Editing Oedipus Rex (section)

{{short description|Classical Athenian tragedy by Sophocles}}
{{about|the play by Sophocles|other uses|Oedipus Rex (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox play
|name       = Oedipus Rex
|image      =File:Oedipus.jpg 
|image_size =
|caption    =[[Louis Bouwmeester]] as Oedipus in a Dutch production of ''Oedipus Rex'', {{circa|1896}} 
|writer     = [[Sophocles]]
|chorus     = Theban Elders
|characters = {{plainlist|
* [[Oedipus]]
* Priest
* [[Creon of Thebes|Creon]]
* [[Tiresias]]
* [[Jocasta]]
* Messenger
* Shepherd
* Second Messenger}}
|mute       = Daughters of [[Oedipus]] ([[Antigone]] and [[Ismene]])
|setting    = [[Thebes, Greece|Thebes]]
|premiere   = {{circa|429 BC}}
|place      = [[Theatre of Dionysus]], [[Classical Athens|Athens]]
|orig_lang  = [[Classical Greek]]
|genre      = [[Tragedy]]
|series     = [[Sophocles#Theban plays|Theban Plays]]
|image_upright=1}}

'''''Oedipus Rex''''', also known by its Greek title, '''''Oedipus Tyrannus''''' ({{langx|grc|Οἰδίπους Τύραννος}}, {{IPA|el|oidípuːs týrannos|pron}}), or '''''Oedipus the King''''', is an [[Classical Athens|Athenian]] [[tragedy]] by [[Sophocles]]. While some scholars have argued that the play was first performed {{circa|429&nbsp;BC}}, this is highly uncertain.<ref> See Finglass, P. J. (2018) "Date of the First Performance, in ''Sophocles: Oedipus the King'' Cambridge. pp. 1–6. The prominence of the Theban [[Plague (disease)|plague]] at the play's opening suggests to some scholars a reference to the plague that devastated Athens in 430 BC, and hence a production date shortly thereafter. See, for example, {{cite journal|author-link=Bernard Knox|first=Bernard|last=Knox|title=The Date of the ''Oedipus Tyrannus'' of Sophocles|journal=[[American Journal of Philology]]|volume=77|issue=2|year=1956|pages=133–147|doi=10.2307/292475|jstor=292475 }}</ref> Originally, to the ancient Greeks, the title was simply ''Oedipus'' ({{lang|grc|Οἰδίπους}}), as it is referred to by [[Aristotle]] in the ''[[Poetics (Aristotle)|Poetics]]''.  It is thought to have been renamed ''Oedipus Tyrannus'' to distinguish it from ''[[Oedipus at Colonus]]'', a later play by Sophocles. In antiquity, the term "[[tyrant]]" referred to a ruler with no legitimate claim to rule, but it did not necessarily have a negative connotation.<ref>Bridgewater, William, ed. "tyrant". ''The Columbia Encyclopedia''. Columbia University Press. (1963) p. 2188</ref><ref>Lloyd-Jones, Hugh. Introduction and trans. ''Sophocles: Ajax, Electra, Oedipus Tyrannus''. By Sophocles. Loeb Classical Library ser. vol. 20. Harvard University Press. {{ISBN|978-0674995574}}.</ref><ref>Mulroy, David. trans. “Introduction”. Sophocles, ''Oedipus Rex''. Univ of Wisconsin Press, (2011) {{ISBN|9780299282530}}. p. xxviii</ref>

Of Sophocles's three Theban plays that have survived, and that deal with the story of [[Oedipus]], ''Oedipus Rex'' was the second to be written, following ''[[Antigone (Sophocles play)|Antigone]]'' by about a dozen years. However, in terms of the chronology of events described by the plays, it comes first, followed by ''Oedipus at Colonus'' and then ''Antigone''.

Prior to the start of ''Oedipus Rex'', Oedipus has become the king of [[Thebes, Greece|Thebes]] while unwittingly fulfilling a [[prophecy]] that he would kill his father, [[Laius]] (the previous king), and marry his mother, [[Jocasta]] (whom Oedipus took as his queen after solving the [[Sphinx#Riddle of the Sphinx|riddle of the Sphinx]]). The action of Sophocles's play concerns Oedipus's search for the murderer of Laius in order to end a plague ravaging Thebes, unaware that the killer he is looking for is none other than himself. At the end of the play, after the truth finally comes to light, Jocasta [[Suicide by hanging|hangs herself]] while Oedipus, horrified at his [[patricide]] and [[incest]], proceeds to gouge out his own eyes in despair.

In his ''Poetics'', Aristotle refers several times to the play in order to exemplify aspects of the [[genre]].<ref>''Aristotle: Poetics''. Edited and translated by St. Halliwell, (Loeb Classical Library), Harvard 1995</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Elizabeth|last=Belfiore|title=Tragic Pleasures: Aristotle on Plot and Emotion|url=https://archive.org/details/tragicpleasuresa0000belf|url-access=registration|location=Princeton|year=1992|page=[https://archive.org/details/tragicpleasuresa0000belf/page/176 176]|isbn=9780691068992}}</ref>