Greeks
It would have heightened their sense of dramatic irony in the play.
It would have heightened their sense of dramatic irony in the play.
The first performances of the play 'Oedipus Rex' were in ancient Greece. But the play is considered a classic of literature, a perfect example of tragedy. So by now, it has been performed worldwide.
Oedipus lived in Greece.
Athens is where Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.) wrote "Oedipus Rex."Specifically, the ancient Greek dramatist was born in Colonus, Theban King Oedipus' death place. But Sophocles spent his adult life in nearby Athens, which was a cultural, economic and political center in ancient Greece. It was in his adopted city of Athens that Sophocles wrote his three plays on the life and times of Oedipus and of Oedipus' children.
Killing his father and marrying his mother is Oedipus' fate in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Theban King Oedipus hears his fate from the Delphic oracle. The oracle is respected throughout ancient Greece for her insights into divine will and fate. She says that Oedipus is fated to kill his father and marry his mother.
Delphi is where Oedipus consults the oracle in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. -- 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Oedipus spends his childhood and early adulthood in Corinth. Consulting an oracle is something that members of royal families do in ancient Greece. There are a number of oracles to choose from, and the highly regarded Delphic Oracle is the one closest to Oedipus' home.
No, Jocasta does not say that an oracle comes to Laius in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, oracles do not travel around ancient Greece. Instead, they live in shrines dedicated to Apollo the sun god. They accept visitors who come from all over ancient Greece to hear their divinely inspired prophecies.
Murder and incest are the illegal acts that Oedipus commits in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Oedipus does exactly what he does not want to do: He kills his father and marries his mother. The killing is made more serious by the fact that Oedipus' father is also his sovereign. It is bad enough to kill a father, but it is even worse to kill a king in ancient Greece. Additionally, it is acceptable to marry an older woman, but not one who is a biological parent in ancient Greece. That is something that only the gods get to do: It is the way in which Gaia started up divine and human populations in the universe, and it is blasphemy for mortals to imitate the gods in that very act of creation and procreation.
Oedipus traveled from Corinth to Thebes in a northeast direction. Corinth is located southwest of Thebes, so in order to travel from Corinth to Thebes, Oedipus would have headed in a northeast direction. This is based on the geographical locations of Corinth and Thebes in ancient Greece.
She the wife of Laius, her son was Oedipus by Laius, thus she married her son - who had killed -unknowingly - his father. By her son Oedipus she was both mother and grandmother of Antigone, Eteocles, Polynices and Ismene. Incest was bad, even in ancient Greece.