century b.c. The Oedipus Cycle is one of his most famous works; the trilogy of plays traces the ill-fated life of a noble blooded man and his descendants. Oedipus at Colonus is the second play of the set. Oedipus at Colonus is set many years after Oedipus the King, and Oedipus has changed his perspective on his exile from Thebes. He has decided that he was not responsible for his fate and that his sons should have prevented his exile. His view has changed from the previous play when Oedipus proudly claimed

Hope in Oedipus at Colonus The Greek tragedy Oedipus at Colonus was written by the renowned Greek playwright Sophocles at around 404 B.C.. In the play, considered to be one of the best Greek dramas ever written, Sophocles uses the now broken down and old Oedipus as a statement of hope for man. As Oedipus was royalty and honor before his exile from his kingdom of Thebes he is brought down to a poor, blind old man who wonders, “Who will receive the wandering Oedipus today?” (Sophocles 283) most

The tragedy Oedipus at Colonus, the second play in a trilogy, written in the 5th century B.C. by Sophocles, is set in ancient Greece, in a grove just outside of Athens, called Colonus. The main theme of the play is blindness to the truth, which is demonstrated in many manners. Oedipus is physically blind, but he also uses destiny as a blinder. He believes that the things that he has done and the misfortunes that have come from his actions, specifically killing his father and marrying and having children

The Dichotomy of Sight in Oedipus at Colonus A simple process formed the backbone of most Greek philosophy.  The ancients thought that by combining two equally valid but opposite ideas, the thesis and the antithesis, a new, higher truth could be achieved.  That truth is called the synthesis.  This tactic of integrating two seemingly opposite halves into a greater whole was a tremendous advance in human logic.  This practice is illustrated throughout Oedipus at Colonus in regard to Sophocles’ portrayal

Revenge in Oedipus at Colonus A prevailing concept throughout Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus is that of revenge.  Oedipus is given the opportunity to avenge many of the wrongs he has accumulated in his lifetime, and he takes the opportunity. Oedipus suffered through the latter portion of his life.  Although the gods should be credited with the majority of his pain, he was wronged by mere mortals during his life.  Did he have the right to seek revenge in general?  Yes, he did.  There is more to

and it is focused on an empowered female protagonist who does what she believes is right. However, when contrasted with Oedipus Rex and Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone features a very different depiction of women. In the first play, Antigone and Ismene never speak, and Jocasta, the only other female main character, speaks much less than the male characters. In Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone is present in nearly the entire play, but she is treated as a prop, functioning basically as Oedipus’s seeing-eye

After banishment from his own city Oedipus experiences the joy of having a relationship his child. Yet, Oedipus at Colonus shows the conflict between father, Oedipus, and son, Polynices. At the start of Oedipus at Colonus, we see Oedipus as an exiled man who has suffered through a lot. He was banished from his city, Thebes, and was wronged by his family and this leaves Oedipus a passive man who knows that he is going to die. Oedipus acknowledges this fact to Theseus when he says “I have suffered

Contrasting Portrayals of Fate in Oedipus at Colonus and Oedipus the King Oedipus’s tale of patricide and incest is fixed in the public consciousness, having been immortalized in the present era by Freud’s concept of the Oedipus Complex. Before Freud, however, much of the fame of Oedipus was due to a series of plays by the great Greek tragedian Sophocles. Instead of capturing the public’s attention with a salacious psychoanalytical concept, Sophocles enthralled theater audiences with the story of

Theban Plays. Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus, the unfortunate namesake of the complex (supposedly issuing from the repression of urges that he so infamously, if unwittingly, acted out). Oedipus transgressed some of the most universal taboos; he committed patricide and committed incest by sleeping with his own mother. Antigone is the product of that “unholy” union. Just before the action of Antigone, in Oedipus at Colonus, after the death of Oedipus, a conflict had broken out between his sons

Oedipus at Colonus In the short story Oedipus at Colonus by Sophocles, we see our once valiant and heroic antagonist Oedipus reverse his entire character. In the end of Oedipus the King and the beginning of this story, we learn that Oedipus has been reduced to a lowly, blind peasant who has been exiled from Thebes and lives his life wandering the grounds of Greece. As he came to the city of Colonus, he ended his journey and realized he was meant to find his death there. Accompanied by his daughters