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. Name: Ariel De Lucas `Oedipus Rex Guided Reading Notes DIRECTIONS: As we read the tragic play Oedipus Rex together, complete the following notes. In the fifth century B.C., the playwright Sophocles begins "Oedipus Tyrannos" with the title character struggling to identify the cause of a plague striking his city, Thebes. After a close inspection of the characteristics, the pathogens that include most (5 of 7) of the features described by Sophocles in Oedipus Rex are Leishmania spp., Leptospira spp., Brucella abortus, Orthopoxviridae, and Francisella tularensis. Polybus, is dead, and that Corinth has asked Oedipus to come and rule there in his place. Thanks for creating a SparkNotes account! Oedipus curses himself, proclaiming that should he discover the murderer to be a member of his own family, that person should be struck by the same exile and harsh treatment that he has just wished on the murderer. Table of Contents Volume 18, Number 1January 2012. The citizens gather outside the palace of their king, Oedipus, asking him to take action. Thus, according to the tragedys rhymes and with respect to literary talk, this plague should be treated as an epidemic. So the tragic truth is that Oedipus, who unwittingly killed his father, the previous king, is the cause of the Theban plague. Historical certainty can be added by studying the alliances and the warfare involving Thebes during the era of Sophocles (e.g., Boeotian prefecture, Athenian dynasty, Spartan alliance, Persian wars) (14). PROLOGUE / THE SCENE. The plague of Athens: epidemiology and paleopathology. Essays on oedipus the king. She tells him that, back in Thebes, Oedipuss younger son, Eteocles, has overthrown Polynices, the elder, and that Polynices is now amassing troops in Argos for an attack on his brother and on Creon, who rules along with Eteocles. He has already sent Creon to ask the Delphic Oracle's advice. Oedipus became king of Thebes and married Jocasta. Sending for Theseus, he tells the king he must carry out certain rites on his body, and that by doing so he may assure divine protection to his city. Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. The blind prophet Tiresias arrives, and Creon promises to take whatever advice he gives. The critical reading of Oedipus Rex, its comparison with Thucydides history, as well as the systematic review of the existing historical data, lead us to strongly suggest that this epidemic, for which the name Plague of Thebes may be used, was an actual historical fact, likely caused by B. abortus. Antigone embraces Polynices, saying that he is condemning himself to death, but he resolutely says that his life remains in the hands of the gods. 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). Only one of his fellow travelers escaped alive. Struggling with distance learning? Renews March 10, 2023 Did you know you can highlight text to take a note? SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4.99/month or $24.99/year as selected above. (one code per order). At this mention of his parents, Oedipus, who grew up in the distant city of Corinth, asks how Tiresias knew his parents. Subscribe now. Antigone wails that they will cry for Oedipus for as long as they live. Surely it suggests exactly the opposite. What does it suggest about the authors overall emphasis? Oedipus replies that he is more eager than anyone to find out the cause of the pollution and remove it. The citizens of Thebes hated Laius, so they didn't care. Soon after, Polynices arrives, seeking his fathers favor in order to gain custody of his eventual burial site. Contact us Photo courtesy Antonis A. Kousoulis. She bore two sons, Polynices and Eteocles, and two daughters, Antigone and Ismene. Oedipus is so competent in the affairs of men that he comes close to dismissing the gods, although he does not actually blaspheme, as Creon does in Antigone. Creon enters, carrying Haemons body and wailing against his own tyranny, which he knows has caused his sons death. Latest answer posted November 11, 2019 at 3:50:28 AM. By entering your email address you agree to receive emails from SparkNotes and verify that you are over the age of 13. Youve successfully purchased a group discount. Yet in saying he would fight for Laius as if he were his own father, Oedipus further displays his own blindness to the truth. Sophocles seizes every opportunity to exploit this dramatic irony. The Plague in the Land of Thebes. Free trial is available to new customers only. 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. Jocasta has hanged herself, and Oedipus, finding her dead, has pulled the pins from her robe and stabbed out his own eyes. Oedipus questions Creon about the murder of Laius, who was killed by thieves on his way to consult an oracle. Tiresias defends his skills as a prophet, noting that Oedipuss parents found him trustworthy. SparkNotes PLUS The main conflict is when Tiresias tells Oedipus that he is responsible for the plague, and Oedipus refuses to believe Tiresias. The date of the Oedipus Tyrannus of Sophocles. Educators go through a rigorous application process, and every answer they submit is reviewed by our in-house editorial team. Instant PDF downloads. Oedipus is the son of King Laius and Queen Jocasta and unknowingly marries his mother, who he ends up having four children with. Oedipus In Greek mythology and literature, son of Laius (king of Thebes) and Jocasta; father of Antigone, Ismene, Eteocles and Polynices by his own mother. You'll also receive an email with the link. Haemon, Creons son and Antigones betrothed, enters the stage. Get Annual Plans at a discount when you buy 2 or more! He praises Oedipus' intellect in solving the riddle of the Sphinx. In the most familiar version, first attested in Sophocles' tragedy Oedipus Tyrannus, Oedipus' downfall all began with a plague. Oedipus the King (429-420 BCE), also known as Oedipus Rex or Oedipus Tyrannos ('Tyrannos' signifies that the throne was not gained through an inheritance) is the most famous surviving play written by the 5th-century BCE poet and dramatist Sophocles.The play is part of a trilogy along with Antigone and Oedipus at Colonus.. The play shows that one cannot avert one's fate. he mortality rate for untreated brucellosis is difficult to determine from the literature of the preantibiotic era (6); nevertheless, an 80% rate has been reported in situations of comorbidity