1 Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannus Introduced and Translated by ...
1 Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannus Introduced and Translated by ...
1 Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannus Introduced and Translated by ...
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
Sophocles’ <strong>Oedipus</strong> <strong>Tyrannus</strong><br />
<strong>Introduced</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Translated</strong> <strong>by</strong><br />
Marianne McDonald<br />
Copyright 2003<br />
1
Introduction<br />
There have never been greater plays written than those <strong>by</strong> the ancient Greeks of<br />
the fifth century BC. They helped teach the Athenian audience what it was to be a good<br />
citizen, <strong>and</strong> they are still teaching us what it is to be a good human being.<br />
There were three major playwrights of tragedy in ancient Greece: Aeschylus ca.<br />
525-456 BC; Sophocles ca. 496-406 BC; <strong>and</strong> Euripides ca. 485-406 BC. In his plays,<br />
Aeschylus shows god confronting god; Sophocles, man confronting god <strong>and</strong> his fate; <strong>and</strong><br />
Euripides shows man confronting him or herself. Sophocles was a great humanist <strong>and</strong> one<br />
who celebrated the hero. <strong>Oedipus</strong> is a perfect example.<br />
The first performance of drama is said to have been given <strong>by</strong> Thespis in Athens<br />
around 534 BC. Groups of people formed choruses, <strong>and</strong> when the choral leader spoke to<br />
the chorus, dialogue was born. Gradually single actors were added, two, then three, <strong>and</strong><br />
possibly even four, but never more than four. The roles were all played <strong>by</strong> men wearing<br />
masks, at first only citizens, including the playwright. By the end of the 5 th century, the<br />
chorus was made up of fifteen men who sang <strong>and</strong> danced. Opera which arose in 17 th<br />
century Italy was said to be based on ancient Greek tragedy. The main festival, at which<br />
plays were performed in fifth-century BC Athens, was called the Greater Dionysia. It<br />
took place in the springtime, after the winter storms, so that people from other countries<br />
could attend.<br />
At first these ancient plays were connected ones. Aeschylus wrote a trilogy<br />
containing Laius, <strong>Oedipus</strong>, <strong>and</strong> Seven Against Thebes, followed <strong>by</strong> the satyr play The<br />
Sphinx. These were all on the theme of <strong>Oedipus</strong> <strong>and</strong> his family <strong>and</strong> date to about 467 BC.<br />
Only Seven Against Thebes survives. The Satyr play was a comic play that used the<br />
language of tragedy <strong>and</strong> often made fun of tragic themes. Comedies, such as those of<br />
Aristophanes, were more free, <strong>and</strong> often followed the Satyr play. The plays, which were<br />
performed outdoors, began in the morning <strong>and</strong> continued throughout the day. Zeus, the<br />
god of rain, became a critic. Usually the program for one day would be three tragedies,<br />
one Satyr play <strong>and</strong> one comedy. The government <strong>and</strong> wealthy citizens subsidized the<br />
performances. Maintaining a good drama festival at this time was considered as<br />
important as maintaining an army or navy.<br />
2
Sophocles was born at Colonus near Athens in about 496 BC <strong>and</strong> died in 406 BC.<br />
He was a model citizen. He acted as Hellenotamias (a treasurer, 443/2 BC) in the league<br />
Athens organized after the Peace of Callias with Persia. He was said to have led a chorus<br />
<strong>and</strong> to have danced around the trophy after the battle of Salamis. He also served as a<br />
general dealing with the Samian revolt in 441. Some say that the Antigone earned him<br />
this position. Others suggest that <strong>Sophocles'</strong> disgust at the exposure of the enemies'<br />
corpses might have led him to write this play. After the Sicilian defeat in 413 BC, he was<br />
one of the Probouloi (special Athenian officials).<br />
Sophocles followed in Aeschylus' footsteps <strong>by</strong> serving his city when he could.<br />
He lived to about 90, <strong>and</strong> it is said that he was sued <strong>by</strong> a son, who claimed he was no<br />
