Oedipus Rex

Author: Sophocles (Ancient Greece) Lao Niansheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-01-01
Features: The setting of the plot in this book is Thebes, and this story is the prelude to the story of Antigone. The descendants of Cadmus, the founder of Thebes, are: Polydorus of the second generation, Labdacus of the third generation, and Laius of the fourth generation. Laius had abducted Chrysippus, the son of Pelops, and the child committed suicide shortly after leaving home. Pelops cursed Laius and his family to suffer misfortune. This is the root of the tragedy. Laius married Iocaste and had no children, so he went to Delphi to consult Apollo. The priest announced the oracle's pronouncement, saying: "Laius, son of Labdacus, I grant your request, but you must be careful. You are fated to die at the hands of your son. This destiny is decreed by Zeus, because he listened to Pelops' curse, saying that you killed his son and sought revenge, and therefore he asked Zeus to give you such a fate."