Primary sourceBookc. 429 BCE
Oedipus Rex
Sophocles · c. 429 BCE
A tragedy by Sophocles about a king who unwittingly fulfills a prophecy to kill his father and marry his mother, widely regarded as his greatest work.
Sophocles' own tragedy, considered his masterpiece and the model for later theories of tragic drama.
About this source
What it is
Oedipus Rex is an Athenian tragedy written by Sophocles, likely first performed around 429 BCE. It tells how Oedipus, king of Thebes, searches for the murderer of the former king Laius to end a plague, only to discover he himself is the killer, and that he has unknowingly married his own mother.
Why it matters
Although it won only second place when first staged, the play later became the model tragedy for the philosopher Aristotle, who used it to explain how tragic plots should work. It is now considered one of the greatest plays in Western literature and shows how Sophocles used myth to explore fate, knowledge and self-destruction.
Look closer
- Why might a story about a man unable to escape his fate have gripped an Athenian audience?
- What does the play leave the audience to imagine rather than show directly?
- How might the order in which the truth is revealed affect how the audience feels about Oedipus?
This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Sophocles on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.
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