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    Oedipus Trilogy
    Oedipus Trilogy
    Oedipus Trilogy
    Ebook195 pages2 hours

    Oedipus Trilogy

    By Sophocles

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    Oedipus was the son of King Laius and Queen Jocasta. Before he was born, his parents consulted the Oracle at Delphi. The Oracle prophesied that Oedipus would murder his father and marry his mother. In an attempt to prevent this prophecy's fulfillment, Laius ordered Oedipus's feet to be bound together, and pierced with a stake. Afterwards, the baby was given to a herdsman who was told to kill him. Unable to go though with his orders, he instead gave the child to a second herdsman who took the infant, Oedipus, to the king of Corinth, Polybus. Polybus adopted Oedipus as his son. Oedipus was raised as the crown prince of Corinth. Many years later Oedipus was told that Polybus was not his real father. Seeking the truth, he sought counsel from an Oracle and thus started the greatest tragedy ever written.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWilder Publications, Inc.
    Release dateJun 10, 2015
    ISBN9781633841345
    Oedipus Trilogy
    Author

    Sophocles

    Sophocles is one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived. His first plays were written later than or contemporary with those of Aeschylus, and earlier than or contemporary with those of Euripides.

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    Reviews for Oedipus Trilogy

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    • 5/5
      The oral traditions of Greece included the mythos of the life of Oedipus long before the first performance of this play, and the audience knew exactly what would happen before the gears of the plot begin turning. But the relentless, clockwork motion of the play kept theatergoers rapt then, as it does now, because watching fate unfold when it is known to you but not to the people who are its prisoners is a privilege borrowed from the gods.Oedipus is portrayed bold, mighty, and just, as the Priest claims him "greatest in all men's eyes".(l 40) Yet he also has human foibles and it is soon clear he has a destiny that, in spite of his actions, cannot be avoided. One theme of Oedipus the King is based on his hubris, but there is also the importance of his search for knowledge, the truth of his own being. Before the action of this play begins, Oedipus has already attempted to outrun fate, marking himself early for destruction. By attempting to escape a prophecy that he would kill his father, and leaving the palace at Corinth where he was raised, he sets the machinery of doom in motion.Traveling along the highways, he soon enough meets and murders a man he thinks is merely an overly aggressive stranger. Years later, he discovers that the dead man is his natural father, Laius, and that he has unwittingly performed the act he was trying to avoid. The play begins with Oedipus again attempting to reshape the arc of his life that was described by prophecy. The hints of his coming failure are numerous.In the Priest’s first long speech, when he begs Oedipus to save the city, he appeals to the king’s long experience—as a statesman, as a wanderer, as a ruler and as a vagrant. Unknown to the Priest and to Oedipus—but known to the audience—is that this king’s experience also includes killing his father and marrying his mother. The very experience to which the Priest appeals is moving Oedipus step by step to destruction. This exchange between the Priest and Oedipus is an example of how Sophocles builds dramatic tension into his play by including multiple levels of meaning in a single statement.The technique will be repeated throughout the play. It reappears just a few lines later, when Oedipus tells the Priest that he has asked for help from the Oracle at Delphi and will follow its advice or consider himself a traitor. With the borrowed omniscience of the gods, the audience knows that Oedipus is already a traitor for having killed Laius, and that he will be faced with pronouncing the judgment he has pronounced upon himself. It remains only to witness what happens.In another exchange weighted with similarly complex levels of meaning, Creon tells Oedipus what he has learned from the Oracle. Creon begins with the murder of Laius as background, and Oedipus says that he knows of the previous king, but has never seen him. Creon continues, delivering the Oracle’s instructions, and Oedipus vows to find and punish the murderer of Laius.While the Oracle’s wishes are being delivered by Creon and while Oedipus reacts to them, the audience knows, as before, what Oedipus does not—that he murdered Laius, that he is the dead king’s son and that the widowed queen Oedipus married is his mother. Once again, there is something transfixing, tragic and doomed about watching Oedipus, in his ignorance, attempting to follow the Oracle’s orders but all the time preparing for the revelation of his crime and his subsequent doom.The first hint of the truth is revealed to Oedipus by the blind prophet, Tiresias, and the king answers the seemingly unbelievable charge with rage, insults and threats. Raised in Corinth by the royal house as if he were the natural son of his adoptive parents, Oedipus rejects what Tiresias says as errant nonsense, saying "Had you eyes I would have said alone you murdered him [Laius]."(ls. 348-9) The blind prophet, who taunts Oedipus as being the one who is unable to see the truth, claiming "you are the land's pollution."(l 353) He challenges the king to reconsider everything about himself and the challenge is met with rage - Oedipus is unable to see the truth or to hear well-intentioned advice.Pride and faith in his own abilities moves Oedipus ever onward toward doom, failure to honor the gods results in the very destruction they foretell, and humanity is unable to escape what is predicted for it. His wife, Jocasta, is a flawed individual. Her arrogant dismissal of the gods and her proclamations of victory over fate foretell her undoing. As much as Oedipus, she is unable to see until it is too late that her life fulfilled the very prophecy she sought vainly and pridefully to undo. Oedipus begins to see, in brief glimpses, how blind he has been to the central facts of his own life. Thinking that he is doing a good deed, a Messenger tells Oedipus that it’s fine for Oedipus to come back to Corinth any time—he’s in no danger of fulfilling the prophecy there, the Messenger says. By telling Oedipus that the queen who raised him is not his natural mother, the Messenger has unknowingly revealed enough of the truth to make Oedipus tragically curious and to push Jocasta toward despair. Motivated by a simple desire to ease worry, the Messenger has released the machinations of fate that will produce the full revelation of the truth and all its awful effects. When the Messenger speaks, he is as blindly ignorant of his fatal role in serving destiny as Oedipus and Jocasta are of theirs. He speaks, but he does not see.In this section, the theme is hammered home time and again that people go through their lives thinking they are fulfilling one purpose when they are actually lurching toward the completion of several others. The gods know this and watch events unfold from above. The first audiences of this play knew the histories of its characters before the first lines were spoken, and the drama unfolded for viewers who watched with the borrowed omniscience of the gods. Modern readers are left to decide for themselves what they think about fate, prophecy and human attempts to outrun destiny. The climax of the play is both pitiful and tragic. Yet, it also yields knowledge for Oedipus of who he really is, even as he goes forth as a blind man. The chorus intones the message that "Time who sees all has found you out / against your will;" (ls. 1213-14). As Aristotle put it in his Poetics, Sophocles has organized his story so as to emphasize the elements of ignorance, irony, and the unexpected recognition of the truth. The magnificence of this drama has allowed it to endure and challenge readers ever since.
    • 4/5
      Ah, Oedipus and all of his family problems. I purchased this book my first year of teaching because it was part of the recommended curriculum for sophomore English. While I'm generally not a fan of plays (or having to teach them), this one offered up all sorts of hilarious discussion opportunities with the sophomores and they were hooked. Oedipus has a million problems and it was fun to read and discuss with my students.
    • 3/5
      Relying upon oracles when one is confused or indecisive, particularly one as malicious as that one at Delphi, was a very unhealthy unhappy practice.

