Characters
Haemon
a bride of Antigone, son of Creon
No one believes in the words of a seer Cassandra. Why?
She was cursed by Apollo
What were holding Thebans at the beginning of "Oedipus the King"?
At the beginning of Sophocles' Oedipus the King, the citizens of Thebes are holding branches wrapped in wool as they kneel in supplication.
Why did Oedipus blind himself?
He blamed himself for his inner blindness.
Spread out those tapestries,
here on the ground, directly in his path. Quickly!
Let his path be covered all in red, so Justice
can lead him back into his home, a place
he never hoped to see. As for the rest,
my unsleeping vigilance will sort it out,
with the help of gods, as fate decrees.
Clytemnestra's servants begin to spread out at Agamemnon’s feet the tapestries they have brought out from the house, making a path from the chariot to the palace doors. The tapestries are all a deep red-purple, the colour of blood.
Teiresias
a blind prophet of Thebes
Why a guard lives a whole year on the roof of Agamemnon's palace?
He is waiting for a signal, that Troy had fallen.
Clytemnestra is happy to hear about her own son. Explain the reason.
She experiences this dark joy because she no longer has to fear him. Having murdered her husband, Agamemnon, she lived in constant terror that Orestes would return from exile to exact vengeance and reclaim his rightful throne.
Is Creon trying to save Antigone from punishment?
Yes, when he first asked her if she knew about his decree.
A city which belongs to just one man
is no true city.
Haemon blames his father
Cylissa
a nurse of Orestes
Why Polyneices was left unberried?
It was an edict of Creon
Jocasta had not chosen her husband. Thebans did. Why did she hang herself?
She realized that she had shared a bed with her child and given birth to four children, who were both her offspring and grandchildren, which meant that her maternal instinct had not worked, she had been a bad mother, wife, and fallen person.
Why did Medea kill her children?
She wanted to hurt Jason and stop his bloodline.
Let me remain here one day to prepare,
to get ready for my exile and provide
something for my children, since their father,
as one more insult, does nothing for them.
Have pity on them. You’re a parent, too.
Medea begs Creon to give her one more day before her exile.
Euridice
a wife of Creon
Why Oedipus accused Teiresias?
He accuses him in conspiracy
Why did Haemon kill himself?
Haemon kills himself out of overwhelming grief and despair after discovering that his fiancée, Antigone, has hanged herself in her tomb. Blinded by sorrow, he first attempts to strike his father, King Creon (who ordered her imprisonment), and then turns the sword on himself.
Was Clytemnestra lying when she said that she had waited with all her heart for Agamemnon for ten years, fearing that he might die in the war?
Yes, she was waiting to kill him with her own hand
He collapsed, snorting his life away,
spitting great gobs of blood all over me,
drenching me in showers of his dark blood.
And I rejoiced—just as the fecund earth
rejoices when the heavens send spring rains,
and new-born flower buds burst into bloom.
Clytemnestra describes to the chorus how he killed Agamemnon.
Aegeus
a king of Athens
Why Aegeus comes to Corinth?
He was coming from Delphic Oracle to find an answer from Pitheus, king of Troyzen.
Creon tries to persuade Oedipus that he was not involved in conspiracy against him. What was his main argument?
Creon’s main argument is that he lacks motive to overthrow Oedipus. As Jocasta’s brother, he already enjoys the wealth, privilege, and influence of royalty without the crushing stress, danger, and sleepless nights of being the actual king.
Why burying a person properly was so important in ancient Greece?
The Greeks believed that the soul's journey required specific rituals, such as washing the body, placing a coin in the mouth to pay Charon (the ferryman of the River Styx), and leaving offerings. Without these rites, the soul was believed to be trapped in a liminal state, unable to cross into the Underworld and doomed to wander as a restless ghost.
since you have chosen to insult my blindness—
you have your eyesight, and you do not see
how miserable you are, or where you live,
or who it is who shares your household.
Do you know the family you come from?
Teiresias peaks to Oedipus