lesson 10- Oedipus the king

Question 1

what is the play ‘Oedipus the king’ about?

Answer 1

Oedipus arrives at Thebes a stranger and finds the town under the curse of the Sphinx which causes a plague to run through the city unless a riddle is answered. The riddle that Oedipus has to solve is ‘what walks on four feet in the morning, two in the afternoon, and three at night’. Oedipus answered ‘man’ and saved the town from the plague of the Sphinx. As he saves the town from the plague, he is crowned as the king and married to the recently widowed Queen, whose husband died before Oedipus arrived in the town. In Oedipus’ rule, another plague hits the town and he is forced to send Creon (the uncle and brother-in-law to Oedipus) to consult the delphic oracle and see what Oedipus can do to end the plague. Creon responds that to end the plague Oedipus must find the murder of the previous kind, Laius and to take revenge. In time, he comes to find out that he is a Theban, the king’s son (laius) cast out of Thebes as a baby. He has killed his father and married his mother, he blinds himself and leaves Thebes forever.

Question 2

Who is Oedipus Rex (Oedipus the king) written by?

Answer 2

Sophocles

Question 3

what is the date of the play?

Answer 3

the actual date of the play of ‘Oedipus the king’ is unknown but many suggest it was around 429 BC due to references to events that may have been topical during this time for example a plague ran through the city of Athens in 430 BC and the second year of the Peloponnesian war

Question 4

what is there a lot of reference to in the parados (chorus after the prologue)?

Answer 4

war imagery- this would be very relevant to the audience if the play was dated from 429 BC as the peloponnesian war was taking place between 431-404 BC

Question 5

what years was the Peloponnesian war taking place?

Answer 5

431-404 BC

Question 6

where is Oedipus set?

Answer 6

In Thebes, the Antithesis of Athens in the classical age

Question 7

what are the main differences between Thebes and Athens?

Answer 7

1. Thebes in an archaic civilisation whereas Athens was at its height of the golden age during the classical period
2. Thebes is a ruled by monarchs and oligarchs whilst Athens was ruled by a democracy
3. in their history, Thebes was willing to submit to the Persians straight away in the Persian war. On the other hand, Athens defended themselves fiercely against the Persians and defeated them at the battle of Marathon and Salamis during the Persian wars