All of these plays draw upon the ancient story of Oedipus, King of. The trilogy concludes with Antigone, in which Oedipus's courageous daughter defies her tyrannical uncle in a provocative exploration of the demands of loyalty and duty. Known as the Theban Trilogy the plays are Antigone, Oedipus The King, and Oedipus at Colonus. Old and blind, he seeks a peaceful place to end his torment, but finds only challenges from his reluctant hosts and a summons back to Thebes from his warring sons.

Oedipus at Colonus finds the former ruler in exile. It was written shortly before Sophocles' death in 406 BC and produced by his grandson (also called Sophocles) at the Festival of Dionysus in 401 BC. His quest engenders a series of keen dramatic ironies, culminating in the fulfillment of a dreaded prophecy. BOOK THREE: Oedipus at Colonus is one of the three Theban plays of the Athenian tragedian Sophocles. When an oracle proclaims that only an act of vengeance will lift the curse from Thebes, King Oedipus vows to bring a murderer to justice. As the play opens, the citizens of Thebes beg their king, Oedipus. Throughout this mythic story of patricide and incest, Sophocles emphasizes the irony of a man determined to track down, expose, and punish an assassin, who turns out to be himself. Oedipus Rex unfolds amid a city in the relentless grip of a plague. Oedipus the King unfolds as a murder mystery, a political thriller, and a psychological whodunit. Sophocles' three-play cycle, chronicling Oedipus's search for the truth and its tragic results, remains essential reading for English and classical studies majors as well as for all students of Western civilization.

The stirring tale of a legendary royal family's fall and ultimate redemption, the Theban trilogy endures as the crowning achievement of Greek drama. Oedipus at Colonus This is the second installment in Sophocless Theban Plays that chronicles the tragic fates of Oedipus and his family.

The oedipus plays of sophocles