longer capable of managing his own affairs. His defense was to read lines from a chorus<br />
praising Athens from <strong>Oedipus</strong> at Colonus, which he was writing at the time. Needless to<br />
say, he was acquitted.<br />
The ancients regarded Sophocles as a man at ease with himself <strong>and</strong> contented<br />
with life. In Plato's Republic (329C), he is reported to have claimed that he was happy<br />
that he was finally free from that wild taskmaster, love. After his death, he was said to<br />
have become a sacred hero like <strong>Oedipus</strong>, <strong>and</strong> was worshipped as Dexion, roughly<br />
translated as "he who receives," because of his association with the cult of Asclepius,<br />
which he had helped to introduce into Athens after the plague. He also was a priest of the<br />
healing spirit Halon.<br />
Sophocles is the playwright of heroism. <strong>Oedipus</strong> is truly a hero, from his first<br />
victory in overcoming the Sphinx - the monster who was killing citizens from Thebes. He<br />
was also a hero in solving the riddle of his own existence, <strong>and</strong> accepting full<br />
responsibility for his actions. He is offered opportunities to escape in the course of the<br />
play, but he refuses them all.<br />
Even at his or her best, it is difficult to feel empathy towards a Sophoclean hero,<br />
who is both alienated <strong>and</strong> alienating; nevertheless, one has to admire the single-minded<br />
pursuit of goals which so often entail self-destruction, along with the destruction of<br />
others. As Bernard Knox says, "Sophocles creates a tragic universe in which man's heroic<br />
action, free <strong>and</strong> responsible, brings him sometimes through suffering to victory but more<br />
3
often to a fall which is both defeat <strong>and</strong> victory at once; the suffering <strong>and</strong> glory are fused<br />
in an indissoluble unity."<br />
Sophocles shows his characters struggling to right the wrongs they perceive in the<br />
world about them, <strong>and</strong> there is some objective justification for their struggles. What<br />
Sophoclean heroes do, they also do alone. They die for ideals, which, although somewhat<br />
misguided in their one-sidedness, can still be respected.<br />
Sophocles is said never to have been placed third when he competed. He first<br />
competed in 468 BC, when he defeated Aeschylus, <strong>and</strong> is said to have been awarded the<br />
prize 24 times (18 at the Greater Dionysia) in contrast to Aeschylus' 13 <strong>and</strong> Euripides' 4.<br />
Of the plays that survive, only the Philoctetes <strong>and</strong> the <strong>Oedipus</strong> at Colonus can be<br />
dated with certainty, <strong>and</strong> the Antigone approximately, if we believe that it has some<br />
connection with the Samian war. The following chronology is very tentatively suggested:<br />
Antigone 443 or 441 BC<br />
Ajax ca. 442 BC<br />
Women of Trachis ca. 432 BC<br />
<strong>Oedipus</strong> <strong>Tyrannus</strong> ca. 427 BC<br />
Electra ca. 413 BC<br />
Philoctetes 409 BC<br />
<strong>Oedipus</strong> at Colonus 401 BC (posthumous)<br />
The Greek philosopher Aristotle thought that Sophocles’ <strong>Oedipus</strong> <strong>Tyrannus</strong> was<br />
the greatest play ever written. It is also an exciting detective story that tells about man<br />
<strong>and</strong> his struggle to find out who he is. On the temple at Delphi, the shrine of Apollo, the<br />
god of prophesy, was written “Know yourself.” This was advice to everyone to find out<br />
who you are, <strong>and</strong> know your relationship to the world you live in. In antiquity, this also<br />
meant knowing your relationship to the gods.<br />
<strong>Oedipus</strong> was a man who did not know either his relationship to the gods or the<br />
people with whom he lived. As a young man, he heard a prophecy saying he would kill<br />
his father <strong>and</strong> marry his mother. But the oracle at that point did not tell him who his<br />
parents were. It is only at the very end of the play that all the pieces fall tragically into<br />
place. <strong>Oedipus</strong> will not stop assembling all the pieces, even if seeing the solution means<br />
4
his own destruction. There is the saying, “If it doesn’t kill you, it makes you stronger.”<br />
