Introduction Notes—
Oedipus Rex
Are based on widely known myths or famous
historical events, so the audience would know
the characters and outline of the story they
were about to see.
Sophocles’ Athenian audience would already
know that the story of Oedipus Rex came from
the cycle of myths about the city of Thebes,
one of Athens’ rivals in the 5th century.
Heroes were mortals,
such as Helen of Troy or
Achilles, who were
worshipped as
demigods after their
deaths.
Murder and incest
violate natural law as
well as human law, so
these crimes were seen
as offensive to the
gods.
• The Greeks believed that, when a murder was
committed, the murderer, the place of the crime,
and any place that harbored the killer were
polluted, that is, outside the favor of the gods.
• A proper ritual cleansing (catharsis) was
necessary to restore both person and place to
an acceptable state.
Apollo’s oracle at
Delphi is the most
important place of
prophecy in the Greek
world
The Oedipus story is set
in c. 420 BC, a few
generations before the
Trojan War, which the
ancient Greeks placed
in 1184 BC.
Must be a character of
noble stature and
greatness. This should
be readily evident in
the play. The character
must occupy a "high"
status position but must
ALSO embody nobility
and virtue as part of
his/her innate character.
• Though the tragic hero is
pre-eminently great,
he/she is not perfect.
Otherwise, the rest of us-mere mortals--would be
unable to identify with the
tragic hero.
• We should see in him or
her someone who is
essentially like us,
although perhaps
elevated to a higher
position in society.
• The hero's downfall, therefore, is partially her/his own
fault, the result of free choice, not of accident or
villainy or some overriding, malignant fate. In fact, the
tragedy is usually triggered by some error of
judgment or some character flaw that contributes to
the hero's lack of perfection noted above.
• This error of judgment or character flaw is known as
hamartia and is usually translated as "tragic flaw".
Often the character's hamartia involves hubris (which
is defined as a sort of arrogant pride or overconfidence).
• The hero's misfortune is
not wholly deserved.
The punishment
exceeds the crime.
• The fall is not pure
loss. There is some
increase in awareness,
some gain in selfknowledge, some
discovery on the part
of the tragic hero..
• Though it arouses solemn emotion, tragedy does
not leave its audience in a state of depression.
• It might be worth noting here that Greek drama
was not considered "entertainment," pure and
simple; it had a communal function--to
contribute to the good health of the community.
This is why dramatic performances were a part
of religious festivals and community
celebrations.
• Aristotle argues that one
function of tragedy is to
arouse the "unhealthy"
emotions of pity and
fear and through a
catharsis (which comes
from watching the tragic
hero's terrible fate)
cleanse us of those
emotions.
• Demanding that the world “answer to me” instead of the
other way around leads to a systematic destruction.
• Living life only on your own terms is going to come to a
self-destructive end.
• This “Freedom of Expression” is essentially defying the
gods and will punish the hero.
• A message from Oedipus:
“Life is mysterious and cruel. You may think you can live
your life however you want, but fate is much more
powerful, complex, and hostile. Fate punishes arbitrarily
and mercilessly those who choose to confront the mystery
of it.”