      Oedipus as an infant is sent to die on a hill because of that malicious tart, this fate is altered by another and he is sent to foster parents. He doesn't who is real mother is until after he has married her later in life and then freaks out big time and goes into self mutilation and self abasement.

      The moral might be to send your oracles to the enemy camp, don't keep them at home among your friends.


    • 5/5
      Beautiful.

      I've only read Antigone so far, but it was stunning.
    • 3/5
      I didn't enjoy these Ancient Greek Plays as much as others I have read in the last few months. I don't know if its the translation, or the subject matter. But I found the stories to be dry, convoluted, and rather boring. I found King Oidipus to be a tragic character that is too whiny and hypocritical. I really feel for his daughters, Imene and Antigone. They were caught in the web that is the curse of their family.
    • 5/5
      A few years ago I had read the Storrs translation of these plays (the one most commonly found in the free public domain ebook editions) which were disappointingly poor. This translation by Robert Fagles is much much better!! I cannot speak to the introductory material, as I skipped that part but there was a substantial amount of it.
    • 4/5
      When it comes to tragic irony, few ancient or modern playwrights come close to Sophocles and these are the three works that showcase his dark genius at its best. This particular edition is translated by the ever-dependable Robert Fagles, and contains the following plays, in the order they were first produced:1 - ANTIGONE: Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus and heir to her family's persistent dark cloud of misfortune. She wants to bury her equally-unlucky brother but her loyalty to her doomed brethren may cost her. (Of course it will! It's Sophocles!)2 - OEDIPUS THE KING: Oedipus is the best king for miles around and everyone knows it, including him.* Unfortunately an ominous stain is creeping into his idyllic kingdom; a plague is raging and it seems the gods are upset about something or other. The only person who seems to know what's up is a blind prophet and he's got some bad news for poor Oeddy.3 - OEDIPUS AT COLONUS: The action in this place takes place between the events of Oedipus the King and Antigone. This the most philosophical of the trilogy, dealing with ideas of fate, guilt, and redemption. (I thought it was a bit boring.)* Uh oh! Hubris!
    • 5/5
      Sophocles' is one of only three Ancient Greek tragedians with surviving plays. The plays by the earliest, Aeschylus, remind me of a ancient frieze--not stilted exactly, but still stylized, very formal. The plays by the last of the three, Euripides, to me seems the most natural, the most modern. Sophocles is more in the middle in more ways than chronologically. He is credited with adding a third actor onstage to allow for more conflict and less emphasis on the chorus. His Theban Plays are about Oedipus and his daughter Antigone, of the royal family of the ancient Greek city of Thebes, and the plays are often grouped together, but actually were each part of tetralogies that have been lost and written years apart. Only seven of over a hundred plays by Sophocles still remain in existence. Oedipus the King and Antigone are his most famous and influential, and I was introduced to both plays in high school, and amazingly, that didn't put me off for life.Oedipus the King is a mystery story--with Oedipus the detective unraveling a secret that becomes his own doom. You may have heard of the "Oedipus Complex" associated with theories by Freud. Yes, that's this Oedipus, and that speaks to how primal, how deep goes some of the themes in this play. In the book 100 Top Plays, Oedipus the King comes in second only to Shakespeare's King Lear as most important play. Antigone comes in at number fifteen, after Aeschylus' Oresteia and two plays by Euripides. Antigone is the rare play with a female title protagonist--and its basic theme of the individual against the state resonated with me strongly, even as a teenager first reading it. Oedipus at Colonus, I found less memorable and impressive. In terms of the timeline, its events fall between those of Oedipus the King and Antigone, though this was actually one of Sophocles' last plays. That said, it falls nicely in between the two, filling some gaps, and it does have its beauties. But comparing this to the other two is like comparing Shakespeare's King Lear and Hamlet to, oh, his Cymbeline.
    • 5/5
