Oedipus at colonus6/1/2023 ![]() ![]() Oedipus curses his sons and asks the Elders of Colonus for protection. ![]() Apparently, an oracle has proclaimed that Oedipus should bring many boons to the city in which he is buried, so both of Oedipus’ sons and Creon want to bury him at Thebes so that theirs is the only land which receives the blessing from the gods. As soon as they agree to do the latter, Ismene, Antigone’s sister, unexpectedly arrives at Colonus, announcing that Eteocles and Polynices are preparing for a war for the throne of Thebes, and adding that Creon has been sent by the Thebans to bring Oedipus back to their land. So, he appeals to the Elders of Colonus to let him stay or, at least, to let their king ( Theseus) decide on his fate. It is a sign: Oedipus knows from a prophecy that this should be his final destination and his burial ground. A villager approaches them and demands that they leave since they have trespassed on the sacred grove of the Eumenides (the former Erinyes). ![]() After a long period of wandering, the accursed and very old Oedipus, accompanied by his daughter Antigone, arrives at Colonus, a suburb of Athens (and, poignantly, the birthplace of Sophocles). ![]() Frequently compared to Shakespeare’s King Lear, the play begins many years after the events which led to Oedipus blinding himself in Oedipus Rex. Produced posthumously, Sophocles’ last tragedy, Oedipus at Colonus, is undoubtedly a fitting farewell to an exceptional playwrighting career. ![]()
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