The story begins with a dialogue between Oedipus, the king of
Thebes, and the priest, as they discuss the evil predicament that has
befallen their land; blights on their harvest and grazing flocks.
Oedipus informs the priest of having sent his consort brother,
Menoeceus's son, Creon, to inquire from the Pythian Phoebus at his
Delphic shrine, how the state might be saved.
Before long, Creon
arrives bringing news from the gods. He says what they demand is the
punishment, either by death or banishment, of the murderer of the past
King, Laius son of Labdacus. Oedipus, who is new to the land, and keen
to bring to light this criminal who is the cause of their woes, asks him
details of the murder.
In another scene, Oedipus lays a curse on
the killer, prohibits all Thebans from associating with him and
encourages those who have knowledge of him to announce it.
The
chorus/elders advise Oedipus to summon Teiresias, the blind seer, to
give his opinion on the issue. But Oedipus had already sent Creon, in a
much earlier time, to bring him to the palace.
Eventually,
Teiresias, the widely renowned seer arrives at the palace. He is very
unwilling to speak on the Laius and his murderer, the issue for which he
was summoned; he in fact requests that he be allowed to take his leave.
However, Oedipus accuses him of being the murderer. Hearing this,
Teiresias made a counter-accusation by daring to say Oedipus himself was
the man who killed Laius. After the exchange of invectives, Oedipus
claims that Teiresias must have conspired with Creon to blemish and
overthrow him. After hearing this, Teiresias prophesies that Oedipus
will be exiled from Thebes and have his eyes no more after he discovers
his true lineage.
Creon comes out to deny the king's allegations,
asking what is he to gain from bidding to overthrow him. He would rather
not inherit the position at such a trying time, because all he desires,
fame and fortune, are already his; the crown is just a burden.
Nevertheless, Oedipus threatens him with death, after he, Creon,
suggested banishment.
Jocasta enters and pleads with her husband,
Oedipus, to believe Creon for his oath's sake, for her sake and for the
sake of the elders (chorus). She went ahead to enquire about the cause
of the rift. After hearing the claim of the seer, she told him that it
could not be true as it was formally predicted that Laius would be
killed by his son at a spot where three roads meet. But obviously, he
was murdered by highway robbers, as reported by the survivor of the
attack. Oedipus was shocked on hearing this fact, so he asked where
exactly the incident happened. Jocasta said Phocis, where roads from
Daulis and Delphi meet. He asks further, trembling that perhaps the seer
might be proven right, what the built of Laius was and how many
attendants he had with him.
Oedipus then immediately demands that
the Serf, who survived, be brought before him for questioning. He
thereafter narrates the cause of his fear to Jocasta, how a drunkard
once told him that he is not the true son of his seer (Polybus; and
Merope, his mother), how he visited Delphi and Apollo told him of a
prophesy that he would kill his father and sleep with his mother, how he
ran away and killed some men when he got to the three-branching road.
But there is hope of him not being the killer if the Serf confirms that
indeed it was an army of robbers that killed Laius and not a lone
wayfarer.
Shortly afterwards, a messenger comes from Corinth
bringing news of Polybus's (Oedipus guardian) death, and the search for a
new king. This gladdens Oedipus because it seems that the prophecies
were false after all, as his father died not through his hands.
Nevertheless, he mentions his fear of returning to Corinth because
Merope, his mother, still lives and he does not want the second part of
the prophecy to materialise.
The messenger offers to rid him of
this fear by disclosing that Polybus and Merope are not his real
parents, adding that it was he who gave him to Polybus, after another
shepherd who is from Laius's palace hands him over to him. This other
shepherd turns out to be the same as the witness of Laius's death.
Oedipus,
against the wish of Jocasta, wants to get to the root of the matter. He
wants to discover his true lineage. Hence, he asks, more emphatically,
that the shepherd be brought for questioning.
In next to no time,
the long-awaited shepherd who is expected to shed more light on the
conundrum finally arrives. He was very reluctant to give straight
answers to Oedipus's questions, he even rebuked the Corinthian messenger
for saying Oedipus is the accursed child he gave to him years back.
However, he soon admitted it, after Oedipus threatened him with death.
He also admitted that Jocasta, his mother, gave him to her so that he
may get rid of him.
Oedipus was devastated, that, after cursing
himself, he immediately left the scene. Not long after his exit, a
second messenger came in with the terrible news of Jocasta's death. She
was said to have committed suicide through hanging. And then Oedipus
himself inflicted injury on himself, he used the golden brooches on
Jocasta's robe to smite his eyeballs, thereby blinding himself.
Oedipus,
came out, a wretched scene he was. He asked that Creon exile him from
the land into the desert so that no eye may behold him and Thebes may be
freed from his curse. But Creon refused, firstly deciding to consult
the gods, and then instructing Oedipus to leave by himself, if he must.
Such
was the fate of Oedipus of Thebes, the son of Laius. And such was the
evil calling and cunning desire of the gods. To kill his father, lay
with his mother, and spend the rest of his miserable life groping in
darkness and humiliation.
By
Adekunle F Adebajo
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