      42. Sophocles I : Oedipus The King; Oedipus at Colonus; Antigone (The Complete Greek Tragedies)published: 1954 (my copy is a 33rd printing from 1989)format: 206 page Paperbackacquired: May 30 from a Half-Price Booksread: July 3-4rating: 4½ Each play had a different translatorOedipus The King (circa 429 bce) - translated by David Grene c1942Oedipus at Colonus (written by 406 bce, performed 401 bce) - translated by Robert Fitzgerald c1941Antigone (by 441 bce) - translated by Elizabeth Wyckoff c1954Greek tragedy can fun. After all those rigid Aeschylus plays, that is the lesson of Sophocles. The drama within the dialogue is always dynamic, and sometimes really terrific. I had to really get in the mood to enjoy reading a play by Aeschylus, otherwise I might be bored by the long dull choral dialogues. These three plays are all different and all from different points in Sophocles career, but they each drew me on their own. Although they are all on the same story line, they were not written together, or in story order. Antigone was first, and was written when Sophocles was still trying to make a name for himself (vs Aeschylus). Oedipus the King came next, when Sophocles was well established. Oedipus at Colonus was apparently written just before Sophocles death, at about age 90. It wasn't performed until several years after his death. All this seems to show in the plays. Antigone having the sense of an author trying to make a striking impression. [Oedipus the King] carrying the sense of a master playwright with it's dramatic set ups. Oedipus at Colonus is slower, and more reflective. And two of the main characters are elderly. Oedipus the KingThis is simply a striking play, from the opening lines. In line 8, Oedipus characterizes himself to children suppliants as "I Oedipus who all men call the Great." It shows his confidence, but, as Thebes is in the midst of a suffering famine, it also shows outrageous arrogance - it's the only clear sing of this in the play. He is otherwise a noble character throughout. Of course he doesn't know what's coming. In the course of the play he will learn, slowly, his own tragic story - that a man he had killed in a highway fight was his father, and that his wife, and mother of his four children is also his own mother. As each person resists giving him yet another dreadful piece of information, he gets angry at them, threatening them in disbelief at their hesitancy. His denial lasts longer than that of Jocasta, his mother/wife, who leaves the play in dramatic fashion herself, first trying to stop the information flow, and then giving Oedipus a cryptic goodbye. And even as his awareness gets worse and worse, he cannot step out of character, the show-off i-do-everything-right ruler, but must continue to pursue the truth to it bitter fullness. Oedipus at ColonusA mature play in many ways. It's slow, thoughtful, has much ambiguity, and has many touching moments. The opening scene is memorable, where a blind Oedipus moves through the wilderness only with the close guidance of his daughter, Antigone. ... Who will be kind to Oedipus this eveningAnd give the wanderer charity?Though he ask little and receive still less,It is sufficient: Suffering and time,Vast time, have been instructors in contentment,Which kingliness teaches too. But now, child,If you can see a place we might rest,...It's interesting to see Creon, Jocasta's brother, turn bad. But it's more interesting to see Oedipus have a bitter side to him. He maintains his noble character, and that is the point of the play—he is hero because he never did anything bad intentionally, and yet he bears full punishment. But he also makes some interesting calls, essentially setting up a future war between his Thebes and Athens. And, Antigone is striking too. She saves Oedipus critically several times through her advice or her speech. While sacrificing herself and maintaining real affection for Oedipus, she is also shrewd, stepping forward boldly and changing the atmosphere. AntigoneThis play takes place immediately after what [[Aeschylus]] covered in [Seven Against Thebes]. Polyneices has attacked Thebes with his Argive army, and been repulsed by his brother Eteocles. Both are sons of Oedipus and they have killed each other in the battle. Creon is now ruler. He is a stiff ruler. Despite much warning, he refuses to listen to popular opinion, instead threatening it to silence (a clear political point is being made). But the problems start when he refuses to give his attacker Polyneices a proper burial. He threatens death on anyone who does try to bury him. Antigone openly defies this rule, setting up the play's drama. It's an extreme tragedy with a hamlet-like ending where practically everyone dies. I felt there was less here than in the other two plays, but yet there is still a lot. And it's still fun. OverallI don't imagine citizens of Thebes liked these plays. There is an unspoken sense of noble Athen poking fun its neighbor throughout. But, as it's not Athens, they give the playwright freedom to work in otherwise dangerous political points - and those are clearly there. But, mostly, these were fun plays. They don't need to be read as a trilogy. They were not meant that way, despite the plot-consistency. Each is independent. There are four more plays by Sophocles. I'm actually going to save them and start Euripides next. Because I think Sophocles is something to look forward to and that might push me through the next bunch.
    • 4/5
      Probably my favourite plays I ever had to read for Classical Studies. Oedipus, particularly. They certainly are tragedies, but they're wonderfully structured ones that, to me at least, certainly pack a punch.
    • 4/5
      I remember reading Antigone in high school but not much of the play itself. In my college class now, we are reading it and I got much more out of it this time. :) Could do with the fact that I'm older now. We were only required to read Antigone but I felt as if I were missing parts of the story overall without having read the other two so I decided to read all three. I've seen in other reviews that these translations of Fagles aren't as authentic as they could be, but in this context, since it's the first time I've read all three together I didn't mind that much. I knew the overall story of Oedipus, but not until I read these did I really understand it and get to see the character's as more than names. I enjoyed the plays and have decided that I need to read more plays next year. :)
