- Summary
- Sophocles
- Oedipus the King
Thebes was once ruled by Laius, his wife was the beautiful Jocasta. But one day he learned from the oracle that the day would come when his successor would be born, and he would die by his hand. When his heir was born, he took him from the queen, handing him over to one of the shepherds, he ordered him to be taken to the mountains near Kiferon so that the baby would be eaten by wild animals. The shepherd took pity on the child and handed him over to one of the inhabitants of the Kiferon state, and he took the child to the royal palace. The ruler of the Corinthian lands had no children, so he adopted the foundling and raised him as a natural son, giving him the name Oedipus.
The young man matured, became smart and strong, he considered himself his father’s own son, but the gossip of the people said otherwise. At the oracle, Oedipus tried to find out whose son he really was, but he only said that his fate lay in the fact that he would give death to his father and seal his life by marriage with his own mother. Frightened by the prophecy, the young man fled from Corinth.
At a crossroads on one of the roads, he accidentally met a chariot. It was driven by an elderly man, whose proud posture spoke of his noble origin. Not having time to dodge the chariot, Oedipus fell under the blow of this man's goad, to which he was struck with a staff and killed, and in the fight he killed all of his servants, except one, who managed to escape. Such fights on the road were quite common at that time, so they were not given much importance.
Further the road led E. to Thebes. The city residents were in fear, since the Sphinx, a woman with a lion's head, settled on one of the rocks in front of the city. The monster asked riddles to all travelers, and when it did not hear the correct answer, it killed people. Oedipus also had to answer the Sphinx’s cherished question: “Who walks in the morning on four legs, in the afternoon on two, and in the evening on three legs?” E. replied that these are people at different stages of their lives, so as babies they crawl on all fours, as adults they need two legs to walk, and in old age they need legs and a cane. The Sphinx threw herself off the cliff in rage because the answer turned out to be correct.
Admiring the sharpness of Oedipus's mind, the people of Thebes proclaimed him the new king, because Laius died under mysterious circumstances on the road, on the way to the oracle, hoping to find a way to defeat the monster. The people also invited E. to marry the widow Jocasta, and that’s how it all happened. Many years later, misfortune befalls the city: livestock perishes, grain harvests dry up, people die. The people beg E. to help him, just like when the Sphinx attacked them. E. sends his faithful servant Creon, his wife’s brother, to the oracle. The fortuneteller says that this is a punishment from the gods, because the murderer Laia has not yet been punished. E. announces his decision, in which he undertakes to find the killer of the former king, deprive him of drink and food, expel him from his native lands and curse him before the gods, not suspecting that all this is addressed to himself.
The blind seer Tiresias lives in Thebes; E. hopes that he will help him find the murderer. But he refuses to tell him everything, E. accuses him of aiding the king’s murderers. The Seer is angry and says that the killer is E., and he must execute himself. E. believes that it was Creon who ordered the elder to tell lies against him, but he stands his ground, assuring E. that he has been living without knowing it in great sin for many years. Creon, in a conversation with E., denies his desire to slander the ruler, Queen Jocasta comes to their cries, she says that you should not believe all the prophecies, because her husband was predicted to die at the hands of her son, and he fell victim to a robber attack on the road. E. begins to suspect that it was he who killed Laius; he demands to find the only witness to this event, the escaped servant.
Then a messenger from the Corinthian lands appears, he reports the death of the king and asks to accept the throne of Oedipus. E. is adamant, because while his mother, the Queen of Corinth, is alive, the second part of the prophecy can come true, he refuses to rule Corinth. And the messenger reports that he was a step-son for the Corinthian family, that he was handed over by a shepherd on the mountains near Kiferon. E. shouts to his wife about what kind of shepherd he is and whose son he really is. Jocasta has already understood everything, she runs away to the palace. The servants bring an old shepherd, a witness to the murder of Laius; it turns out that it was he who handed over the baby to E., then on the mountains to the neighboring state.
E. shouts that he is cursed, his marriage and the birth of children is a curse, with these words he rushes into the palace to his wife. He finds Ikasta hanged, pulling out a sharp brooch from her jewelry, he decides to gouge out his eyes, since he cannot contemplate his own shame. He wants to become an exile, but Creon asks him to stay to rule, but E. is adamant, he says goodbye to the children and leaves Thebes.
