Oedipus pledges allegiance to neither of his feuding sons, contrasting them with his devoted daughters, and throws himself on the mercy and protection of the people of Colonus, who have treated him well thus far. According to an oracle, though, the outcome of this conflict depends on where Oedipus himself is buried, and it is further rumoured that his scheming brother-in-law Creon is planning to have him killed and buried at the border of Thebes without proper burial rites, so that neither son can claim the power of the oracle’s prediction. Oedipus’ other daughter Ismene arrives, bringing the news that his younger son Eteocles has seized the throne of Thebes and his elder son Polynices is raising a force (the “Seven Against Thebes” of Aeschylus’ play) to attack the city and reclaim control. Furthermore, he even claims to be there on a sacred mission, bearing a great gift for the people and asks to see Theseus, king of Athens.
Oedipus argues that he killed his father in self-defence and is not morally responsible for his crimes. The Chorus of old men of Colonus are horrified to learn that he is the son of Laius, of whom they have heard, and desperately try to expel him from their town, fearing that he will curse it. Oedipus takes this as auspicious, because Apollo’s original prophecy, in addition to predicting that he would kill his father and marry his mother, also revealed that he would die at a place sacred to the Furies and that he would be a blessing for the land in which he is buried. The blind Oedipus, exiled from his native Thebes and reduced to a life of wandering led by his daughter Antigone, arrives at the town of Colonus, where he is at first told to move on because the ground there is sacred to the Erinyes or Furies (also known as the Eumenides).
It describes the end of the blinded Oedipus‘ tragic life at the town of Colonus near Athens.ĭramatis Personae – Characters OEDIPUS, banished King of ThebesĬREON, brother of Jocasta, now reigning at Thebes It is Sophocles’ last surviving play, written shortly before his death in 406 BCE, and the last written of his three Theban plays (the other two being “Oedipus the King” and “Antigone”: in the timeline of the Theban plays, however, the events of “Oedipus at Colonus” occur after “Oedipus the King” and before “Antigone”). “Oedipus at Colonus” (Gr: “Oidipous epi Kolono” or “Oedipus epi Kotonoi” Lat: “Oedipus Coloneus”) is a tragedy by the ancient Greek playwright Sophocles. Introduction | Synopsis | Analysis | Resources Introduction Miser Catulle, desinas ineptire (Catullus 8).Vivamus, mea Lesbia, atque amemus (Catullus 5).Passer, deliciae meae puellae (Catullus 2).
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