    • 4/5
      The Cliff/Spark version of Antigone is this: Two sisters want to bury their dead brother. One wants to bury him admirably and the other doesn't want to break the law. He cannot be buried because he was executed for a crime and must be left to rot in the courtyard as an example for the community. Defiant sister must go against the king alone as everyone refuses to help her. True to Greek tragedy nearly everyone, including the king's wife ends up committing suicide. The end.Of course there is much, much more to the story and, depending on which version you read, you get it. In my version of Antigone translated by Elizabeth Wyckoff the language is watered down and somewhat pedestrian. It's not as lyrical as other translations. A small example: from a 1906 Oxford Clarendon Press version (translated by Robert Whitelaw): "Ismene: There's trouble in thy looks, thy tidings tell" compared with the 1954 University of Chicago Press version (translated by Elizabeth Wycoff): "Ismene: What is it? Clearly some news has clouded you" (p 159). Ismene is basically saying the same thing in each line, but the Whitelaw version has more animation, more movement. In the end Antigoneis a simple story about the man against The Man, no matter how you read it.
    • 4/5
      This is a modern and inferior translation. The third of the three plays, Antigone, is Greek tragedy at its classic best. Antigone is Oedipus' daughter who defies King Creon's order against burying her brother. He banishes her to be buried in an island dungeon. She hangs herself and Creon 's son and wife commit suicide.
    • 4/5
      The name of Oedipus the King (Oedipus Tyrannos or Oedipus Rex, if you prefer) is nearly synonymous with the idea of Greek tragedy, and maybe with the idea of tragic drama in general. Aristotle referenced it in his Poetics, as (of course) did Freud in his writings. Reading it today, it seems both very ancient and very new, outlandish and yet relevant. I found it immensely gripping, and fascinating in its juxtaposition of fate and human action, sight and blindness, intention and guilt.I was assigned the play in two separate classes this semester, along with Antigone in one of them. I decided to go above and beyond by reading all of the plays, including Oedipus at Colonus, and I'm very glad I did. Although this often-skipped middle work is not as dramatically potent as the other two plays, Sophocles’ use of language is (as others have remarked) even more mature and lyrical than it was before. Also, one really read the three together not because there elements are perfectly cohesive—they aren’t—but because it is only then that the modern reader can understand the full scale of the Theban tragedy, something the Ancient Greeks would have known about going in.Despite the popularity of Oedipus the King and the maturity of Oedipus at Colonus, most everyone I’ve talked to seems to likeAntigone best. I can understand why. It is the most varied of the plays, incorporating a little humor and romance, as well as the usual tragic elements. I think Antigone and Haemon are the first truly sympathetic characters in the cycle, which makes their downfall all the more heartrending.Paul Roche’s translation is easy to read and modern in tone—almost too modern, to tell the truth. There is an almost Hemingway-like disregard of punctuation at times (“What another summons?” should read “What? Another summons?”) not to mention one of the most inane contractions I’ve ever seen (“what’re”). Still, these are minor blemishes, and the sheer readability of Roche's rendering is a definite aid in understanding these ancient tragedies.Scholars have been discussing and debating these plays for literally centuries. I feel I’ve only scratched the surface of them, and can easily see myself coming back to them in the future.
    • 5/5
      Great book including the stories of epic Oedipus and his daughter, Antigone. Sophocles is an amazing author. Oedipus is a man who tries to avoid his prophecy, which is to kill his father and marry his mother. Not only marry his mother, but also have four children with her. Now, he searches for an answer to his question: Has he fulfilled the prophecy? Think your life has drama? Please. Oedipus has it worse than anyone. In Antigone, she goes against the law to bury her brother. What will win, reason and order or morality and fate? Beautifully written and relative even today.
    • 4/5
