Oedipus The King Analysis

Outside his palace, Oedipus finds a crowd of citizens and a priest of Zeus. He walks toward the crowd to see what they have to say. He introduces himself as Oedipus, the king, and tells them that he wants to help in any way possible and to find out why they are there.

The priest tells Oedipus the citizens are dying. The city of Thebes is plagued and people are in pain. The priest tells Oedipus that he knows nobody is equal to the gods, but that the children and people with him find Oedipus to be "among the foremost men in daily matters and in dealings with the gods" and are therefore turning to him for help. They think he is great because he came to Thebes and saved the city of the Sphinx’s riddle, which could only be done with a God's help.

He had come up with one possible cure, which he has already started to investigate. He sent Creon, his brother-in-law, to the oracle.

Oedipus says that Creon has taken longer than he should have, but that when he gets there, Oedipus will do all that the god has said to do. The priest approves of this, and Creon arrives within minutes.

Oedipus asks Creon what the god said. Creon does not want to speak in front of the crowd, but Oedipus urges him to do so. He realizes that the people are suffering as much as he is. Creon says that the oracle said that they must get rid of the pollution in the city. He says that this must be done through banishment, as it is someone's blood that pollutes the city. Prior to Oedipus' rule Laios was killed by a band of robbers on his way to visit Delphi’s oracle. Although one person lived to tell the tale, the case was not investigated because everybody was too busy with the Sphinx's riddle. Oedipus claims that he will do his best to find this killer and punish him. The priest realizes that he, and the people, have accomplished what they came