The Oedipus Cycle: Oedipus Rex/Oedipus at Colonus/Antigone

by Sophocles

  246 morning hills Literally, “Lycian hills,” in southwestern Asia Minor, where Artemis was worshipped, with her brother Apollo, as a fire deity. Sophocles puns on the similarity between Lycean and Lycian to stress the light-bringing character of the sibling gods.

  250 Bakkhos An alternate name for Dionysos, the god of wine and other forms of intoxication and ecstasy. He was a native Theban, the son of Zeus and Semele, Kadmos’ daughter.

  251 maenads Literally, “madwomen.” Revelers loyal to Dionysos.

  263 I’m a stranger According to Athenian law, a blood relative of a slain person should act to interdict the murderer. Unknowingly, Oedipus is in fact such a relative, though here he acts as a representative of the state speaking for the next of kin, who is presumed to be absent.

  265 mesh some clue The word translated as “clue” is symbolon, a fragment of some larger object, typically a potsherd. When matched to fit its other half, it established the identity of a messenger or long-lost parent or relative.

  268 come late Oedipus arrived in Thebes after the report of Laios’ death had reached the city.

  273 Labdakos An earlier king of Thebes.

  286–289 roof . . . speak . . . pray . . . sacrifice . . . pour The prohibitions in Oedipus’ decree reveal the extreme aversion felt by a Greek of Sophocles’ time to any contact with a person whose hands had committed a defiling act. See Kolonos, note to 1029.

  316–317 Laios / had no luck . . . children An example of words whose second meaning will be grasped when the true facts of Oedipus’ life are known. Oedipus means to say that Laios was childless, but the words also suggest that any child Laios fathered was the source of his ill fortune.

  318 came down on his head This idiom through which Oedipus explains Laios’ death is uncannily appropriate to the way in which Laios actually died: from a blow to the head, struck by Oedipus himself.

  324 all our kings My gloss added to explain Oedipus’ list.

  335 None of us is the killer The blunt denial is understandable, because Oedipus has addressed the Chorus as if it potentially harbored Laios’ killer.

  343 Tiresias The blind Theban prophet, who figures in many of the most famous myths of his native city. His association with the god Apollo, and his access to the god’s knowledge, are crucial here, because Apollo is the source of the oracles that predicted Oedipus’ incest and patricide.

  348 Kreon’s urging An important point. Later, when Tiresias accuses Oedipus of causing the pollution, Oedipus remembers that it was Kreon who advised consulting the seer. Kreon’s involvement thus lends plausibility to Oedipus’ countercharges.

  352 travelers The Leader substitutes a word that is nearer the truth than Kreon’s “bandits.” Oedipus does not react to the difference.

  354 who did it Here I accept an anonymous emendation cited by Burton in Jebb (1883, 50). The manuscripts literally say “the one who saw it no one sees.” But the emendation fits the context of the next three speeches, which concern not the eyewitness, but the killer, the one who did it.

  390–391 lawful . . . guidance Greek cities were morally, if not legally, entitled to benefit from the wisdom of an acknowledged prophet. Here, at first, Oedipus’ remonstrance is gentle. (See Jebb 1883, 54.)

  393–394 What you’ve said . . . happen to me Tiresias refers here most probably to the part of Oedipus’ speech that curses Laios’ murderer. Less probably, he might be referring to the plea with which Oedipus greets him. The manuscripts contain a possible variant of these lines, which Gould translates, “I see your understanding comes to you inopportunely. So that won’t happen to me . . .” (1970, 54). This variant makes sense in the larger context of Oedipus’ discovery of his true past. I have, however, translated the line to make the most sense in the immediate context.

  399 You know and won’t help? Tiresias’ scornful refusal to respond seems not only inexplicable to Oedipus but unacceptable. Tiresias must be made to tell what the city needs to know for its survival. Oedipus’ fury may be justified as necessary to force the truth from him.

  406 rage A cunning double meaning. Tiresias speaks of “rage” (orgei, a feminine noun in Greek) as something Oedipus “cohabits” or “dwells” with and of which he is ignorant. Oedipus thinks he is being accused of possessing a violent nature. But because this “rage” is also spoken of as a sexual partner, Tiresias’ words could mean as well that Oedipus is ignorant of the identity of his own wife. Sophocles has the Messenger describe the last frantic actions of Jokasta, after she knows Oedipus is her son, as orge, or raging (1406). The characterization of Oedipus’ whole family by rage is prominent in Aeschylus and even earlier writers.