      Three plays are collected in this volume surrounding Oedipus and his family. Oedipus was famous for killing his father and marrying his mother after being abandoned at birth. The first play is Antigone which follows the daughter of Oedipus and his wife/mother Jocasta. Her brothers have both died and while Eteocles is given a proper burial, Polynices is left out without any rites by their uncle Creon. Antigone is distraught and goes against Creon's wishes (he is the King after Oedipus) and tries to cover his body bringing about more sorrow to the doomed family.Oedipus the King follows which shows the sequence of events leading up to Oedipus learning the truth about his birth and the crimes he has committed. It has him summoning the shepherd who is the sole witness of the death of Laius and it also emerges how he grew up not knowing his real parents. It's a sad tale as Oedipus did so much to try and avoid fulfilling the prophecy. The final play is Oedipus at Colonus which finishes the story of Oedpius after his exile. It concludes his story taking it to his death in Athens with Theseus. His daughters Antigone and Ismene are with him at the end.I really enjoyed all three plays although I do feel that having Antigone first was out of order and it should have been the final play in the collection. I would really like to see them performed live, especially Oedipus the King which is the most powerful of the three with the truths it reveals. A must for all mythology fans.
    • 4/5
      Freud loved this shizzle. it is a classic. whether or not I want to kill my dad. oh wait, I'm sure of.
    • 3/5
      I like Oedipus. In a kind of sick, twisted way, I guess.
    • 5/5
      Warning: I do mention things in this musing that could be construed as spoilers to the action in the plays.Unlike Aeschylus, whose plays I battled through out of a sense of obligation and gravitas, Sophocles' Oedipal cycle snared me. Perhaps it is Robert Fagles' talented translation, perhaps I am simply reading with more care, but the complexity of the characters shone through, even 2500 years later.It's not Oedipus I'm talking about here. For Oedipus, things happen to him and around him, but he himself is not much more than a vessel of fate. In the final play, "Oedipus at Colonus", he even argues (fiercely!) that he is innocent of his ghastly acts, instead a hopeless pawn of the gods' prophesies. It's the women, and most strongly, Antigone. Her depth highlights the conflicting sense of womanhood held by the ancient Greeks. In Greek literature we usually see women in one of two ways. One: the simpering, overwrought mental weaklings (I tend to think of these as the Penelopes or the Aphrodites). These waifs are usually simultaneously revered for their constancy and tenderness, reviled for their uselessness. But then there's the other side of femininity. The Athena-like assertiveness, the uncompromising, the virginal. This is Antigone (and, to a lesser extent, her sister Ismene). She is persuasive and adventurous. She risks her life for the honor of family. She is so upstanding that Oedipus can't quite compute--on multiple occasions he exhorts that his daughters are being so strong it's they who are the men, not his sons. It's not surprising that the Greeks would tend to ascribe positive characteristics as masculinity, but it interesting to me how far Antigone gets to go. However, I would argue that in this sense she had to die. Die, that is, before her marriage to Haemon, which would have taken her out of the virginal limelight and forced her into the sphere of domestic womanhood. I'd assert that this would have destroyed the integrity of her character.Antigone's strength is but one aspect of probably a billion subthemes in these plays. It will take me a long time to sort it all out in my mind. A moment of bragging: I almost instantly recognized Oedipus' character at the beginning of "Colonus": totally King Lear! Turns out I was right; Shakespeare borrowed heavily.
    • 5/5
      Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone. Sophocles is surprisingly easy to read, not unlike a modern novel. I watched my understanding of the Greek society and beliefs being "rounded out" now that I have some context from previous choruses (tragedies) and the epics. The Oedipus trilogy showed an interesting thread through the three works. I can understand why the Greeks found such a format entertaining. Sophocles lived from around 495bc to 406bc and competed and won against Aeschylus in the contests. He was also a leader in Athens, born in Colonus. Oedipus is worth reading both to have that understanding of the classic work, as well as in its own right. I note here only the closing moral: "Therefore, while our eyes wait to see the destined final day, we must call no one happy who is of mortal race, until he hath crossed life's border, free from pain." In Colonus and again in Antigone I noticed what may have been the first reference of "stranger in a strange land." The parallels to Shakespeare are also so evident, best shown by the use of "ill-starred" - although Shakespeare would have done the exact opposite treatment of any death. Deaths typically happen off-stage in the tragedies. The moral of Antigone: "Wisdom is the supreme part of happiness; and reverence towards the gods must be inviolate. Great words of prideful men are ever punished with great blows, and, in old age, teach the chastened to be wise."
    • 4/5
      Contains the best tragedy ever written. Always a pleasure to re-read.
    • 4/5
      If you can, see also the stage musical, "The Gospel at Colonus" -- or at least get the soundtrack. Set in a black pentecostal church, starring Clarence Fountain & The Blind Boys of Alabama, a massive choir, guitarist Sam Butler, and assorted other musical & vocal powerhouses, it was one of the best stage performances I've ever seen (Guthrie Theater, 1986 or 1987).