<strong>Oedipus</strong> becomes a protective hero for Athens. Just before he dies, he claims time,<br />
suffering, <strong>and</strong> his own nobility of character have been his teachers, <strong>and</strong> they have made<br />
him strong.<br />
In addition to "Know Thyself," the maxim just mentioned, the phrase "Nothing in<br />
Excess" was also chiseled on the Delphic temple. Creon did everything in excess, <strong>and</strong><br />
<strong>Oedipus</strong> did not know himself. Yet these violations were what defined these heroes.<br />
<strong>Oedipus</strong> is supposedly the man of knowledge, the one who solved the riddle of the<br />
Sphinx. He knew what went on four legs in the morning, two at noon, <strong>and</strong> three in the<br />
evening: man. But he did not know who he was.<br />
Freud, the father of psychology, wrote about the <strong>Oedipus</strong> complex (that everyone<br />
has the impulse to kill his father <strong>and</strong> have a sexual relationship with his mother) <strong>and</strong> said<br />
that myths like Sophocles’ had such power because they corresponded to deep hidden<br />
drives within all of us. Nevertheless, Sophocles’ <strong>Oedipus</strong> did everything he possibly<br />
could to avoid both this unholy murder <strong>and</strong> this incestuous marriage.<br />
The poetic imagery in this play gives us a picture of the man. It talks about sight<br />
<strong>and</strong> blindness, linking sight with knowledge <strong>and</strong> blindness with ignorance. If one sees<br />
one knows, <strong>and</strong> if one does not see, one is ignorant. Tiresias calls <strong>Oedipus</strong> blind in his<br />
eyes, ears, <strong>and</strong> mind, <strong>and</strong> yet he was the most intelligent of men. It is ironic in this play<br />
that when <strong>Oedipus</strong> is blind, he finally gains knowledge <strong>and</strong> underst<strong>and</strong>s himself <strong>and</strong> his<br />
relationship to the world about him. He was ignorant when he could see everything about<br />
him, but had no insight or knowledge about who he was.<br />
Another image is that of hunting <strong>and</strong> the hunted. <strong>Oedipus</strong> hunts for truth, but it is<br />
fate that finally hunts him down.<br />
People have interpreted <strong>Oedipus</strong> in many different ways. The philosopher<br />
Nietzsche shows him as a type of superman. Some have said Sophocles wrote a drama of<br />
fate, <strong>and</strong> that it shows that man does not have free will. But the Greeks did not have a<br />
problem with seeing a person being ruled <strong>by</strong> destiny, <strong>and</strong> at the same time free <strong>and</strong><br />
responsible in his actions. Others say that this play illustrates a man with a tragic flaw<br />
(what Aristotle called hamartia, “missing the mark”). In the New Testament hamartia<br />
5
means “sin,” but fifth-century Greeks did not have this concept. In <strong>Oedipus</strong> we might say<br />
it was his hasty anger that led him to make tragic mistakes.<br />
Mythologists see man’s fears <strong>and</strong> triumphs in it. Playwrights, <strong>and</strong> composers have<br />
written their versions of it: Jean Anouilh, Igor Stravinsky, Jean Cocteau, Heiner Müller<br />
<strong>and</strong> Athol Fugard. The greatest actors have wanted the role of <strong>Oedipus</strong> for themselves,<br />
like Lawrence Olivier <strong>and</strong> John Gielgud, <strong>and</strong> Orson Welles in the film Citizen Kane has<br />
often been compared to this great hero.<br />
One thing is constant in all the interpretations. <strong>Oedipus</strong> was a great man who<br />
struggled against the terrible things that happened to him <strong>and</strong> emerged victorious in his<br />
search for his own identity. He was a man who never gave up in spite of the odds against<br />
him <strong>and</strong> his terrible suffering.<br />
Greek tragedy tells us that suffering teaches, <strong>and</strong> sometimes this is the only way<br />
we can learn. Plato says the unexamined life is not worth living. The great playwright<br />
Sophocles is telling us that life is always worth living even in the worst case. The point is<br />
never to give up. This play celebrates endurance <strong>and</strong> the will to discover the truth. The<br />