  425–426 charge . . . flushed out The metaphor is from hunting and suggests, first, that the accusation is like an animal driven from its cover and, second, that Tiresias himself has become an animal fleeing Oedipus’ wrath.

  440–441 living . . . intimacy This phrase normally means “to live under the same roof,” but it also frequently means “to have sexual intercourse with.”

  442 nearest and most loving kin The most frequent reference of this phrase (philatoi) is to one’s blood kin; less often it refers to those whom one loves, regardless of blood relationship. Tiresias’ lines seem to Oedipus an astonishing insult because their true import, that his wife is his closest blood relative, is unthinkable. See introduction to Antigone, passim.

  451 You can’t harm me This phrase could also mean “I shall not harm you.” My translation is governed by acceptance of Brunck’s emendation in the next speech, as cited in Jebb (1883, 61).

  453 I’m not the one who will bring you down All but one of the manuscripts give, “It’s not my fate to be struck down by you.” If this version is sound, the rest of Tiresias’ speech makes little sense. If, however, Brunck’s emendation of a fourteenth-century manuscript is correct, as most modern editors believe, Apollo’s involvement in Oedipus’ downfall follows quite logically.

  455 Or was it Kreon? In seeking an explanation for what he sees as false and treasonous accusations by Tiresias, Oedipus connects Kreon’s recommendation to call in Tiresias with the fact that banishing Oedipus would leave Kreon in position to assume the throne. This sudden accusation against Kreon suggests not only Oedipus’ quick mind, but the suspiciousness and ruthless initiative required of a tyrannos (see note to 1006–1007). Gould has drawn a useful distinction between Tiresias and Oedipus under duress (1970, 60). While Oedipus sharpens his ability to make inferences, Tiresias can only clarify and elaborate on Oedipus’ guilt with an intuitive vision. The prophet is unreasonable but correct, Oedipus plausible but wrong.

  465 bogus beggar-priest The Greeks used the word magus to refer to what they considered an unreliable and corruptible breed of fortune-tellers from Persia.

  476 the know-nothing Oedipus himself stresses the difference between his ability to solve problems intellectually and Tiresias’ failure to solve them using the arts of prophecy. Oedipus smugly boasts of his “ignorance” but is in fact truly and desperately ignorant of the hidden facts that will ruin him.

  506 terror-stricken feet The phrase may mean that the curse pursuing Oedipus is itself “terrible footed.” But the sound of the word for “terrible footed,” deinopous, echoes Oedipus’ name (literally, “Swollenfoot”) so as to suggest that Oedipus’ scarred feet, which were pinned together when he was exposed at birth, are in some way terrible or terrified.

  511 Kithairon The mountain on which Oedipus, as an infant, was left to die.

  517 bring you down to what you are This sentence is obscure in Greek. Jebb suggests that it means Oedipus will be leveled, i.e., “equal” to his true self by being revealed as Laios’ son, and “equal” to his own children, all of whom have the same mother, Jokasta (1883, 67).

  520 warning spoken through my mouth This seeming circumlocution conveys the fact that Tiresias is not the source of his prophecies, but the transmitter of Apollo’s messages. The word stoma, or “mouth,” also means the message spoken by the mou
th.

  531 Who was my father? Literally, “the one who gave me birth.” The word is masculine, indicating that Oedipus asks who his male parent is.

  557 father’s seed and his seed Literally, “seed fellow to his father.” The word homosporos names one who impregnates the same woman as his father, but it also carries the suggestion of blood relationship to the father.

  571 Fates The Keres, who execute the will of Zeus and Apollo.

  574 Parnassos The mountain home of the Muses, visible from Thebes.

  582 Earth . . . mouth Literally, “from Earth’s mid-navel.” The navel was a white stone at Delphi, at the spot where oracles or “dooms” such as those mentioned here were spoken. The navel, or omphalos, was an avenue of communication to the wisdom of the earth. See note to 179.

  585 man who reads birds Tiresias.

  589–597 doubt . . . no proof The Chorus faces a hard choice. Either they must abandon their trust in divine oracles or they must accuse Oedipus of the death of Laios. They decide that before joining with Tiresias, they must have some proof (literally, a “touchstone,” basanos, which streaks black when rubbed with true gold) to remove their doubt. Because no metaphoric touchstone exists—no feud or crime that set the Korinthian royal house against the Theban House of Kadmos—they withhold their accusation.

