Sophocles' play "Oedipus Rex"

E110389

Sophocles' play "Oedipus Rex" is a seminal ancient Greek tragedy that dramatizes King Oedipus’s doomed quest to uncover the truth about his own identity and the source of a plague afflicting Thebes.

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Statements (51)

Predicate Object
instanceOf ancient Greek tragedy
play
theatrical work
alternativeTitle Oedipus
surface form: Oedipus Tyrannus

Oedipus
surface form: Oedipus the King
approximateDateOfComposition 5th century BCE
author Sophocles
centralConflict Oedipus’s investigation into the murder of Laius
citedBy Poetics
surface form: Poetics by Aristotle
containsMythologicalFigure Apollo
Oracle of Apollo
surface form: Delphic Oracle
countryOfOrigin Greek Antiquity
surface form: Ancient Greece
dramaticStructure episodes
exodos
parodos
prologue
stasima
ending Oedipus goes into exile from Thebes
genre tragedy
keyEvent A messenger from Corinth reports the death of Polybus
A shepherd reveals that Oedipus is the child of Laius and Jocasta
Jocasta hangs herself
Oedipus blinds himself
Oedipus curses the unknown murderer of Laius
Tiresias reveals that Oedipus is the murderer he seeks
literaryPeriod Classical Greek literature
literarySignificance considered one of the greatest works of ancient Greek drama
locationOfFirstPerformance Athens
mainCharacter Chorus of Theban Elders
Creon
Jocasta
Oedipus
Tiresias
motif investigation
plague
prophecy
self-discovery
originalLanguage Ancient Greek
partOf Theban cycle
surface form: Theban plays
performanceContext City Dionysia
surface form: City Dionysia festival in Athens
philosophicalInfluence influenced Aristotle’s theory of tragedy
plotSummary King Oedipus seeks the cause of a plague in Thebes and discovers he has unknowingly killed his father and married his mother.
precedes Antigone
Oedipus at Colonus
setting Thebes
theme fate versus free will
guilt and innocence
knowledge and ignorance
power and kingship
search for identity
sight and blindness

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Referenced by (11)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Oedipus appearsIn Sophocles' play "Oedipus Rex"
Sophocles notableWork Sophocles' play "Oedipus Rex"
this entity surface form: Oedipus Rex
Igor Stravinsky notableWork Sophocles' play "Oedipus Rex"
this entity surface form: Oedipus Rex
Teatro Olimpico firstPerformance Sophocles' play "Oedipus Rex"
this entity surface form: Oedipus Rex
Polybus appearsIn Sophocles' play "Oedipus Rex"
this entity surface form: Sophocles' tragedy "Oedipus Rex"
Oedipus complex namedAfterCharacterFrom Sophocles' play "Oedipus Rex"
this entity surface form: Sophocles' tragedy "Oedipus Rex"
Sphinx literaryAppearance Sophocles' play "Oedipus Rex"
this entity surface form: Sophocles' tragedy Oedipus Rex
Laius appearsIn Sophocles' play "Oedipus Rex"
this entity surface form: Sophocles' Oedipus Rex
Tiresias appearsInWork Sophocles' play "Oedipus Rex"
this entity surface form: Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex
Mount Cithaeron appearsInWork Sophocles' play "Oedipus Rex"
this entity surface form: Sophocles' Oedipus Rex
Kithairon mentionedIn Sophocles' play "Oedipus Rex"
this entity surface form: Sophocles' Oedipus Rex