Oedipus at Colonus

Roles

• Oedipus - Young Adult (20-35), Adult (36-50), Male

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Oedipus scolds Creon

Summary

Oedipus at Colonus is the sequel of Oedipus Tyrannus. In the background story of Oedipus the King, King Laius, Oedipus' father, learns from an oracle that he will die by the hand of his son. As a consequence, Laius orders his wife Jocasta to kill their infant son. A servant saves the baby and abandons him in the fields where he is found by shepherds who later bring him to Corinth where he is adopted by King Polybus and raised as his own child. One day Oedipus learns from an oracle that he will be responsible for his father's death and that he will marry his own mother. Thinking that his father is King Polybus, he leaves Corinth and heads towards Thebes, the city where he was actually born. By chance he meets his real father and in a quarrel, he kills him. Later he also solves the riddle of the Sphinx, liberating the city of Thebes of her curse. As a reward he becomes king and is offered the hand of Jocasta, his real mother. The prophecy has been fulfilled. In "Oedipus Tyrannus", Oedipus gradually realizes that the man that he has killed was Laius, his real father, and that Jocasta is his mother. In shame and desperation, Oedipus blinds himself and leaves Thebes. In "Oedipus at Colonus" the blind Oedipus seeks refuge at Colonus where he meets King Theseus who welcomes in his city. Oedipus is led by his two daughters, Antigone and Ismene. In parallel, we learn that Oedipus' two sons, Eteocles and Polynices, are quarrelling over who will inherit the throne of Thebes. Polynices is seeking the help of the city of Argos to defeat his brother. We also learn that an oracle has decreed that the outcome of the war will depend on where Oedipus' body will be buried. In this scene, the deceiving Creon, Oedipus' brother, comes to Colonus to try to persuade Oedipus to go back to Thebes. Obviously he only wants him there so that, by burying him in the city, Thebes may win the war. In this monologue Oedipus scolds his brother. He recounts all the harms that he has inflicted on him and scolds him for being deceiving.

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