why is there a plague in thebes oedipus

He calls it a plague that disrupts the production of humans and crops. The plague in Oedipus Rex is not just a disease that is making people sick, but it is actually ruining . The citizens gather outside the palace of their king, Oedipus, asking him to take action. March 3, 2023, SNPLUSROCKS20 Oedipus must find the killer of former King Laius to save the city. Discuss the theme of sight and blindness in Oedipus Rex, how it is important, and how it affects the idea of truth. Free trial is available to new customers only. WebOedipus is the king of Thebes when the action commences, and one facing the crisis of a plague. It was a popular subject for drama, and Sophocles himself wrote other plays about it. In lines 167215 the Chorus stays on stage to summarize the situation and beg for salvation (2,3). Later in the play (300),Oedipus summons the blind prophet Tiresias so that he may discover the murderer. In a moving speech, a priest tells Oedipus the city's woes: the crops are ruined, cattle are sick, women die in labor and children are stillborn, and people are perishing from the plague. Oedipus replies that he already sent his brother-in-law, Creon, to the oracle at Delphi to learn how to help the city. When Creon returns from the oracle, he informs Oedipus that the person responsible for murdering the former King Laius must be banished from Thebes in order to put an end to the devastating plague. Polybus, is dead, and that Corinth has asked Oedipus to come and rule there in his place. SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4.99/month or $24.99/year as selected above. Thucydides and Sophocles use similar terms when describing attempts to deal with the epidemic. 2 oedipus rex study guide practice test questions final . Oedipus responds with a terrible curse, upbraiding his son for letting him be sent into exile, and predicting that Eteocles and Polynices will die at one anothers hands. Summary. Wishing to be killed or exiled, he gave Thebes to Creon to rule as regent, and Creon promised to care for Oedipus' daughters. Tiresias predicts that the gods will bring down curses upon the city. Oedipus, stunned, tells his wife that he may be the one who murdered Laius. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. is the priest doing this there is a plague on the city oedipus asked him to the sphinx has attacked the city it s a holiday oedipus rex questions and answers enotes com (one code per order). For the next 7 days, you'll have access to awesome PLUS stuff like AP English test prep, No Fear Shakespeare translations and audio, a note-taking tool, personalized dashboard, & much more! The Sphinx placed a great plague over Thebes and refused to remove it until someone correctly answered its riddle. Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. Creon returns, bearing good news: once the killer of the previous king, Laius, is found, Thebes will be cured of the plague (Laius was Jocasta's husband before she married Oedipus). Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more. You'll be billed after your free trial ends. At first he refuses to tell Oedipus what he knows. It's actually a case of a pestilence that's wiping out the city's people, livestock and harvests . This skirmish occurred at the very crossroads where Laius was killed. Dr Kousoulis is a research assistant in the History of Medicine Department of the University of Athens and the general secretary of the Society of Junior Doctors. Creon enters, carrying Haemons body and wailing against his own tyranny, which he knows has caused his sons death. Alternatively, the plague of Thebes could be a composite of >2 causative agents, as it has been suggested for the contemporary plague of Athens (6,7). Creon, covetous of royal power, is all too happy to oblige. Despite the warning, Theseus agrees to help Oedipus. Discount, Discount Code The devastating plague that dominates Thebes is presented to the audience through the dialogue between Oedipus and the Priest (lines 167) (2,3). Several sections, primarily in the first third of the play, refer to the aforementioned plague; the epidemic, however, is not the primary topic of the tragedy. Oedipus vows to find the murderer and curses him for . He's one step ahead of the suggestions his subjects make to him and has already sent for Tiresias. Arriving at Thebes, Oedipus was confronted by the Sphinx: a monster that was half woman and half lion. Wed love to have you back! Theseus grants them this, and the Chorus tells the girls to stop their weeping, for all rests in the hands of the gods. Creon informs King Oedipus that until the killer of King Laius is identified, the plague cannot be ended. Oedipus promises to solve the mystery of Laiuss death, vowing to curse and drive out the murderer. An oracle warned Laius, the king of Thebes prior to Oedipus, that his son would murder him. The Plague of Thebes, a Historical Epidemic in Sophocles Oedipus Rex. Creon returns to report that the plague is the result of religious pollution, since the murderer of their former king, Laius, has never been caught. She bore two sons, Polynices and Eteocles, and two daughters, Antigone and Ismene. 216-275: Oedipus asks the Thebans to help him find and expel Laius' murderer. