The Saga Of Oedipus By Sophocles - 1082 Words

The saga of Oedipus begins long before the setting of the play takes place. It begins with a prophet, who tells Jocasta and Laius—the king and queen of Thebes at the time—that their son is destined to slay his father and bear children with his mother. To keep this sinful event from happening, they sent the baby away to be abandoned and killed. However, the messenger took pity on the baby and gave it to a shepherd of King Polybus, and the boy was adopted into royalty. When the boy came of age he was told the same fate that had been told to his birth parents. Fearing his adoptive father’s life, he exiled himself from the land. On his journey, he met King Laius, though not knowing it him, at a symbolic location: a crossroad. This emphasizes that it was Oedipus’ decision to kill Laius and travel to Thebes, but was that decision out of free will? Throughout Oedipus Rex, Sophocles employs several examples of a theme of predestined fate determined by the gods suc h as Oedipus inevitably killing his father, marrying his mother, and then having children with her. On Oedipus’ journey after leaving his home in Corinth, he came to a point where three roads met. Crossroads are a symbol for a crucial decision or choice. Does he go left or right? â€Å"As I drew near the triple-branching roads, A herald met me and a man who sat In a car drawn by colts—as in thy tale—The man in front and the old man himself Threatened to thrust me rudely from the path†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Sophocles) At this point Oedipus isShow MoreRelatedSophocles Use of Social Commentary in Antigone1334 Words   |  6 Pagestheir origin. In Antigone, Sophocles does this by creating a fictionalized Thebes in which he reflects upon the politics, religion, and societal norms of his own world. He creates a ruler, Creon, whose tyrannical actions serve to promote the merits of democracy and criticize the contemporary government. He also creates a protagonist, Antigone, w ho challenges the validity of the social structure while upholding ancient traditions. This social commentary allows Sophocles to connect with his both theRead MoreAncient Greek Theatre and Drama1648 Words   |  7 PagesGreece was the development of choral songs. These songs were performed at festivals all over the country. Myths resulted from the songs, and soon became stories. According to Peter Arnott, author of An Introduction to the Greek Theatre, the Hercules saga is an example of one of these stories. Most tragedies began with a prologue that gives the audience an introduction. Then the chorus introduced the paradox, which is where characters are made. The paradox is also where the mood of the play is establishedRead More Pathetic vs Ethical1997 Words   |  8 PagesRecognition; the Pathetic (where the motive is passion); the Ethical (where the motives are ethical). The fourth kind is the Simple. Antigone is Sophocles Greek tragedy where we see a woman as the main character. Antigone is part of the â€Å"saga of Thebes† that deals with Oedipus Rex and Oedipus at Colonus. Produced around 442 B.C., we see the children of Oedipus deal with what fate has brought them. Antigone deals with the conflict of her burying her brother which would be in defiance of an order givenRead MoreHAMLET AND ORESTES10421 Words   |  42 Pagesthe Greek stage; and he ^eight if we occurs in no less than seven of our extant tragedies count the Iphigenia in Aulis, where he is an infant whereas Oedipus, for instance, only comes in three and Agamemnon in — — four. I shall use all these seven plays as material : viz. Aeschylus, Choephori and Eumenides; Sophocles, Electra; and Euripides, And Electra, Orestes, Iphigenia in Tauris, and Andromache. before any of these plays was written Orestes was firmly fixed both