struggle for knowledge, particularly the knowledge of what is good <strong>and</strong> what constitutes<br />
ethical action, makes life worth living. This is what constitutes human happiness, <strong>and</strong> we<br />
are warned at the end of the play not to say a person is happy, until we see how she or he<br />
dies. It is only then that one can see whether they lived a life of quality, <strong>and</strong> it is only this<br />
life that deserves to be called truly happy.<br />
6
First Performance:<br />
6 th at Penn Theatre<br />
October 11-November 2, 2003<br />
Directed <strong>by</strong> George Ye<br />
Produced <strong>by</strong> Dale Morris <strong>and</strong> Linda Castro<br />
<strong>Oedipus</strong>: Matt Scott<br />
Priest, Chorus: Mark Broadnax<br />
Creon: Brother of Queen Jocasta: Marc Overton<br />
Tiresias: Jack Banning<br />
Jocasta: Cristina Soria<br />
Messenger from Corinth: Jack Missett<br />
Second Messenger, Chorus: Kati Behumi<br />
Shepherd: David S. Cohen<br />
Antigone, Chorus: Catie Marron<br />
Ismene, Chorus: Abbey Grace Howe<br />
Chorus: Joline Hui<br />
George Soete<br />
Kelly Costa<br />
7
Cast<br />
OEDIPUS, King of Thebes<br />
PRIEST of Apollo<br />
CREON, brother of Queen JOCASTA<br />
CHORUS of old men of Thebes<br />
TIRESIAS, a prophet<br />
JOCASTA, Queen of Thebes, Wife of OEDIPUS<br />
MESSENGER from Corinth<br />
SHEPHERD<br />
2 ND MESSENGER<br />
Silent Characters:<br />
Suppliants<br />
OEDIPUS’ daughters<br />
8
A crowd led <strong>by</strong> Zeus’ PRIEST gathers in front of OEDIPUS’ palace. They have come as<br />
suppliants (wreathed <strong>and</strong> carrying olive branches). They are weak <strong>and</strong> sick <strong>and</strong> can<br />
hardly walk. OEDIPUS comes out of the palace <strong>and</strong> speaks to them.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Citizens of this city that Cadmus founded,<br />
why have you come here<br />
What is it that you want from me<br />
I see you wear wreaths <strong>and</strong> carry sacred branches.<br />
I smell incense <strong>and</strong> hear hymns <strong>and</strong> prayers,<br />
<strong>and</strong> the cries of people weeping.<br />
Your suffering is obvious,<br />
so I, <strong>Oedipus</strong>, known to you all as your king,<br />
have come myself to find out what I can do.<br />
Old man, I see you are the leader of these people.<br />
Speak to me.<br />
If you have something to ask of me,<br />
do not be afraid to tell me what you want. 10<br />
I’ll do what I can.<br />
I am not a man without pity.<br />
PRIEST<br />
You are our king.<br />
We st<strong>and</strong> before you, both young <strong>and</strong> old.<br />
I am a priest of Zeus, king of the gods.<br />
Some are here <strong>and</strong> others are in the temples praying; 20<br />
the city is rocked <strong>by</strong> a fierce storm,<br />
<strong>and</strong> it is drowning in a murderous sea.<br />
We are being ravaged <strong>by</strong> a plague:<br />
the fruit <strong>and</strong> the grain fall to the ground;<br />
the cattle are sick;<br />
<strong>and</strong> women are giving birth to dead babies.<br />
Black Hades is rich now in tears <strong>and</strong> moaning. 1 30<br />
We know you are not a god,<br />
but you are our leader,<br />
<strong>and</strong> most suited for dealing with the gods,<br />
particularly in times of crisis.<br />
You outwitted the Sphinx,<br />
that deadly she-monster who was destroying us,<br />
when we could not answer her riddles.<br />
1 Hades “the unseen” is also called Pluton, “the wealthy,” that is why there is a pun on the term “rich.” He<br />
is called wealthy because he sends rich gifts to earth, like corn. Hades can refer to both the god <strong>and</strong> is a<br />
proper name, <strong>and</strong> to the location (the underworld).<br />
9
We believe you were inspired <strong>by</strong> a god.<br />
Whether that is true or not, 40<br />
we have come to you for help once more.<br />
Help us now.<br />
You helped us then,<br />
<strong>and</strong> now we need you again.<br />
Don’t let it be said you saved us<br />
only for destruction <strong>by</strong> a greater evil.<br />
You are the lucky one: 50<br />
share that luck now,<br />
<strong>and</strong> make things right in a lasting way.<br />
A king needs men to rule.<br />
