About this book
The Oedipus Plays of Sophocles: Oedipus the King; Oedipus at Colonus; Antigone Oedipus the King Oedipus the King , also known by its Latin title Oedipus Rex, is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed about 429 BC. It was the second in order of Sophocles's composition of his three Theban Plays dealing with Oedipus. Thematically, however, it was the first in the plays' historical chronology, followed by Oedipus at Colonus and then Antigone. Oedipus the King tells the story of Oedipus, a man who becomes the king of Thebes, whilst in the process unwittingly fulfilling a prophecy that he would kill his father Laius and marry his mother Jocasta. The play is an example of classic tragedy, putting emphasis upon how Oedipus's own faults contribute to his downfall (as opposed to the portrayal of fate as the sole cause). Over the centuries, Oedipus the King has come to be regarded by many as the masterpiece of Greek tragedy. Oedipus at Colonus This is the second installment in Sophocles's Theban Plays that chronicles the tragic fates of Oedipus and his family. After fulfilling the prophecy that predicted he would kill his father and marry his mother, Oedipus blinds himself and leaves Thebes, to wander in the wilderness accompanied by his daughters Antigone and Ismene. Antigone This is the final installment in Sophocles's Theban Plays, following Oedipus Rex and Oedipus at Colonus. Oedipus's daughter Antigone deliberately breaks the laws of Thebes when she buries her brother's body and is sentenced to death. She clashes with Creon, the King of Thebes, over what constitutes justice and morality: the laws of the state or the laws of the individual.