The cover of the ReadingRate edition of Oedipus Rex

ReadingRate edition

Oedipus Rex

Sophocles, c. 429 BCE

52 pages · 12,892 words · about 1 hours · regard 94 of 100

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When plague devastates Thebes, King Oedipus vows to find and punish the murderer of the previous king, Laius, whose unavenged death has brought divine curse upon the city. The blind prophet Tiresias cryptically accuses Oedipus himself, triggering the king's rage and suspicions of political conspiracy. As Oedipus investigates the circumstances of Laius's death at a crossroads, horrifying parallels emerge with his own past. Through relentless interrogation of witnesses, the truth assembles itself piece by terrible piece. Oedipus discovers he was the abandoned infant of Laius and Jocasta, given away to die because of the same prophecy. He has indeed murdered his father and married his mother. Jocasta hangs herself. Oedipus blinds himself with her golden brooches and begs for exile, transformed from powerful king to polluted outcast.

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