A ship is nothing without men to sail it,<br />
<strong>and</strong> a city is the same.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
I pity you.<br />
I see that you are sick,<br />
but no one is as sick as I am. 60<br />
Each of you is sick individually,<br />
but I am sick because I weep for the city,<br />
for myself, <strong>and</strong> for you.<br />
You have not awakened me from a deep sleep,<br />
in which I had neither thought, nor tears for you;<br />
in my mind<br />
I have been w<strong>and</strong>ering down many paths,<br />
searching for different solutions.<br />
This I think best: I sent Creon, my wife’s brother, 70<br />
to Delphi, to Phoebus Apollo,<br />
to ask what I can say or do to save the city.<br />
It’s been such a long time since he left<br />
that I’m worried about him, but when he returns,<br />
I would be a worthless man<br />
if I didn’t follow the god’s advice.<br />
PRIEST<br />
Timely said, my lord. Look, here comes the man himself.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
I pray he will guide us like some bright eye 80<br />
that sees the way to salvation.<br />
10
PRIEST<br />
The news must be good; otherwise, he wouldn’t wear a laurel wreath.<br />
We’ll know soon enough. Here he is.<br />
Enter CREON.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Creon, what news do you bring us from the god 2<br />
CREON<br />
Good news. Even misery, if it is cured, can lead to happiness.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
What do you mean<br />
What you say brings me neither joy nor fear. 90<br />
CREON<br />
Do you want me to speak in public Or should we go inside<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Speak in front of everyone.<br />
I am concerned more for these people than for my own life.<br />
CREON<br />
I shall tell you what the god told me.<br />
We must drive out of our city some evil presence<br />
that has settled in our midst <strong>and</strong> is now thriving. 3<br />
We must stop feeding it until it becomes incurable.<br />
How do we get rid of it Tell me about it.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
2 The Greeks believed in many gods, <strong>and</strong> Apollo is simply one of them. It is misleading to speak of God, as<br />
if there were a single god.<br />
3 The word for evil presence is miasma, something that is polluting the country. Miasma is often used to<br />
describe some pollution that is unholy <strong>and</strong> defiles the gods. The gods will punish people who keep such an<br />
evil presence in their community.<br />
11
CREON<br />
Drive it out, or pay back murder with murder, 100<br />
since blood has rained on the city.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Who has been murdered<br />
CREON<br />
King Laius, who was the leader of this l<strong>and</strong> before you.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
I have heard of him, but I never saw him myself.<br />
CREON<br />
He was killed, <strong>and</strong> now the god orders us to punish his murderers.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Where are they How do you follow<br />
the faint tracks of a murder<br />
committed so long ago<br />
CREON<br />
The god said the clues are here in this l<strong>and</strong>.<br />
If you look, you will find them,<br />
if not, the guilty will escape. 110<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Was Laius murdered in a house, in the open, or in another country<br />
CREON<br />
He said he was going to Delphi, but he never returned home.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Wasn’t there someone who saw what happened,<br />
who can tell us now what he saw<br />
12
CREON<br />
All those with the king died,<br />
except one terrified man who escaped,<br />
<strong>and</strong> his report was clear about only one thing.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
What was it Even a small beginning can give us hope:<br />
one discovery could lead to many.<br />
What was it 120<br />
If we are determined, even a small clue might help:<br />
one discovery can lead to many.<br />
CREON<br />
He said that a b<strong>and</strong> of robbers attacked <strong>and</strong> killed Laius.<br />
Not a single man, but many.<br />
What was the motive<br />
Were they bribed <strong>by</strong> someone here<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
