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 Tyrannus
linked to: Oedipus

Oedipus the King
linked to: Oedipus
approximateDateOfComposition 5th century BCE
author Sophocles
centralConflict Oedipus’s investigation into the murder of Laius
citedBy Poetics by Aristotle
linked to: Poetics
containsMythologicalFigure Apollo
Delphic Oracle
linked to: Oracle of Apollo
countryOfOrigin Ancient Greece
linked to: Greek Antiquity
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 plays
linked to: Theban cycle
performanceContext City Dionysia festival in Athens
linked to: City Dionysia
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

How these facts were elicited

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