Oedipus Rex

“The griefs we cause ourselves cut deepest of all.” Or, we have only ourselves to blame for our exile from Idyll - that initial shame of our eternally recurring reality.

Oedipus the King by Sophocles

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Things couldn't be better for King Oedipus of Thebes at the outset of this play by Sophocles. He is beloved by his people. He is heroic. His wife Jocasta has given him a large family. Admittedly, there is a pesky blight among the crops and epidemic among the people, but Oedipus is a take-charge guy and has dispatched brother-in-law Creon to an oracle to find out how to solve the problem.

Creon soon returns with the happy news - all they have to do is banish the killer of the old king from the kingdom.

How hard can that be?

This is a quick and interesting read that you must know from other sources. For example, I think I was permanently scarred as a child by the thought of the use Oedipus made of broaches. I think that I learned about that 50 years ago and as I was reading I kept wondering how I knew that.

I read this as part of the Online Great Books program. Once again, I appreciate the opportunity to fill in the rough spots that I may have been missing in the cultural education.