    Book preview

    Oedipus Trilogy - Sophocles

    Oedipus Trilogy

    by Sophocles

    Translated by Lewis Campbell, M.A., LL.D.

    EMERITUS PROFESSOR OF GREEK IN THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. ANDREWS

    HONORARY FELLOW OF BALLIOL COLLEGE, OXFORD

    ©2015 SMK Books

    All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission except for brief quotations for review purposes only.

    SMK Books

    PO Box 632

    Floyd, VA 24091-0632

    ISBN 13: 978-1-63384-134-5

    Table of Contents

    King Oedipus

    The Persons

    Scene

    Play

    Oedipus at Colonos

    The Persons

    Scene

    Play

    Antigone

    The Persons

    Scene

    Play

    King Oedipus

    THE PERSONS

    Oedipus, King of Thebes.

    Creon, brother of Jocasta.

    Chorus of Theban Elders.

    Tiresias, the Blind Prophet.

    Jocasta, the Queen, sister to Creon.

    A Corinthian Shepherd.

    A Theban Shepherd.

    Messenger

    The following also appear, but do not speak:

    A Train of Suppliants.

    The children Antigone and Ismene.

    Scene. Before the Royal Palace in the Cadmean citadel of Thebes.

    Laïus, the descendant of Cadmus, and king of Thebes (or Thebè), had been told by an oracle that if a son were born to him by his wife Jocasta the boy would be his father’s death.

    Under such auspices, Oedipus was born, and to elude the prophecy was exposed by his parents on Mount Cithaeron. But he was saved by a compassionate shepherd, and became the adopted son of Polybus, king of Corinth. When he grew up he was troubled by a rumour that he was not his father’s son. He went to consult the oracle of Apollo at Delphi, and was told—not of his origin but of his destiny—that he should be guilty of parricide and incest.

    He was too horror-stricken to return to Corinth, and as he travelled the other way, he met Laïus going from Thebes to Delphi. The travellers quarrelled and the son killed his father, but knew not whom he had slain. He went onward till he came near Thebes, where the Sphinx was making havoc of the noblest citizens, devouring all who failed to solve her riddle. But Oedipus succeeded and overcame her, and, as Laïus did not return, was rewarded with the regal sceptre,—and with the hand of the queen.

    He reigned nobly and prosperously, and lived happily with Jocasta, by whom he had four children.

    But after some years a plague descended on the people, and Apollo, on being inquired of, answered that it was for Laïus’ death. The act of regicide must be avenged. Oedipus undertakes the task of discovering the murderer,—and in the same act discovers his own birth, and the fulfilment of both the former prophecies.

    Jocasta hangs herself, and Oedipus in his despair puts out his eyes.

    King Oedipus

    Oedipus—Priest of Zeus

    (with the Train of Suppliants grouped before an altar).

    Oedipus. Nurslings of Cadmus, children of my care,

    Why press ye now to kneel before my gate

    With sacred branches in those suppliant hands,

    While o’er your city clouds of incense rise

    And sounds of praise, mingling with sounds of woe?

