Color Version 60 World Classics That Will Affect Middle School Students' Lives

Author: Zhou Jinzhang, Long Jun, Liu Bo, Yao Xiaohua
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-09-01
Features: Oedipus Rex - Introduction to Sophocles (c. 496-406 BC), one of the three great tragedians of ancient Greece, was the second tragedian after Aeschylus. He was born into a merchant family in Athens and was elected as one of the ten generals of Athens in 440 BC, entering the highest echelons of Athenian society. He had a close relationship with the democratic leader Pericles and was politically a moderate democrat, representing the most perfect embodiment of Athenian democratic ideology during its flourishing period, enjoying high reputation in all Greek city-states. It is said that he wrote over 120 tragedies and comedies, winning awards 24 times, with seven complete tragedies still existing today: Antigone, Oedipus Rex, Electra, Ajax, The Trachinian Maidens, Philoctetes, and Oedipus at Colonus. His plays are based on myths and legends, often depicting the conflict between idealized heroes and fate, but ultimately unable to escape its grasp and meet destruction. They reflect the social life and struggles of the period when the slave-owning democratic regime of Athens was at its peak and then declining.
Background: Oedipus Rex depicts the story of "killing one's father and marrying one's mother," which some scholars interpret as a metaphor for the "Oedipus complex." This story has also been seen as the prototype for such tales, holding profound significance in literary and cultural studies.
Summary of the Masterpiece: In ancient times, the beautiful city-state of Thebes suddenly suffered great calamity as the gods inflicted a plague upon the region, which no medicine could cure. Apollo's oracle prophesied that only by banishing the murderer of the former king Laius could the disaster be lifted. Thus, Oedipus Rex, who had previously solved the riddle of the Sphinx and saved the city from disaster, resolved to find the murderer to avert calamity for the city-state. However, the result was that he discovered he himself was the murderer. It turned out that Oedipus was the son of the former Theban king Laius and Iocaste. Laius learned from the oracle that because of his past sins, his own son would kill his father and marry his mother. Therefore, after Oedipus was born, Laius and his wife abandoned him in the mountains, but the person tasked with carrying out this order felt pity for the innocent child and sent him to a shepherd in another land. Oedipus grew up in exile and learned from the oracle that he would kill his father and marry his mother. Thus, he left his foster parents and wandered the world. At a crossroads, he quarreled with an old man and, in a fit of rage, killed him. This man happened to be his biological father, Laius, and the gods' prophecy was fulfilled. After killing his father, Oedipus arrived in Thebes, solved the riddle of the Sphinx, saved many people, and was thus made king. He married the late king's wife, his own mother Iocaste, and had several children with her. Apollo's oracle was finally fully fulfilled. Oedipus learned of this from messengers, prophets, and shepherds, and was filled with grief and fury. His mother and wife, Iocaste, heard from the Corinthus messenger about Oedipus's origins and was driven mad by sorrow, crying out about the misfortune of her family and ending her own life. Oedipus, seeing this, beat his chest and screamed in anguish. He immediately untied the noose, before the queen's body had even fallen to the ground, took two golden pins from her robe, and violently thrust them into his own eyes. After arranging everything with Creon, he took his staff and left the country, enduring endless suffering alone.
Reading Guide: Most Greek tragedies draw their material from myths, often carrying themes of fate or superstition, but they reflect the social life and struggles of the time. These tragedies, though dealing with tragic subjects, generally lack pessimism and instead emphasize the heroic deeds and noble character of the protagonists, making their figures appear grand and majestic, with powerful and stirring grandeur. Oedipus Rex exemplifies these characteristics of ancient Greek tragedy well. The theme of Oedipus Rex is the conflict between the individual's strong will and heroic actions and fate, portraying a virtuous hero's inevitable destruction in a struggle of unequal strength. Oedipus embodies some traits of the ideal ruler of the slave-owning democratic faction: he is intelligent, honest, loves truth, cares for the free citizens, faces reality bravely, and takes responsibility. His tragic fate lies in the fact that he is innocent yet must bear the sins of his ancestors; the more he resists, the more he falls into the web of fate; the more sincerely he tries to avert disaster for the city-state, the closer he comes to his own destruction. His destruction, on one hand, promotes the idea that fate has an irresistible power, while on the other, it reveals the cruel and unjust nature of fate, reflecting the despair of the free citizens of Athens in the face of social disasters. Thus, the story itself possesses a powerful tragic force and has become a fundamental theme repeatedly explored in ancient and modern Western literature. Oedipus himself also carries multiple symbolic meanings. Oedipus Rex also represents the level of Sophocles's tragic art and marks the maturity of Greek tragic art. From the very beginning, Sophocles places the main characters in sharp conflicts, making their personalities stand out. The structure and layout of the play also reflect Sophocles's ingenuity, as despite the complex plot, it is presented concisely and tightly, with every dramatic action achieving maximum effect. All these qualities make Oedipus Rex worthy of being a masterpiece of ancient Greek and human drama.
Related Links: The 5th century BC was a flourishing period for Greek tragedy, during which many tragic poets emerged and numerous tragedies were performed, with the main representatives being the works of the "three great tragedians of ancient Greece." These three great tragedians are Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. Aeschylus is known as the "father of Greek tragedy," having written about 90 tragedies and comedies, with notable works such as Prometheus Bound, The Seven Against Thebes, and the trilogy Oresteia (including Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Furies); Euripides, born into a noble family and influenced by the Sophists, is called the "philosopher of the stage." It is said that he wrote 92 works, of which 18 survive today, with notable works such as The Trojan Women and Medea, which often draw their material from Greek myths and legends.