Oedipus Rex

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Oedipus Rex

• By Sophocles

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OedipusSwollen foot

• Son of Laius and Jocasta- King and Queen of
  Thebes/ Adopted son of Polybus and Merope- King
  and Queen of Corinth
• Inadvertently fulfills his curse- Killed Laius
  and married Jocasta
• Saved Thebes from the Sphinx when he solved the
  riddle
• Is the unknowing cause of the new plague in Thebes

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Jocasta

• Wife of Laius and mother of Oedipus/ later wife
  of Oedipus
• She is Creons sister
• She believed that she and Laius had escaped the
  curse when they threw away their baby (Oedipus)
• She solves the riddle of Oedipus identity before
  he does

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Children of Oedipus and Jocasta

• Antigone- daughter
• Ismene- daughter
• Etocles- son
• Polynices- son

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Creon

• Brother to Jocasta and uncle/brother in law to
  Oedipus
• He went to the oracle to find out the cause of
  the plague
• He recommends Teiresias to Oedipus
• He takes the throne at the end of the play

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Teiresias

• Blind soothsayer (prophet) of Thebes
• His blindness is key to the theme of Greek
  Literature
• He knows who Oedipus is and tells him only to be
  rejected

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Chorus

• Reacts to events on stage
• Acts needed roles in the play (people of Thebes,
  someone for Oedipus to talk to, etc)
• Broken into Strophe and Antistrophe

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Other Characters

• Herdsman- ordered by Laius and Jocasta to take
  the baby and leave him to die on Mt. Cithaeron

• Shepherd- got Oedipus from the Herdsman and gave
  him to Polybus and Merope