Oedipus Rex Part 1 Summary

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Recommended: Character analysis of the character oedipus

Oedipus Rex

1. Creon informs Oedipus that, according to Apollo, the men who murdered Laius must be killed or exiled; the people are being punished for their sins with a plague that kills infants during childbirth and stops crops from growing.
2. Oedipus decides to obey Apollo and avenge the former king.
3. Teiresias is a mortal who “sees” just as well as Apollo; Creon suggests getting help from Teiresias, which is why Oedipus calls for him.
4. There are rumors floating around that Laius was killed by travellers.
5. Oedipus accuses Creon of plotting with Teiresias in order to overthrow the king, thus resulting in the exile of Creon.
6. Teiresias predicts that the Theban murderer of Laius will suffer in poverty with a woman who is both his wife …show more content…

When Jocasta hears King Polybus has died a natural death, she believes the prophecy was wrong and her husband is not a murderer.
9. Queen Jocasta is saddened by the messenger’s story because she finally realizes who Oedipus truly is, and that the prophecy has proven to be correct. Jocasta does not want Oedipus to discover who he really is, which is why she attempts to keep him from sending for the other servant.
10. Jocasta’s final words are, “‘Woe, woe, unhappy! This is all I have to say to thee, and no word more, for ever’” (Sophocles 38).
11. Oedipus realizes he not only killed his father and married his mother, but he also committed incest and reproduced with his own mother.
12. Oedipus wants Creon to exile him so no other Theban will lay eyes on the fallen king. Oedipus is most worried about how his two daughters, Antigone and Ismene, will be treated after his exile.
13. The adopted parents of Oedipus are Polybus and Meropi; Oedipus’ biological parents are King Laius and Queen Jocasta.
14. The word “Oedipus” means “Blinded by Fate”.
15. Infant Oedipus was abandoned on the mountain named Kitheron. Cadmus is the founder and first king of Thebes; all that is left of the House of Thebes is Harmonia’s necklace, which was taken to Delphi and shown to pilgrims for hundreds of

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