Oedipus
The beginning of
the tragedy
– King Laius of Thebes married a distant cousin,
Jocasta.
– The prophecy revealed that he would die at the
hands of his son.
– The king bound his son’s feet when he was born
and had it exposed on a lonely mountain where it
must soon die.
– He was sure that on this point he could foretell the
future better than the god.
King Laius’s death
– The king was killed, but he thought the man who attacked
him was a stranger.
– He never knew that in his death he had proved Apollo’s
truth.
– It was reported that a band of robbers had slain him
together with his attendants, all except one, who brought
the news home.
The Sphinx
– The king’s death was not carefully investigated
because Thebes was in sore straits at the time.
– The country was beset by a frightful monster,
who put a riddle to the wayfarers and
devoured them if they could not answer.
– The seven great gates remained closed, and
famine drew near to the citizens.
The new king
– A stranger, a man of great courage and great intelligence,
Oedipus, left his home and his father, King Polybus of Corinth,
and determined to solved the riddle.
– He gave the right answer and the Sphinx killed herself.
– The Thebans were saved and Oedipus was made King.
– He married the dead King’s wife, Jocasta.
Oedipus’s self-exile
– The reason he left Corinth was because of Delphi’s
oracle.
– Apollo declared that he was fated to kill his father.
– He thought he could avoid the oracle to come
true.
– He resolved never to see Polybus again.
A terrible plague
– When Oedipus and Jocasta’s two sons had
grown to manhood, Thebes was visited by a
terrible plague.
– Those who survived the disease faced
death by famine.
– Oedipus sent Creon, Jocasta’s brother, to
Delphi to implore the god’s help.
The murder of King Laius
– Apollo had declared that the plague would be stayed
upon one condition: whoever had murdered King Laius
must be punished.
– Oedipus sent for Teiresias to ask him who the guilty were.
– The seer at first refused to answer, but when Oedipus
accused him of taking part in the murder, the prophet
speak:
– “You are yourself the murderer you seek.”
The investigation
– Jocasta treated Teiresias’s assertion with scorn.
– She told Oedipus about the oracle of Laius, which she believed
the child had been killed and Laius was murdered by robbers.
– Oedipus wanted to see Laius’s man who escaped the robbers.
– A messenger from Corinth arrived to announce King Polybus’s
death.
– Again, she showed her contempt towards the god’s oracle.
Oedipus’s origin
– The messenger revealed the truth that Oedipus was not King
Polybus’s son.
– He gave the baby he took from Laius’s servant to King Polybus.
– Jocasta turned white and bade Oedipus to leave the matter.
– She then rushed into the palace.
– An old man who Oedipus sent for arrived, he too refused to
speak a first.
– As Oedipus threatened to punish him, he told Oedipus about
the prophecy and Laius’s order to have the baby killed.
The Revelation
– Oedipus at last understood.
– He had murdered his father and had married his
mother.
– He sought for his wife that was his mother, but she was
dead in her chamber.
– Jocasta killed herself and Oedipus, standing beside her,
put out his eyes.
– The black world of blindness was a refuge.
Discussion
– This form of self-punishment is an unusual choice:
– while we imagine he might choose to kill himself like his mother or the Sphinx
have, his choice to blind himself is a poignant statement on the human
condition.
– In putting out his eyes, Oedipus creates an actual, physical manifestation of
what he understands his condition as a human being to be—that we are often
blind to our true fate and, as a result, do not know the consequences of our
actions. Oedipus thus also acknowledges that fate guides our steps from birth
to death, brooding over us however or wherever we wander through life.
For next class:
– Read page 4-11 from the reading materials.