Editing Oedipus (section)

===Sophocles' Theban plays===
The three surviving works of Sophocles' "[[Theban plays]]" consist of: ''[[Oedipus Rex]]'' (also called ''Oedipus Tyrannus'' or ''Oedipus the King''), ''[[Oedipus at Colonus]],'' and ''[[Antigone (Sophocles)|Antigone]]''. All three plays concern the fate of the City of [[Ancient Thebes (Boeotia)|Thebes]], during and after the reign of King Oedipus,<ref name=":0">Sophocles. ''Sophocles I: Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone''. 2nd ed. Grene, David and Lattimore, Richard, eds. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1991. pp. 1–2.</ref> and have often been published under a single cover.<ref>see: "Sophocles: The Theban Plays", Penguin Books, 1947; ''Sophocles I: Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone'', University of Chicago, 1991; ''Sophocles: The Theban Plays: Antigone/King Oidipous/Oidipous at Colonus'', Focus Publishing/R. Pullins Company, 2002; ''Sophocles, The Oedipus Cycle: Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone'', Harvest Books, 2002; Sophocles, ''Works'', [[Loeb Classical Library]], Vol I. London, W. Heinemann; New York, Macmillan, 1912 (often reprinted) – the 1994 Loeb, however, prints Sophocles in chronological order.</ref>

Originally, Sophocles had written the plays for three separate [[Dionysia|festival competitions]], many years apart. Not only are the Theban plays not a true [[trilogy]] (three plays presented as a continuous narrative), they are not even an intentional series and contain some inconsistencies among them.<ref name=":0" />

Sophocles also wrote other plays focused on Thebes, most notably the ''[[Epigoni (play)|Epigoni]]'', of which only fragments have survived.<ref>Murray, Matthew, "Newly Readable Oxyrhynchus Papyri Reveal Works by Sophocles, Lucian, and Others Archived 11 April 2006 at the [[Wayback Machine]]", ''Theatermania'', 18 April 2005. Retrieved 9 July 2007.</ref>

====''Oedipus Rex''====

As [[Sophocles]]' ''[[Oedipus Rex]]'' begins, the people of Thebes are begging the king for help, begging him to discover the cause of the plague. Oedipus stands before them and swears to find the root of their suffering and to end it. Just then, [[Creon of Thebes|Creon]] returns to Thebes from a visit to the oracle. Apollo has made it known that Thebes is harboring a terrible abomination and that the plague will only be lifted when the true murderer of old [[Laius|King Laius]] is discovered and punished for his crime. Oedipus swears to do this, not realizing that he is himself the culprit. The stark truth emerges slowly over the course of the play, as Oedipus clashes with the blind seer [[Tiresias]], who senses the truth. Oedipus remains in strict denial, though, becoming convinced that Tiresias is somehow plotting with Creon to usurp the throne.

Realization begins to slowly dawn in Scene II of the play when Jocasta mentions out of hand that Laius was slain at a place where three roads meet. This stirs something in Oedipus's memory and he suddenly remembers the men he fought and killed one day long ago at a place where three roads met. He realizes, horrified, that he might be the man he's seeking. One household servant survived the attack and now lives out his old age in a frontier district of Thebes. Oedipus sends immediately for the man to either confirm or deny his guilt. At the very worst, though, he expects to find himself to be the unsuspecting murderer of a man unknown to him. The truth has not yet been made clear.

The moment of epiphany comes late in the play. At the beginning of Scene III, Oedipus is still waiting for the servant to be brought into the city, when a messenger arrives from Corinth to declare that [[Polybus of Corinth|King Polybus]] of Corinth is dead. Oedipus, when he hears this news, feels much relieved, because he believed that Polybus was the father whom the oracle had destined him to murder, and he momentarily believes himself to have escaped fate. He tells this all to the present company, including the messenger, but the messenger knows that it is not true. He is the man who found Oedipus as a baby in the pass of [[Cithaeron]] and gave him to King Polybus to raise. He reveals, furthermore that the servant who is being brought to the city as they speak is the very same man who took Oedipus up into the mountains as a baby. Jocasta realizes now all that has happened. She begs Oedipus not to pursue the matter further. He refuses, and she withdraws into the palace as the servant is arriving. The old man arrives, and it is clear at once that he knows everything. At the behest of Oedipus, he tells it all.

Overwhelmed with the knowledge of all his crimes, Oedipus rushes into the palace where he finds his mother-wife, dead by her own hand. Ripping a brooch from her dress, Oedipus blinds himself with it. Bleeding from the eyes, he begs his uncle and brother-in-law Creon, who has just arrived on the scene, to exile him forever from Thebes. Creon agrees to this request. Oedipus begs to hold his two daughters [[Antigone]] and [[Ismene]] with his hands one more time to have their eyes full of tears and Creon out of pity sends the girls in to see Oedipus one more time.

====''Oedipus at Colonus''====
[[File:Giroust Oedipus at Colonus.JPG|upright=1.3|Oedipus at Colonus|thumb|right]]
In Sophocles' ''[[Oedipus at Colonus]]'', Oedipus becomes a wanderer, pursued by Creon and his men. He finally finds refuge in the holy wilderness right outside Athens, where it is said that [[Theseus]] took care of Oedipus and his daughter, [[Antigone]]. Creon eventually catches up to Oedipus. He asks Oedipus to come back from Colonus to bless his son, Eteocles. Angry that his son did not love him enough to take care of him, he curses both Eteocles and his brother, condemning them both to kill each other in battle. Oedipus dies a peaceful death; his grave is said to be sacred to the gods.

====''Antigone''====
[[File: The blind Oedipus led by his daughter Antigone.jpg|thumb|The blind Oedipus led by his daughter Antigone]]
In Sophocles' ''[[Antigone (Sophocles)|Antigone]]'', when Oedipus stepped down as king of Thebes, he gave the kingdom to his two sons, [[Eteocles]] and [[Polynices]], both of whom agreed to alternate the throne every year. However, they showed no concern for their father, who cursed them for their negligence. After the first year, Eteocles refused to step down and Polynices attacked Thebes with his supporters (as portrayed in the ''[[Seven Against Thebes]]'' by [[Aeschylus]] and the ''[[Phoenician Women]]'' by [[Euripides]]). The two brothers killed each other in battle. King [[Creon of Thebes|Creon]], who ascended to the throne of Thebes, decreed that Polynices was not to be buried. [[Antigone]], Polynices' sister, defied the order but was caught. Creon decreed that she was to be put into a stone box in the ground, this in spite of her betrothal to his son [[Haemon]]. Antigone's sister, [[Ismene]], then declared she had aided Antigone and wanted the same fate, but Creon eventually declined to execute her. The gods, through the blind prophet [[Tiresias]], expressed their disapproval of Creon's decision, which convinced him to rescind his order, and he went to bury Polynices himself. However, Antigone had already hanged herself in her tomb, rather than suffering the slow death of being buried alive. When Creon arrived at the tomb where she had been interred, his son Haemon attacked him upon seeing the body of his deceased fiancée but failing to kill Creon he killed himself. When Creon's wife, [[Eurydice of Thebes|Eurydice]], was informed of the death of [[Haemon]], she too took her own life.