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!, This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. The lethality of this epidemic is particularly terrifying for the protagonists of the play, and the diseases severity is evinced by the first sentences of the tragedy (reek of incense everywhere, line 4). Oedipus saved Thebes from the Sphinx by answering the Sphinx's riddle. You may cancel your subscription on your Subscription and Billing page or contact Customer Support at custserv@bn.com. Instant downloads of all 1699 LitChart PDFs This is presented to the audience through the dialogue between Oedipus, the king, and the Priest (167). There were two shrines to her in Thebes. Credit: Wikipedia/Public domain. It should be noted that exploring the diseases of history requires examining the social, economic, and demographic aspects of each era because this is the only way to better understand how diseases work over centuries (10). Oedipus angrily declares that justice will be done to this murderer. They want King Oedipus to save the city. Oedipus, the king of Thebes, has sent his brother-in-law, Creon, to the house of Apollo to ask the oracle how to end the plague. Oedipus Rex or Oedipus the King, is the first play in this trilogy of Athenian Tragedies . Who is Creon? By the end of the play, Oedipus discovers that while attempting to avoid his destiny, he unknowingly killed his father at a place where three roads join as he was fleeing Corinth. The Theban Plays Oedipus the King (or Oedipus Rex) is one of three surviving plays by Sophocles centering on the Greek myth of Oedipus (EHD ih puhs), king of Thebes; the other two are Oedipus at . Cookies used to track the effectiveness of CDC public health campaigns through clickthrough data. on 50-99 accounts. Oedipus replies that he is more eager than anyone to find out the cause of the pollution and remove it. Missing, he turned the sword against himself and died embracing Antigones body. In Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, Oedipus' biological father is Laius, the King of Thebes prior to Oedipus. Creon condemns both Antigone and Ismene to death. Oedipus questions Creon about the murder of Laius, who was killed by thieves on his way to consult an oracle. The play opens in front of Oedipus' palace at Thebes. Oedipus sends Creon to Delphi to consult the oracle, or priestess, there, about the cause of the plague in Thebes. They went in and saw Antigone hanging from a noose, and Haemon raving. Sophocles describes the main characteristics of the epidemic through sporadic sentences. Oedipus zealously takes up the case, and questions the blind prophet Tiresias, only to hear that he, Oedipus, is the canker in the . Early in the play it is clarified that the disease is a cattle zoonosis of high mortality rate (a blight upon the grazing flocks and herds, line 26, with the herds being cattle,) (2,3). In other words, he became a hero by figuring out the truth. Renew your subscription to regain access to all of our exclusive, ad-free study tools. D. The sphinx was indulging in sexually and other pleasure and wasn't paying much attention to state affairs. The way the content is organized, LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in, The play begins in the royal house of Thebes. As the play opens, Oedipus, the king of Thebes, asks from a group of people that why they are gathered there. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance. Oedipus and the Sphinx, by Gustave Moreau, 1864, The Met. In the post-Homeric tradition, most familiar from Sophocles' Oedipus Rex (or Oedipus the King) and . The chorus, which represents the elders of Thebes, appeals to the gods as the agents of fate and rulers of the world to save the city. Creon asks Oedipus if he wants to hear the news in private, but Oedipus insists that all the citizens hear. In fact, it is noteworthy that there is no other historic or poetic reference that links Ares to the spreading of a disease (4). Figure 1. He tells Jocasta that, long ago, when he was the . Linking to a non-federal website does not constitute an endorsement by CDC or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the website. King Theseus arrives and says that he pities Oedipus for the fate that has befallen him, and he asks how he can help Oedipus. The Leader of the Chorus suggests that Oedipus call for Tiresias, a great prophet, and Oedipus responds that he has already done so. Apparently, the gods have punished Thebes for the cruel murder of the former King Laius. All the people were led by an old priest having garlands and flowers. Both Polynices and Creon are currently en route to try to take Oedipus into custody and thus claim the right to bury him in their kingdoms. Oedipus sends for Tiresias, the blind prophet, and asks him what he knows about the murder. answer choices . The messenger, a shepherd by profession, knows firsthand that Oedipus came to Corinth as an orphan. Oedipus eagerly attempts to uncover the truth, acting decisively and scrupulously refusing to shield himself from the truth. Hearing this, Oedipus fled his home, never to return. Did you know you can highlight text to take a note? (VladoubidoOo/CC BY-SA 3.0) From there, Oedipus goes on to Thebes, and on the way answers the Sphinx's riddle. According to the World Health Organization, an epidemic is defined as a disease outbreak and, therefore, the occurrence of cases of disease in excess of what would normally be expected in a defined community, geographic area, or season (15). That baby was Oedipus. The characteristics of pathogens that might be responsible for the plague on the basis of Sophocles descriptions in Oedipus Rex are summarized in the Technical Appendix. plague; the plague in Thebes has three features which are closely associated with supernatural forces and appear in re-ligious contexts. Sometimes it can end up there. These cookies may also be used for advertising purposes by these third parties. Creon returns to report that the plague is the result of religious pollution, since the murderer of their former king, Laius, has never been caught. As for the clinical features, although Thucydides does not mention the pregnancy or labor pains as described in Sophocles text, he does refer to abdominal and vulvovaginal symptoms (5). TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. Comment submitted successfully, thank you for your feedback. The plague is an infestation of disease-carrying insects that spread rapidly through the population, killing many. The shepherd and the messenger slowly exit the stage.