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Oracle Predictions
Thebes is ruled by King Laius and his wife, Queen Jocasta. The ruler learns a terrible omen from the soothsayer. Soon a boy will be born into the family, by whose hand the king will die. After the birth of his son, the frightened king takes the baby away from his mother. He orders the shepherd to take the child to a distant pasture and throw him to be devoured by wild animals.
The servant took pity on the baby and gave him to a shepherd from the neighboring kingdom of Corinth, where the ruler had no children . The boy was accepted into the family and named Oedipus. They began to raise him as the future heir to the throne.
Oedipus grew up strong and reasonable. He considered himself the son of the Corinthian king. One day the young man heard that he was raised by a foster family. He visited the Delphic oracle to learn about his origins. The fortuneteller replied that Oedipus was destined to kill his own father and marry his own mother. Horrified, he decided not to return home.
Episode one
The summary of the first episode is the ending of one of the most famous Athenian legends. Oedipus the King is a mythological character. Sophocles borrowed his story and created a tragedy, in the first act of which the audience on stage sees the main character as a ruler.
So, the main character of the play is the king. His name is Oedipus. One day, a procession appears at the royal palace, the participants of which ask the ruler for help. A terrible epidemic is raging in Thebes. The pestilence has already claimed many lives, and since the inhabitants perceive their king as nothing other than a savior (he once rescued them, after which he took the throne), they turn to him with a prayer to avert a terrible disaster.
The “Savior,” as it turned out, had already taken appropriate measures: he sent messengers to the all-powerful oracle. After all, he has the power that lies in the ability to find out from the god Apollo himself about the cause of such a terrible misfortune.
The answer comes very soon: the plague was sent as punishment for the fact that a regicide lives with impunity in Thebes. And Oedipus, not suspecting that he is the very same criminal, vows to find and punish the culprit.
Climax
A story about a life shrouded in terrible secrets that must be solved by the end of the play - this is the summary. King Oedipus believes that only one person can help him find out the truth. The old servant, who once carried a newborn to the mountains, will answer the only but most important question. But this man is no longer in Thebes. The order was given to find the slave. Meanwhile, a new face appears on the scene.
A messenger arrives from his native land and reports the death of Polybus. Oedipus must take the place of the deceased king. But the oracle’s predictions say that later he will marry his mother... A man who arrived from afar, wanting to calm Oedipus, reveals the whole truth. It is now known that Polybus is not his natural father. And in order to achieve the whole truth, Oedipus turns to Jocasta. After some debate and comparison of facts, he realizes that all the predictions given to him and Lai have come true.
The queen commits suicide. Oedipus blinds himself, thereby fulfilling his promise to punish the criminal.
Sophocles' tragedy "Oedipus the King", a summary of which is presented in our article, is an immortal work of world drama. The hero of the ancient author, although he is in the power of the gods, strives with all his might to become the arbiter of his own destiny. However, the only thing he succeeds in is punishment. But still, Sophocles’ Oedipus is one of the greatest literary heroes.
Evil Rock
Sophocles' contemporaries, including the wise Aristotle, believed that this play was the pinnacle of its author's skill. If given only a brief summary, "Oedipus Rex" will become nothing more than a mythological plot. In its entirety, Sophocles' work is a profound philosophical work.
Throughout the life of the main character, misfortunes haunt him. He tries to get away from evil fate, but in the end, what was predetermined by the gods still happens to him. One of the greatest philosophical works in world culture was written by Sophocles. “Oedipus the King,” a summary of the chapters of which is presented in the article, is a classic of world drama. Thanks to the image of the main character, Sophocles entered the history of world literature. So, let's move on to the text specifically.
Jocasta
King Oedipus took his own mother as his wife. The summary of the myth only says that this woman did not commit the sin of incest of her own free will. For the great playwright, this image has characteristic features. Jocasta is a strong and strong-willed woman. Having learned about the reason for the men's quarrel, she ridicules them. In an effort to prove how stupid it is to believe predictions, she talks about her youth. King Oedipus listens to her stories.
A summary of the episodes is the actions and thoughts of the main character. In its entirety, this work consists of poetic dialogues, where the choir serves as the background. Not a single ancient drama could do without it. And here, when Jocasta begins to tell her young husband a painfully familiar story, the choral singing becomes increasingly alarming and sad.