    I would not learn of your estate, my sons,

    Through others, wherefore I myself am come,

    Your Oedipus,—a name well known to men.

    Speak, aged friend, whose look proclaims thee meet

    To be their spokesman—What desire, what fear

    Hath brought you? Doubt not of my earnest will

    To lend all succour. Hard would be the heart

    That looked unmoved on such a kneeling throng.

    Priest. Great ruler of my country, thou beholdest

    The different ages of our flock who here

    Are gathered round thine altar,—some, whose wing

    Hath not yet ventured far from home, and some

    Burdened with many years, priests of the Gods,

    Myself the arch priest of Zeus, and these fresh youths,

    A chosen few. Others there are who crowd

    The holy agora and the temples twain

    Of Pallas, and Ismenus’ hallowed fires,

    A suppliant host. For, as thyself perceivest,

    Our city is tempest tost, and all too weak

    To lift above the waves her weary prow

    That plunges in a rude and ravenous sea.

    Earth’s buds are nipped, withering the germs within,

    Our cattle lose their increase, and our wives

    Have fruitless travail; and that scourge from Heaven,

    The fiery Pestilence abhorred of men,

    Descending on our people with dire stroke

    Lays waste the Home of Cadmus, while dark Death

    Wins ample tribute of laments and groans.

    We kneel, then, at thy hearth; not likening thee

    Unto the gods, I nor these children here,

    But of men counting thee the first in might

    Whether to cope with earthly casualty

    Or visiting of more than earthly Power.

    Thou, in thy coming to this Theban land,

    Didst take away the hateful tax we paid

    To that stern songstress,—aided not by us

    With hint nor counsel, but, as all believe,

    Gifted from heaven with life-restoring thought.

    Now too, great Oedipus of matchless fame,

    We all uplift our suppliant looks to thee,

    To find some help for us, whether from man,

    Or through the prompting of a voice Divine.

    Experienced counsel, we have seen and know,

    Hath ever prosperous issue. Thou, then, come,

    Noblest of mortals, give our city rest

    From sorrow! come, take heed! seeing this our land

    Now calls thee Saviour for thy former zeal;

    And ‘twere not well to leave this memory

    Of thy great reign among Cadmean men,

    ‘He raised us up, only again to fall.’

    Let the salvation thou hast wrought for us

    Be flawless and assured! As once erewhile

    Thy lucky star gave us prosperity,

    Be the same man to-day. Wouldst thou be king

    In power, as in command, ‘tis greater far

    To rule a people than a wilderness.

    Since nought avails or city or buttressed wall

    Or gallant vessel, if unmanned and void.

    Oed. Ye touch me to the core. Full well I know

    Your trouble and your desire. Think not, my sons,

    I have no feeling of your misery!

    Yet none of you hath heaviness like mine.

    Your grief is held within the single breast

    Of each man severally. My burdened heart

    Mourns for myself, for Thebè, and for you.

    Your coming hath not roused me from repose:

    I have watched, and bitterly have wept; my mind

    Hath travelled many a labyrinth of thought.

    And now I have tried in act the only plan

    Long meditation showed me. I have sent

    The brother of my queen, Menoeceus’ son,

    Creon, to learn, in Phoebus’ Delphian Hall,

    What word or deed of mine may save this city.

    And when I count the time, I am full of pain

    To guess his speed; for he is absent long,

    Beyond the limit of expectancy.

    But when he shall appear, base then were I

    In aught to disobey the voice of Heaven.

    Pr. Lo, in good time, crowning thy gracious word,

    ‘Tis told me by these youths, Creon draws near.

    Oed. Apollo! may his coming be as blest

    With saving fortune, as his looks are bright.

    Pr. Sure he brings joyful news; else had he ne’er

    Worn that full wreath of thickly-berried bay.

    Oed. We have not long to doubt. He can hear now.

    Enter Creon.

       Son of Menoeceus, brother of my queen,

    What answer from Apollo dost thou bring?

    Creon. Good; for my message is that even our woes,

    When brought to their right issue, shall be well.

    Oed. What saith the oracle? Thy words so far

    Neither embolden nor dishearten me.

    Cr. Say, must I tell it with these standing by,

    Or go within? I am ready either way.

    Oed. Speak forth to all. The burden of their grief

    Weighs more on me than my particular fear.

    Cr. My lips shall utter what the God hath said.

    Sovereign Apollo clearly bids us drive

    Forth from this region an accursed thing

    (For such is fostered in the land and stains

    Our sacred clime), nor cherish it past cure.

    Oed. What is the fault, and how to be redressed?

    Cr. By exile, or by purging blood with blood.