  608–609 charges / proved against him Here again the word “touchstone” is used, this time as a verb.

  637 master’s murderer Oedipus’ language is perhaps purposely ambiguous. He proleptically accuses Kreon of murdering him, but the phrase could accuse Kreon of Laios’ murder.

  664 Laios? Kreon has not yet heard Tiresias’ charges, hence his surprise.

  671 hunt down the killer Oedipus may be hinting that the investigation of Laios’ murder was less than thorough.

  688 rationally Kreon’s pedantic reasonableness contrasts sharply with Oedipus’ impatient quickness. His laborious catalog of the disadvantages of kingship may be heartfelt, but its pompous rhetorical expression generates suspicion in Oedipus.

  696 To be king These protestations should be compared with Kreon’s later implicit acceptance of the kingship at 1730–1732.

  707 Nor would I join someone This oblique reference is probably to Tiresias. Kreon accepts the possibility that Tiresias is treasonous in his accusations; he clearly does not believe such accusations against Oedipus to be valid.

  732 your death Oedipus chooses the harsher penalty of the two, death or exile, that the Delphi oracle promised Kreon would cure Thebes at 113. But Oedipus may have in mind that execution was the normal punishment for treason.

  733 Then start by defining “betrayal” The text, in the judgment of many scholars, may be corrupt at this point. Editors have attempted to preserve continuous sense by reassigning the lines to other speakers and by positing a line to bridge the gap in logic after Gr. 625 (734). Gould, however, argues plausibly that Kreon’s proclivity for verbal analysis and Socratic love of general laws may explain his apparent non sequitur, which attempts to deflect Oedipus from violence into philosophical debate (1970, 84). I accept Gould’s defense of the manuscripts and translate the text as received.

  755 or to have me killed Kreon reverts to the choice of banishment or death proposed by the oracle he himself brought from Delphi. He also may have assumed Oedipus’ recent threat of death to be hyperbole.

  757 False prophecy Literally, “evil arts.” This implies that Kreon has employed Tiresias to make false charges disguised as prophecy to destroy Oedipus. Such treacherous use of prophecy was a part of fifth-century Greek political life.

  758 I ask the gods Kreon makes a formal declaration of innocence that invokes the gods; his innocence is instantly respected as valid by all but Oedipus.

  763–812 Give in . . . luck These lines are a kommos, a sung expression of grief or strong emotion in which the Leader joins one or more of the main characters. To judge by the root meaning of kommos (which is “beat”), this portion must have had a more strongly accented rhythm than the rest of the dialogue. Here the emotion might stem from the realization, by all present, of increasingly grave circumstances.

  775 No! We ask neither Though the Chorus reveres Oedipus for the success and prosperity of his kingship, it does not accept either of the harsh alternatives his quick mind suggests: Oedipus sees that if Kreon’s conspiracy is not stamped out, it will lead ultimately to his own destruction. The Chorus gropes for a less severe outcome and gradually refrains from identifying with Oedipus as the events of his life are revealed to them.

  776 the Sun The Sun frequently appears as the source of final appeal in tragedy, as it will later at 1617 when Kreon orders Oedipus out of its “life-giving flame.”

  782 let him go That Oedipus yields, however grudgingly, shows that his stubbornness and self-confidence are not immune to persuasion, nor is he insensitive to the wishes of those close to him.

  818 He says I murdered Laios Kreon did not say this, of course. Because Oedipus so passionately believes in the truth of his inference—that Kreon is responsible for Tiresias’ charges—he puts Tiresias’ words in Kreon’s mouth.

  827 I don’t say Apollo himself sent it This qualification both absolves Apollo from false prophecy and expresses skepticism concerning oracles, skepticism that must have been shared widely in a world where oracles were constantly put to dubious political use. The Chorus has the strongest commitment to the divine authority of oracles. Oedipus’ belief is conditioned by experience and changes with events.

  829–830 destined to die / at the hands of In Jokasta’s version, the oracle to Laios was unqualified and not meant as a punishment. Gould notes that by omitting the aspect of punishment present in earlier versions of the myth, Sophocles establishes the pure and unexplained malice of Apollo’s destruction of Oedipus.

