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Oedipus Rex
Read more about each character
The Gods
Zeus
The ruler of the gods, Zeus (Jupiter to the Romans) is a son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. After a ferocious struggle for power with his brothers, he became supreme god of heaven and earth, as well as god of the sky, lightning, fate and kingship.
Poseidon
Poseidon (Neptune to the Romans) is a brother of Zeus. He is the god of the seas and waters, as well as of horses and earthquakes.
Apollo
Apollo is the god of music, poetry, light, prophecy and medicine. He is also the god of herds and crops – the patron of shepherds and herdsmen. His twin sister is Artemis.
Artemis
The goddess Artemis (Diana to the Romans) is a daughter of Leto and Zeus. As goddess of the hunt, Artemis lives in the forest with her companions, the nymphs. She is also the goddess of forests, hills, wild animals, chastity, childbirth and the moon.
Athena
The goddess Athena (Minerva to the Romans) was born from the skull of Zeus. She is the goddess of wisdom, war, heroism and crafts. Tiresias accidentally came across the goddess Athena as she was bathing, and he was struck blind. To compensate him for his loss, the goddess made him a great seer (psychic).
Ares
Ares (Mars to the Romans) is the god of war. He embodies physicality, brutality and bloodlust. This contrasts with his sister Athena who wins wars with strategy and intelligence.
Aphrodite
Aphrodite (Venus to the Romans) is the goddess of love and fertility. Aphrodite is a daughter of Zeus and is said to have been born from the sea after her father’s genitals were removed and thrown into the sea foam.
Dionysus
Dionysus (Bacchus to the Romans) was originally known as the god of fertility. Later, he came to be known chiefly as the god of wine and pleasure, as well as drunkenness, parties and theatre. A son of Zeus he journeys far and wide. Everywhere he goes he plants vines and teaches the people viniculture.
The Royals
Oedipus
Oedipus is the son of Queen Jocasta and King Laius. When he was born an oracle prophesied that Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother, so his father ordered a Shepherd to take him into the mountains and kill him. Instead, the Shepherd gave him to a Messenger from Corinth who delivered him to the King and Queen there.
They brought Oedipus up as their own. Twenty years later, after hearing the prophecy about himself and none the wiser about his true parents, Oedipus leaves Corinth to protect them and escape his horrific fate. He encounters a man at a crossroads who refuses to make room to let him pass. A fight breaks out and Oedipus kills the man (who he much later discovers to be King Laius). Oedipus continues onwards towards Thebes, defeating a sphynx who has taken hold of the city following the recent death of their King.
As a reward for conquering the Sphynx, he claims the throne and the hand of the widowed Queen Jocasta. They have four children together and many years pass… thus begins the story of Oedipus Rex.
Tiresias
The blind prophet Tiresias is seven generations old and a fixture in several Greek dramas based around Thebes. Many believe he receives information by interpreting smoke, communing with the dead and listening to birdsong. Tiresias’s prophecies are often cryptic but never wrong.
Jocasta
Queen Jocasta was the wife of King Laius and is now the wife of Oedipus. She does not know that Oedipus is her son. She has four children with Oedipus: Antigone, Eteocles, Polynices and Ismene.
Creon
Creon is the brother of Jocasta. In Sophocles’ next Theban play, Antigone, Creon becomes King of Thebes after Oedipus’ sons, Eteocles and Polynices, kill each other.
The Society
Shepherd
The only surviving witness of the attack on King Laius by Oedipus – also, a witness to Oedipus’ abandonment on the mountain as an infant.
Messenger
A man from Corinth who delivers the message that Polybus, who raised Oedipus as his son, has died. Decades earlier, he had found Oedipus abandoned on the mountain.
The People
The chorus of Oedipus Rex represents the people of Thebes, many of whom are suffering from the plague. They always seem to know things they shouldn’t. They comment on the action from a distance, obsessively repeating key words such as ‘trivium’ – ‘crossroads’ – as Jocasta insists that oracles lie. In the end, the chorus narrates the downfall of Jocasta and Oedipus, describing the violence taking place offstage.
A sphynx is a legendary beast with the head and breasts of a woman, the body of a lioness, and the wings of an eagle. The Sphynx was perched on a hill, devouring the Thebans and travellers one by one if they could not solve her riddle. Oedipus correctly solved the riddle, thus defeating her. According to the most widely regarded version of the riddle, the Sphynx asks ‘what is the creature that walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three in the evening?’
Can you solve it?