A king discovers a horrifying truth about himself — the original tragedy.
Why this book matters
The play that invented the detective story, inspired Freud, and defined tragedy itself — Sophocles' Oedipus Rex is still the most merciless plot ever constructed.
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Free Audiobook · Oedipus Rex
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Produced by Sigal Alon, Turgut Dincer, R. Cedron and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net OEDIPUS KING OF THEBES BY SOPHOCLES TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH RHYMING VERSE WITH EXPLANATORY NOTES BY GILBERT MURRAY LL.D., D.LITT., F.B.A…
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The play that invented the detective story, inspired Freud, and defined tragedy itself — Sophocles' Oedipus Rex is still the most merciless plot ever constructed.
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- Oedipus (King of Thebes)
- The reigning King of Thebes, celebrated for solving the riddle of the Sphinx and saving the city. He vows to find and punish whoever murdered the former king, Laius, to lift a plague from the land.
- Jocasta (The Queen)
- Queen of Thebes, widow of King Laius and now wife of Oedipus. She tries to comfort Oedipus and downplay the power of oracles as tensions rise between him and Creon.
- Creon
- Jocasta's brother, sent to consult the oracle at Delphi about ending the plague. Oedipus later accuses him of plotting against the throne.
- Tiresias (The blind prophet/seer)
- An old, blind prophet of Thebes summoned by Oedipus to reveal who killed Laius. He is reluctant to speak, warning that the truth will bring only pain.
- Priest of Zeus
- Leads the suppliants of Thebes—old men, children, and priests—who kneel before Oedipus's palace pleading for relief from the plague.
- Leader of the Chorus (Chorus of Theban Elders)
- Represents the elders and citizens of Thebes, commenting on events, urging calm between Oedipus and Creon, and reflecting on themes of pride and divine order.
- Laius (The former King)
- The late King of Thebes, husband of Jocasta before Oedipus, whose long-unsolved murder on the road from Delphi is the mystery driving the plague and the play's investigation.
Glossary
- Loxias
- An epithet for the god Apollo, used frequently when characters refer to his oracles and prophecies.
- Pytho
- Another name for Delphi, site of Apollo's oracle, where characters travel to seek divine guidance.
- the Sphinx / 'the riddling Sphinx'
- A monstrous creature that plagued Thebes with a deadly riddle; Oedipus's solving of it won him the throne and Jocasta's hand.
- Kithairon
- The mountain near Thebes where the infant Oedipus was left to die and which recurs as a symbol of his fate.
- thrall
- An archaic term for a servant or slave, used to describe the herdsman and other household servants.
- Loxias' seercraft / prophecy (mantic art)
- The practice of divination through priests and oracles, whose reliability is repeatedly debated by the characters.
- hubris (rendered as 'Pride' or 'Insolence')
- Excessive pride or arrogance that, per the Chorus's ode, 'breeds the tyrant' and invites divine punishment.
- Labdacus / Polydore / Agenor
- Names in Oedipus's (and Laius's) royal genealogy, tracing the Theban line back to the city's mythic founder Cadmus.
- Phoebus
- Another common epithet for Apollo, god of prophecy, invoked throughout in relation to the oracle's commands.
- the Sin-Hounds
- A poetic image (akin to the Furies/Erinyes) described as pursuing the unknown murderer of Laius, emphasizing the inescapability of guilt.
Table of contents
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