with endocarditis (7). They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!, This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. Any proposed pathogen should be a highly contagious, zoonotic disease of cattle that causes stillbirth, miscarriages, and infertility, is characterized by high mortality rates, and has the potential to have caused an epidemic in the 5th century bc. Sample A+ Essay: Are Humans Prisoners of Fate in Oedipus the King? Oedipus Rex is a figure of Greek mythology from at least the 5th century B.C. Oedipus brags that he alone was able to solve the puzzle. The citizens gather outside the palace of their king, Oedipus, asking him to take action. The _____ is that Tiresias is blind but can see the truth, and Oedipus has sight but refuses to see the truth. Epidemics, stillbirths, and miscarriages caused by B. abortus have been reported since the time of Hippocrates, which is when this disease was initially described. Hellenic holocaust: a historical clinico-pathologic conference. Seven Against Thebes, in Greek mythology, the seven champions who were killed fighting against Thebes after the fall of Oedipus, the king of that city. Complete your free account to request a guide. Brucellosis is a highly contagious zoonosis caused by ingestion of unsterilized milk or meat from infected cows or close contact with their secretions. We adopted a critical approach to Oedipus Rex in analyzing the literary description of the disease, unraveling its Oedipus sends Creon to Delphi to consult the oracle, or priestess, there, about the cause of the plague in Thebes. Had his king been murdered, nothing would have stopped him from finding the murderer, just as he is promising to let nothing stop him now. One such instance of this irony is when Oedipus proclaims proudlybut, for the audience, painfullythat he possesses the bed of the former king, and that marriage might have even created blood-bonds between him and Laius had Laius not been murdered (294300). Wailing on the altar stair, wives and grandams rend the air, long-drawn moans and piercing cries blent with prayers and litaniesSophocles, Oedipus Rex, lines 184186. The oracle announces that the plague is a result of religious pollution and that the god Apollo requests that the people of Thebes exile the previously unknown miasma (a word of Greek origin with a sense of moral noxious pollution) away from the town (lines 9698) (2,3). Discount, Discount Code Teacher Editions with classroom activities for all 1699 titles we cover. All the people were led by an old priest having garlands and flowers. Just as the plants do not grow so is women not able to bear children. from Oxford University Ph.D. from St. Andrews University. 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. Jocasta tells him that Laius was killed at a three-way crossroads, just before Oedipus arrived in Thebes. Sample A+ Essay: Are Humans Prisoners of Fate in Oedipus the King? Oedipus encountered the Sphinx and quickly realized that the answer was "man". This fact has been used to suggest that there is no connection between the plague in Thebes and the plague in Athens. The opening of the drama, with the city of Thebes in the midst of plague has often been, historically, taken as a reference to the plague that devastated Athens in the opening years of the Peloponnesian War and has been used to assist in the dating of this play (13). Oedipus asks the citizens to stop praying and focus on finding the cure (lines 142146) (2,3). These diseases mainly include typhoid fever, epidemic typhus, smallpox, plague, measles, and influenza, all of which could be initial candidates for the plague in Oedipus Rex and have been taken into account in this study (Technical Appendix) (9,10). Antigone and Ismene, the daughters of Oedipus, discuss the disaster that has just befallen them. Just then, Creon arrives, and Oedipus asks what the oracle has said. A plague has stricken Thebes. The unsolved murder of Theban King Laius is the cause of the plague in Thebes. to start your free trial of SparkNotes Plus. (including. Theseus and the Chorus exit toward Athens; Antigone and Ismene head for Thebes. Copy. eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. Oedipus the King opens with a priest describing the terrible plague that has come upon Thebes and begging Oedipus for help. That baby was Oedipus. Oedipus promises to solve the mystery of Laiuss death, vowing to curse and drive out the murderer. Oedipus sends the citizen to fetch Theseus, the king of Athens and its surroundings. After an interlude in which Oedipus tells the Chorus who he is, Oedipuss second daughter, Ismene, enters, having gone to learn news from Apollos oracle at Delphi. It's actually a case of a pestilence that's wiping out the city's people, livestock and harvests . Then, before leaving the stage, Tiresias puts forth one last riddle, saying that the murderer of Laius will turn out to be both father and brother to his own children, and the son of his own wife. Answer: Oedipus married his mother. In Oedipus Rex, how does Oedipus's tragic flaw lead to his downfall? Oedipus himself remained in Thebes for a few years, a blind and aging misfit cared for only by his daughters, Antigone and Ismene. 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. Instant downloads of all 1699 LitChart PDFs LitCharts Teacher Editions. Oedipus sends for Tiresias, the blind prophet, and asks him what he knows about the murder. What is the cause of the plague in Thebes quizlet? The citizens carry branches wrapped in wool, which they offer to the gods as gifts. . You can view our. A messenger enters and recounts the tragic events: Creon and his entourage first gave proper burial to Polynices, then heard what sounded like Haemons voice wailing from Antigones tomb. Already a member? Theseus does in fact return with Oedipuss daughters shortly. Her description of Laiuss murder, however, sounds familiar to Oedipus, and he asks further questions. It is not quite clear why Ares is being called responsible for this plague, since there is no other such reference in the play. The Sphinx placed a great plague over Thebes and refused to remove it until someone correctly answered its riddle. Years passed while Oedipus was king of Thebes. . answer choices . Jocasta tells him that Laius was killed at a three-way crossroads, just before Oedipus arrived in Thebes. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site.