    Since blood it is that shakes us with this storm.

    Oed. Whose murder doth Apollo thus reveal?

    Cr. My gracious lord, before thy prosperous reign

    King Laïus was the leader of our land.

    Oed. Though I ne’er saw him, I have heard, and know.

    Cr. Phoebus commands us now to punish home,

    Whoe’er they are, the authors of his death.

    Oed. But they, where are they? Where shall now be read

    The fading record of this ancient guilt?

       CR He saith, ‘tis in this land. And what is sought

    Is found, while things uncared for glide away.

    Oed. But where did Laïus meet this violent end?

    At home, afield, or on some foreign soil?

    Cr. He had left us, as he said, to visit Delphi;

    But nevermore returned since he set forth.

    Oed. And was there none, no fellow traveller,

    To see, and tell the tale, and help our search?

    Cr. No, they were slain; save one, who, flying in fear,

    Had nought to tell us but one only thing.

    Oed. What was that thing? A little door of hope,

    Once opened, may discover much to view.

    Cr. A random troop of robbers, meeting him,

    Outnumbered and o’erpowered him. So ‘twas told.

    Oed. What robber would have ventured such a deed,

    If unsolicited with bribes from hence?

    Cr. We thought of that. But Laïus being dead,

    We found no helper in our miseries.

    Oed. When majesty was fallen, what misery

    Could hinder you from searching out the truth?

    Cr. A present trouble had engrossed our care.

    The riddling Sphinx compelled us to observe

    The moment’s grief, neglecting things unknown.

    Oed. But I will track this evil to the spring

    And clear it to the day. Most worthily

    Doth great Apollo, worthily dost thou

    Prompt this new care for the unthought of dead.

    And me too ye shall find a just ally,

    Succouring the cause of Phoebus and the land.

    Since, in dispelling this dark cloud, I serve

    No indirect or distant claim on me,

    But mine own life, for he that slew the king

    May one day turn his guilty hand ‘gainst me

    With equal rage. In righting Laïus, then,

    I forward mine own cause.—Now, children, rise

    From the altar-steps, and lift your suppliant boughs,

    And let some other summon to this place

    All Cadmus’ people, and assure them, I

    Will answer every need. This day shall see us

    Blest with glad fortune through God’s help, or fallen.

    Pr. Rise then, my children. Even for this we came

    Which our good lord hath promised of himself.

    Only may Phoebus, who hath sent this word,

    With healing power descend, and stay the plague.

    [Exeunt severally

    Chorus (entering).

    Strophe I.

    Kind voice of Heaven, soft-breathing from the height 

    Of Pytho’s opulent home to Thebè bright,

    What wilt thou bring to day?

    Ah, Delian Healer, say!

    My heart hangs on thy word with trembling awe:

    What new giv’n law,

    Or what returning in Time’s circling round

    Wilt thou unfold? Tell us, immortal sound,

    Daughter of golden Hope, tell us, we pray, we pray!

    Antistrophe I.

    First, child of Zeus, Pallas, to thee appealing,

    Then to sweet Artemis, thy sister, kneeling,

    Who with benignant hand

    Still guards our sacred land,

    Throned o’er the circling mart that hears her praise,

    And thou, whose rays

    Pierce evil from afar, ho! come and save,

    Ye mighty three! if e’er before ye drave

    The threatening fire of woe from Thebè, come to day!

    Strophe II.

    For ah! the griefs that on me weigh

    Are numberless; weak are my helpers all,

    And thought finds not a sword to fray

    This hated pestilence from hearth or hall.

    Earth’s blossoms blasted fall:

    Nor can our women rise

    From childbed after pangs and cries;

    But flocking more and more

    Toward the western shore,

    Soul after soul is known to wing her flight,

    Swifter than quenchless flame, to the far realm of Night.

    Antistrophe II.

    So deaths innumerable abound.

    My city’s sons unpitied lie around

    Over the plague-encumbered ground

    And wives and matrons old on every hand

    Along the altar-strand

    Groaning in saddest grief

    Pour supplication for relief.

    Loud hymns are sounding clear

    With wailing voices near.

    Then, golden daughter of the heavenly sire,

    Send bright-eyed Succour forth to drive away this fire.

    Strophe III.

    And swiftly speed afar,

    Windborne on backward car,

    The viewless fiend who scares me with wild cries,

    To oarless Thracian tide,

    Of ocean-chambers wide,

    About the bed where Amphitritè lies.

    Day blights what night hath spared. O thou whose hand

    Wields lightning, blast him with thy thundrous brand.

    Antistrophe III.

    Shower from the golden string

    Thine arrows Lycian King!

    O Phoebus, let thy fiery lances fly

    Resistless, as they rove

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