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<p style="text-align: center"><strong>Oedipus the King</strong></p>
Considered one of the great tragedians of ancient Greece, Sophocles (496-406 B.C.E.) produced his most famed and influential play, ‘Oedipus the King.’  Introduced to Greek drama around 430 B.C., ‘Oedipus the King’ became Sophocles’ greatest achievement, creating a new style of tragedy to theatrical performances, setting the stage for psychological theories, and providing an illustrious description of Athenian society for us today.   <!--more-->“Aristotle cites it as the most brilliant example of theatrical plot, the model for all to follow…” (qtd in Knox 28).  As the second of Sophocles’ three Theban plays, it set the groundwork for dramatic action between the individual and fate.  Throughout history, theatrical performances have developed in various forms; and without Sophocles’ influence in dramatic tragedy, these forms may not exist today.  ‘Oedipus the King’ brought about entertainment and a true tragic hero to the Greek audience with its skillful construction, thus it should be saved for future generations to understand how theatre developed into how it is presented today.

Our tragedy begins when the citizens of Thebes come to their beloved ruler with cries of help to relieve them of a deadly plague. Oedipus is then informed by the Delphic oracle that the murderer of King Laius must first be punished for the city to be cured.  Oedipus, quickly blaming others, investigates and sets a curse on the murderer, unknowingly cursing himself (Brockett 71).  We soon discover that before Oedipus became king, he had solved the Sphynx’s riddle, thus rescuing the city of Thebes and rewarded the widowed queen, Jocasta.  He had come to meet the Sphynx on his journey away from home, to prevent the prophecy of killing his father and marrying his mother.  The plot thickens when we learn that Oedipus was not born of the parents he had believed to be from and that his actual parents, the king and the queen of Thebes, also tried to escape their fate by abandoning their son.  From “obsessive reconstruction of his own hidden past,” Oedipus learns that he did indeed kill his father on his journey to Thebes, unfortunately fulfilling the prophecy, and blinding himself for self-punishment (Sophocles).  The tragedy builds emotion and empathy of the character as it draws the audience, scene-by-scene, to the hidden past and the ultimate truth.

“Oedipus the King” is uniquely structured around the characters where we find Oedipus as a tragic hero.  As the play progresses, the audience, as well as Oedipus, travel back in time and learn that it was he who killed his father, King Laius, and married his mother, becoming both brother and father to his children.  Sophocles organizes his play by developing the themes of: “uncertainty of human destiny” and “the limited ability of human beings to control their fate” (Brockett 74).  Oedipus becomes this tragic hero, because although he is seemingly tied down to his unfortunate destiny, his character is completely free through his actions of arriving upon his own doom.  At the beginning of the play, he calls for the punishment and dishonor of the murderer, and the play finishes off with him fulfilling the prophecy and the promise to the city by sticking needles in his eyes.  “In him, Sophocles achieved one of the enduring definitions of the tragic hero—that of a man for whom the liberation of the self is a necessity” (Tragedy).  Oedipus finds greater intent for the safety of his people, despite his unintentional sin.  The unique formality of the play introduces to the theatre world a creative style enveloping the character instead of the plot thus proving to have been beneficial to the production of theatre today and for the future.

Countless stories have been passed down through generations and generations, generally by word of mouth.  Theatre as a means of presenting oneself to an audience, however, dates back, in the Western world, in ancient Greece.  During this period, Greek drama was developed to address the relationship between the individual, the community, and the gods (Fiero).  The performances of the plays that consisted of tragedies and comedies occurred during the festivals of Dionysus, god of fertility and wine.  Among the greatest playwrights of ancient Greece and history, Sophocles performed and competed at these festivals and made his name with the production of “Oedipus the King”.  Also, during this time, like most of history, men had a strong hold in the society where women and slaves had virtually no voice (Brockett 61).  Usually, young boys would play the woman’s role in the play.  In the festivals, there were generally only three actors who spoke, therefore the same actor may have played several roles for a play (67).  Social discrimination has been evident throughout history, limiting many forms of art and expression.  It is interesting to see how much has changed since then and how much hasn’t.  Finally, being affected by the war, a deadly plague continuously struck the city of Athens, causing the Athenians to look to the gods (Knox).  “Oedipus the King” illustrates the similarities of the Athenian people so the audience can empathize with the characters in the play.

