King Oedipus The King

King Oedipus is a Greek tragedy written by Socrates in the Fifth Century BC. It is based on the myth of Oedipus, which was well known among the intended audience. The most notable aspect of the play is Oedipus’s reversal of fate. He begins the play as a king who has won the throne through an act of heroism, and considered the highest among men due to his superior intellect.
King Oedipus opens with the people asking for him to deal with the pollution that has covered the city. This pollution has caused crops to die, women to give birth to stillborn children, and a plague. King Oedipus reassures the citizens with the news that he is aware of the pollution and that he has sent his brother-in-law, Creon, to ask the oracle how to remove it. Just as Oedipus says this, Creon appears and tells Oedipus and the citizens the oracle’s words. He says that the people who murdered the previous ruler, King Laios, have been living in and polluting the city. If the pollution is to end, the

Afterwards, Teiresias, a blind prophet of Apollo, appears. Although at first unwilling, he tells the king that Oedipus himself killed Laois. This accusation outrages Oedipus. He refuses to believe Teiresias, and mocks the prophet for being blind and unable to see the truth. Conversely, Oedipus claims that he is able to see, both literally and figuratively, because he was the only one able to solve the sphinx’s riddle. In response, Teiresias cryptically foretells Oedipus’s future as a blind man who sees the truth. Oedipus takes the prophet’s words as nonsense, and sends him away. The first stasimon follows and tells about the chorus’s apprehension about the future. They cannot tell who the murderer is, but are unwilling to believe it is Oedipus until there is