  832 three roads meet This is the detail that disturbs Oedipus, and the one he reverts to as soon as Jokasta ends her speech. The actor playing Oedipus must make a gesture of recognition to account for Jokasta’s question at 846. Sophocles might have meant such a pointed reaction to explain why Oedipus was distracted from picking up another fact with direct bearing on his identity: Jokasta’s child’s feet had been “pierced and pinned” together, as Oedipus’ own had been, to produce the swollen scars that gave him his name. However, the weight to be given Oedipus’ crippled feet may not be as conclusive as some commentators think. If exposure of children was common, Oedipus might not be expected to connect himself instantly and absolutely with Laios’ son, even if he had heard Jokasta’s words.

  841–843 god wants . . . showing what he’s done Literally, “Of what things the god hunts the use, he reveals easily himself.” Allusions to hunting appear also at 267, 426, and 671. The words here conjure the image of god seizing his prey and then displaying it.

  846 What fear made you turn Jokasta could refer either to a movement by Oedipus at 844–845 or earlier, at 832.

  851–852 Phokis . . . Daulis Towns near Delphi.

  854 before you came to power For the sequence of events leading to Oedipus’ assumption of power in Thebes, see this play’s introduction.

  858 Was he a young man Oedipus poses as the first alternative the one he must hope is true: that Laios was not an older man of an age to be his father. In her response, Jokasta not only dashes this hope but suggests a physical resemblance between Laios and Oedipus.

  862 that savage curse Oedipus declared this interdiction against Laios’ murderer at 290–303.

  869 a herald The presence of a herald might have indicated to Oedipus that the party contained a prince or ruler.

  876 touched . . . begged A touch on the arm, like clasping a person’s knees, was a formal supplication, an appeal to piety in hope of achieving a favorable response.

  883 I’ve said too much What Oedipus means here is uncertain. Most likely, as Gould suggests, he regrets the curse pronounced against himself—the curse to which he has already referred at 862 (1970, 98).

  890 know the risks Literally
, “while I cross through this chance [tyche].”

  891–892 Polybos . . . Merope Are we to understand that Oedipus has never before named his parents or his origins to Jokasta? Although such extreme reticence is possible, it is much more likely that Sophocles uses here an epic convention whereby a hero begins a piece of consequential autobiography by formally naming his homeland and immediate ancestors.

  893–894 Chance . . . blow An excellent instance of Sophocles’ practice of having Oedipus label as chance or luck an event that, seen in retrospect, becomes part of the pattern of his ruin created by Apollo.

  904 the rumor still rankled; it hounded me The Greek word hupheppe could mean either that the rumor “crept abroad” or that “the memory recurred.” I have tried to translate the phrase so as to include both possibilities.

  905 with no word to my parents Had Oedipus informed his parents of the mission to Delphi, they presumably would have intervened. By seeking assurance of his birth beyond his parents’ word, Oedipus placed himself in the hands of the god Apollo. It was both a conventional and a rational act, because Delphi could serve as a locator of lost kin, and because Oedipus had no reason to suspect the god held any enmity toward him.

  907 god would not honor me What was the question Oedipus put to the Pythoness? “Who are my true parents?” or “Is Polybos my true father?” For the oracle not to answer such a question seems to Oedipus a violation of the normal treatment a pilgrim could expect from the god (literally, “Phoibos,” or Apollo) at Delphi.

  909–910 his words flashed . . . horrible, wretched things The phrase is so vivid some scholars have questioned its authenticity. It does fit both Oedipus’ present mental condition, in which he sees himself as a target for strange malice, and the verbs of leaping and striking that Sophocles uses for actions attributable to Apollo. The oracle given Oedipus is not an answer to his question, but an attack on Oedipus—not a clarification, but a condemnation that impacts Oedipus with a shock or flash. His reaction, to flee Korinth and his parents, is entirely comprehensible and in no way morally flawed. An oracle might be fulfilled in a metaphorical or oblique manner; in real life, some oracles were never fulfilled, a frequent event in the experience of Sophocles’ audience. In tragedy, however, the audience would expect all oracles to be completed. Many readers think that Oedipus ought eventually to have considered the oracle’s broader implications. (Could the oracle be telling me that Polybos is not my father? Had I better avoid killing anyone old enough to be my father or marrying a woman old enough to be my mother?) But Sophocles gave his audience no opportunity in the play’s swift action to consider such questions; the speed with which he shows us the oracle’s completion fits with the consistent image of the god leaping or striking at Oedipus.