Colonus]]'' and then ''[[Antigone (Sophocles)\|Antigone]]''. Many critics, including Aristotle, consider it the greatest tragedy ever written.	+	'''''Oedipus the King''''' ([[Greek language\|Greek]] Oιδίπoυς τύραννoς, "Oedipus Tyrannos"), also known as '''''Oedipus Rex''''', is a Greek tragedy, written by [[Sophocles]] and first performed in [[428 BC]]. The play was the second of Sophocles' [[three Theban plays]] to be produced, but comes first in the internal chronology of the plays, followed by ''[[Oedipus at Colonus]]'' and then ''[[Antigone (Sophocles)\|Antigone]]''. Many critics, including Aristotle, consider it the greatest tragedy ever written.

	==Plot==		==Plot==

Oedipus the King - Revision history

Irlandos at 11:34, December 27, 2006

Irlandos at 11:33, December 27, 2006