Oedipus Rex Flashcards
Characters
.king Oedipus - Thebes
.Creon
.Jocasta
.King Laius - Thebes
.Tiresias
.King Polybus -Corinth
.Queen Merope - Corinth
.Shepherd
. Priest of Zeus
. Chorus
. Antigone
.Ismene
Themes
. Free will
. Fate
. Self discovery
.Pride
. Blindness/ ignorance
. Guilt / shame
. Justice
Context before play was set - Laius
Laius raped chyrysippsus son of pelops and because of his actions she cursed him . He went to the oracle of Miletus and the oracle said he would have a son who conspires to kill him . He then went home and Locked up Jocasta , eventually he slowly began letting her near him and one night she seduced him and became pregnant . Laius then exposed Oedipus to the environments and stabbed his feet with a spike so his son wouldn’t walk in the after life .
Context before the play - sphinx
Sphinx came to Thebes from Ethiopia . Had the head of a woman , the body of a lion , the tail of a serpent and the wings of an eagle . Gave the first plague to Thebes - would curse and rule the land until someone solved her riddle .
