Oedipus Rex

Sophocles' Oedipus Rex opens in Thebes, where a plague has driven citizens to appeal to King Oedipus. The oracle reports that the city remains polluted because the murder of the former king, Laius, has gone unpunished. Oedipus, celebrated for having defeated the Sphinx, publicly commits himself to finding the killer and saving the city again.

The inquiry brings Oedipus into conflict with the prophet Tiresias, his brother-in-law Creon, and his wife Jocasta. Each testimony adds information about an old prophecy, a death at a crossroads, and Oedipus's uncertain parentage. The king's determination is both civic strength and personal danger: he insists that every hidden fact be spoken even when others urge restraint.

The tragedy can be followed as an investigation in which the audience's growing knowledge changes the force of every question. Fate matters, but so do Oedipus's choices about evidence, authority, and self-knowledge. Watch how public declarations become private accusations and how sight and blindness exchange meanings. This guide stops before the witnesses complete the chain of recognition and before the play's final acts of punishment and exile.