“Oedipus the King” was a play typical of its era by presenting dramatic action in the form of tragedy.  During this time, the Athenians worshipped many gods and even built theatres surrounding an altar.  Much of Greek tragedy “emphasized the attempts of human characters to control their own destinies” (Brockett).  Oedipus, along with Jocasta and the king, attempted to escape the will of the gods which ultimately lead to their doom.  Also, during this period, choruses were used during performances to comment and summarize the events of the play to the audience.  Sophocles uses this to structurally divide his scenes that were performed by three male actors.  By producing a strong-willed character, Sophocles creates a tragic hero with the downfall of Oedipus, one of the many tragic heroes created during the beginning of Greek drama.

Because of Sophocles’ unusual and innovative style that stood out from the other great tragedian playwrights of his time, “Oedipus the King” is still considered one of the greatest tragedies today.  Sophocles lengthens the resolution scene of the play focusing on how Oedipus deals with the knowledge of the truth (Brockett 73).  Instead of concentrating on the actions that Oedipus takes to find the truth, Sophocles “modified the ceremonial formality of earlier Greek tragedies by individualizing the characters and introducing moments of great psychological intimacy” (Fiero).  The audience thus becomes involved with the questions to follow up Oedipus’ discovery of the truth, drawing in more attention to psychological and moral attributes rather than physicality.

During the period of ancient Greek theatre, plays were presented to the whole community, aside from women and slaves, for entertainment and ritualistic purposes.  Sophocles brought reality to the stage in his production of “Oedipus the King,” so that the Athenians were able to view themselves on a contemporary perspective (Knox 30).  Not only was the plague at the beginning of the play relevant to the time period in Athens, but also the characterization of Oedipus himself.  According to Knox, Oedipus portrays many similar Athenian qualities that Sophocles displays on stage.  Oedipus is characterized to be swift in taking action, prideful of intelligence, and dedicated to his city, all known qualities of the Athenians announced by Pericles and the Corinthians (30).  With the performances as a ritualistic offering to the gods, they also were “expressions of civic pride—indications of the cultural superiority of Athens over the other Greek states” (Brockett 62).  Athen’s pride is evident in Greek theatre and Sophocles presented it to his audience.  Knox, in his review of the play, comments, “Oedipus the King is a dramatic embodiment of the creative vigor and intellectual daring of the fifth-century Athenian spirit” (qtd in Knox 30). As the festivals of Dionysus increasingly became more popular with the community, Sophocles was acclaimed for his play “Oedipus the King” that is still acknowledged today.

Today, “Oedipus the King” still brings in an audience for stage performances, but more importantly, analysis of the play itself and its correspondence to the human mind brings interest to psychologists and theorists around the world.  The riddle of the Sphynx introduced the idea of the “Life Cycle” we use today.  When Oedipus solves the riddle: “What has one voice, four-footed, two-footed, and three-footed?” –we learn that it is in fact “Man”.  This riddle alludes to the human as primarily and infant (four-footed), then an adult (two-footed), and ultimately a man of old age (three-footed).  “It describes inevitable physiological changes that are readily observable in humans as in all living things, but it also suggests that one ought to move through life in a certain prescribed manner” (qtd. in Weismantel 1283).

In the 20<sup>th</sup> century, Sigmund Freud demonstrates his own analysis of “Oedipus the King” in his <em>Interpretation of Dreams:</em> “It is the fate of all of us, perhaps, to direct our first sexual impulse towards our mother and our first hatred and… murderous wish against our father” (qtd. in Knox 28).  This theory is well known today as the <em>Oedipus Cycle</em>.  “As Freud does, this consideration of the tragedy of Oedipus takes as its point of departure the inevitability of the confrontation between father and son,” explains Datan.  The contemporary fears that we hold today contrast with how the ancient Greeks viewed drama.  We still hold the play as entertainment and tragedy like the ancient Greeks did, but we do not hold a ritualistic belief in presenting it towards the gods.  Yet, we have contemporarily deciphered the work of Sophocles as a base of psychoanalytic theory –“our deep fear that every step we take forward on what we think is the road of progress may really be a step toward a foreordained rendezvous with disaster” (qtd. in Knox 28).

