Jayden, Jeju, March 2023
During the fifth century BC, Greek civilisation and culture achieved new heights. The century saw the beginnings of revolutions in science, philosophy and literature, and the start of Athenian democracy, which, regardless of its clear flaws, form the basis of modern politics today.
The art and architecture of the Greeks would also come to shape western notions of culture and form permanently. One can see the influence of ancient buildings like the Parthenon in modern buildings such as the Supreme Court or the United States’ Capitol. There are many reasons for this. Greek culture initially spread throughout the Mediterranean when Alexander the Great conquered Greece and the Persian empire. Similarly, Roman expansion into Europe disseminated the culture of the Greeks whom they had conquered. Today, on the southwest slope of the Acropolis of Athens, we can still see the ruins of the theatre of Dionysus, where Greek tragedy originated, bringing us to Sophocles and his plays.
Sophocles produced three plays about Oedipus and Thebes: Oedipus Rex, Antigone, and Oedipus at Colonus. Oedipus Rex, performed around 429 BC, first introduced us to the character of Oedipus and the flaws of the hero. The story takes place after Oedipus becomes the king of Thebes with his biological mother Jocasta as his queen, whom he had married as a reward for slaying the Sphinx by answering its riddle. At this point in the story, Oedipus is fully unaware of the fact that Jocasta is his biological mother. When Oedipus was born, Laius and Jocasta ordered their infant son to be killed because it was prophesied that Oedipus would eventually be the one to kill Laius. Oedipus still managed to survive and was later eventually adopted in Corinth. As an adult, upon hearing of the same prophecy, he fled from his adopted parents, as he had no knowledge of his adoption at that time.
Whilst wandering, he runs into a man at a crossroads, and subsequently kills him after a brief argument regarding who should be the one to walk first. It is revealed to the audience that the man was in fact Laius, thus completing Oedipus’ prophecy. At the end of the play, once Oedipus realises that he was the one who had killed his father and married his mother, Oedipus blinds himself using the pin on a brooch, worn by Jocasta who has hanged herself from shame.
Oedipus at Colonus, written around 401 BC, is a continuation of the story of an Oedipus stripped of his power and royalty, starting with his exile, and leading to his eventual death. Although it is one of their main themes, Oedipus Rex, and Oedipus at Colonus have vastly different stances on how Oedipus treated the concept of fate. Oedipus Rex considers whether it is possible for one to avoid or rebel against their own destiny, and a person's moral stance regarding their own fate. Sophocles explores the idea of fate and predestination, and how predestination and free will may not be mutually exclusive. There are many examples of this. In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus himself chooses to leave Corinth for Thebes, choosing to kill Laius along the way on the crossroads. In fact, his own knowledge of his actions is ultimately shown to be his undoing. He chooses to send Creon to ask the Oracle for answers, initiating the investigation of his murder of Laius. Although these choices fully fulfil the prophecy spoken by the Oracle, it remains a fact that they are still products of Oedipus’ own free will, showing that the idea of predestination does not necessarily mean that one has to be a slave to it. Although fate remains as a central theme in Oedipus at Colonus much like Oedipus Rex, the audience is instead given the resolution of Oedipus’ struggle regarding his problem. This is seen in many lines of the play, notably “...and no more fighting with necessity,” often alternatively translated as “Let us not fight necessity” or “Let us not wage war with necessity” This is important because it is the first sign of Oedipus coming to peace with his actions, as it signifies that he now acknowledges the inevitability of a higher power implicitly causing his actions. This can be seen as the first step towards Oedipus’ rational innocence and eventual redemption.
In the play Oedipus at Colonus, after learning the truth about his past and having been exiled from Thebes, Oedipus seeks redemption for his sins by travelling to the village of Colonus. In this new location, he encounters a new prophecy, which states that he will die in a sacred place and that the location of his burial will bring good fortune to the city that protects it. This prophecy acts as a catalyst for his redemption. Oedipus at Colonus introduces the idea of how the understanding and intent of one’s actions could change the morality of it, thus effectively a product of guilt. This idea is complex and forms the basis of the confrontations between the people of Athens and Oedipus.
Oedipus being morally and rationally innocent in this sense is partly a reason for the prophecy of his death, and thus part of the process of his redemption as well. It can be inferred from this that Oedipus at Colonus can effectively be reinterpreted as a heroic tale, not dissimilar to something like the classic redemption arc in many effective tales. Once Oedipus recognises the sign sent from Zeus of his own death, he accepts it rather than trying to fight his fate like before. This is his first act as a redeemed hero. He has given up trying to oppose the higher power and accepts his time of death. This is further reinforced upon Oedipus dying in an undisclosed location in the grove, further cementing his position as a hero in death. Beyond death, as the products of his fate; blindness and self-wandering, are his punishments, it also makes sense that his physical sufferings will suffice as punishment for his sins, thus bringing the story of Oedipus to a peaceful end.
Throughout his three plays, Sophocles brings up powerful ideas about redemption in both moral and physical forms, including elements of predestination and the morality of unaware actions. The legacy of these plays has endured throughout the countless centuries, remaining as the classical elements of philosophy and literature, and these themes remain relevant and influential to this day.
References
Oedipus: The Redeemed Tragic Hero – The Tacivagant, https://tacivagant.wordpress.com/2023/03/26/oedipus-the-redeemed-tragic-hero/.
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