Following the death of Oedipus, Sophocles writes two more plays: “Oedipus at Colonus” and “Antigone”.  Antigone is Oedipus’ daughter who faces several conflicts in the play that makes her a tragic hero, similar to her father in “Oedipus the King”.  Antigone pleads to her uncle, Creon, and the laws of the state, for the proper burial of her brother, Polynices.  Because Antigone persists and follows through with her familial duties, we acknowledge her pride-- an Athenian quality mentioned earlier that was also used in “Oedipus the King”.  Sophocles still emphasizes the will of the gods as Antigone is conflicted with human and divine law.  “Her heroism derives from her unswerving dedication to the ideals of divine justice and to the duty of the individual to honor family, even if it challenges the laws of the state” (qtd. in Fiero).  And finally, just like “Oedipus the King,” Sophocles provides the audience with a visual of themselves on stage presented in tragic events.  Similar to the plague hitting Athens and destroying Thebes, Sophocles illustrated the tragedy of the expectations of women in society.  However, “Antigone threatened the status quo,” giving the story a twist (Fiero).

Despite the many similarities between two of the Sophocles’ greatest plays, “Antigone” and “Oedipus the King”, we find many differences suggesting the unique creativity and intentions the playwright had for his audience.  Antigone deals with more conflicts that relate “human passions, the will of the gods, and the sovereignty of the polis” (Fiero).  Sophocles creates a different tragedy with a different theme, yet still relating to the community.  He reflects on the public good and private conscience that ultimately leads to making decisions.  Antigone, considered by society as weak because she is a woman, creates a deeper, unique character that questions the capability and strength of women.  Unlike Oedipus, she chooses her personal obligations rather than the public or the state.

I believe that the “Oedipus the King” has successfully provided its audience throughout the ages the entertainment and a true tragic hero by being determined to search for the truth.  He becomes both detective and criminal and accepts the punishment he had made unknowingly for himself.  The structure of the tragic events has captivated audiences and playwrights throughout the day that will benefit not only to future generations, but to the developing people who search to define morality and truth.  The advancement of theatre today would not have developed without the ancient Greeks.  I believe that “Oedipus the King” is a great piece of art, theatre, and history that has made its name for a reason and should be saved for the future.
<p style="text-align: center"><strong>Works Cited</strong></p>
Brocket, Oscar G. and Robert J. Ball.  “The Essential Theatre.”  10<sup>th</sup> ed.  Boston: Cengage Learning, 2011.  Print.
I used this book for historical context and how the work was unusual for its time.

Datan, N.  “The Oedipus Cycle: developmental mythology, Greek tragedy, and the sociology of knowledge.”  International Journal Of Aging &amp; Human Development 27.1  (1988):  1-10.  MEDLINE.  EBSCO.  Web.  14 Feb 2011.  <a href="http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&amp;db=cmedm&amp;AN=3254354&amp;site=ehost-live">http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&amp;db=cmedm&amp;AN=3254354&amp;site=ehost-live</a>.
I used this article to introduce the Oedipus Cycle that is considered in Psychological aspects today.

Fiero, Gloria. “The Gods of Mesopotamia.” The Humanistic Tradition, book 1.  6th ed. McGraw-Hill, 2011.  Print.
I used this book to describe the historical context of ancient Greece and my comparison of Antigone and Oedipus the King.

Knox, Bernard. "THE FREEDOM OF OEDIPUS." New Republic 187.9 (1982): 28. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web. 21 Feb. 2011.
I used this article to help me explain how people think about Sophocles’s tragedy today.

"Sophocles." <em> Encyclopædia Britannica Online</em>. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 17 Feb. 2011. <a href="http://www.britannica.com.lsproxy.austincc.edu/EBchecked/topic/554733/Sophocles">http://www.britannica.com.lsproxy.austincc.edu/EBchecked/topic/554733/Sophocles</a>.
This website helped me summarize and describe the story of Oedipus the King.

"Tragedy." <em> Encyclopædia Britannica Online</em>. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 17 Feb. 2011. <a href="http://www.britannica.com.lsproxy.austincc.edu/EBchecked/topic/601884/tragedy">http://www.britannica.com.lsproxy.austincc.edu/EBchecked/topic/601884/tragedy</a>.
This website was used to describe Sophocles, the author of the work, and to discuss how Oedipus the King was typical, yet atypical of its time.

Weismantel, Mary J. "Life Cycle: Overview." New Dictionary of the History of Ideas. Ed.  Maryanne Cline Horowitz. Vol. 3. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2005. 1283-1284. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 21 Feb. 2011.
I used this article to help me explain how people today use the story in psychological terms relating it to the mind.