CREON<br />
There was that rumor; but after Laius died,<br />
no one came up with any plausible answers.<br />
But, why did you stop<br />
investigating the murder of your king<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
CREON<br />
There was a more urgent matter confronting us.<br />
The Sphinx <strong>and</strong> her riddles forced us to stop wasting<br />
our efforts on an insoluble crime,<br />
but to look at what lay right at our feet. 130<br />
I’ll begin again, <strong>and</strong> I,<br />
<strong>Oedipus</strong>, will solve this crime.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
13
Apollo is right to make us investigate this murder<br />
I’ll be an ally of the dead man,<br />
<strong>and</strong> I’ll save this l<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> satisfy the god.<br />
When I avenge this crime, I won’t only be helping<br />
some distant acquaintance, I’ll also be helping myself.<br />
Whoever killed him may want to attack me, 140<br />
so in protecting him, I am protecting myself.<br />
So take your branches <strong>and</strong> leave now,<br />
<strong>and</strong> call all the people to an assembly;<br />
I will do everything I can.<br />
God will decide whether we succeed or fail.<br />
PRIEST<br />
Let’s go; we got what we came for.<br />
May Apollo who sent this message be our savior<br />
<strong>and</strong> stop this sickness ravaging our country. 150<br />
Exeunt PRIEST, OEDIPUS, <strong>and</strong> CREON.<br />
CHORUS<br />
What lies behind this sweet-sounding oracle sent <strong>by</strong> Zeus<br />
From Delphi, rich in gold, to shining Thebes<br />
Why does this frighten me so<br />
Why does my heart pound with terror<br />
I am in awe of you, Apollo, healer from Delos 4 ,<br />
Whom I now call upon.<br />
What will you cause to happen<br />
In the changing course of the seasons<br />
Speak to me,<br />
Immortal oracle,<br />
Golden child of hope.<br />
I call first on you, deathless Athena,<br />
Daughter of Zeus;<br />
And your sister Artemis, who guards the earth, 160<br />
Famous for her round throne in the marketplace;<br />
Then Apollo who shoots from afar:<br />
May all three of you appear before me,<br />
4 Leto gave birth to Apollo <strong>and</strong> his sister Artemis on Delos. Zeus was their father. Hera, Zeus’ jealous wife,<br />
had forbidden any l<strong>and</strong> to receive her <strong>and</strong> let her give birth. She finally found the w<strong>and</strong>ering isl<strong>and</strong> Ortygia<br />
(“quail isl<strong>and</strong>”), which was fixed with four pillars (no longer w<strong>and</strong>ered) <strong>and</strong> renamed Delos (“visible”)<br />
because it was where Apollo <strong>and</strong> Artemis first saw the light.<br />
14
And protect me from all harm.<br />
Just as you protected the city in the past<br />
And averted the flames of disaster<br />
That descended upon us,<br />
Come now once again.<br />
Our troubles are numberless; 170<br />
Disease infests our army;<br />
No spear of thought<br />
Is sharp enough for defense.<br />
Our once famous l<strong>and</strong> bears no fruit,<br />
Nor do women cry out<br />
In labor crowned <strong>by</strong> children.<br />
Now one, now another,<br />
Like the swift-winged bird,<br />
Flies to the shore<br />
Of the god of the west. 5<br />
Swifter than furious fire,<br />
Numberless are the city’s dead.<br />
Unburied children<br />
Lie on the ground;<br />
Death takes them with no tears. 180<br />
Silver-haired mothers <strong>and</strong> wives<br />
Surround the altars,<br />
Moaning their woes <strong>and</strong> weeping,<br />
Suppliants in vain.<br />
The shrill hymn to Apollo<br />
Mixes its blaze with cries of sorrow.<br />
Golden daughter of Zeus,<br />
Take pity on us:<br />
Send fair-faced salvation.<br />
We fight a war that is no war,<br />
No bronze of shields,<br />
But Ares burns us, shouting as he attacks. 190<br />
May he turn tail,<br />
Run far from our l<strong>and</strong>,<br />
Returning to Amphitrite’s great hall,<br />
Or to Thrace’s stormy shores<br />
That offer no harbor to strangers.<br />
What night leaves unfinished,<br />
The day brings to pass.<br />
You, father Zeus,<br />
Mighty with your blazing lightning, 200<br />
5 The setting sun, i.e. death.<br />
15
Destroy him with your thunderbolt.<br />
Lycian Apollo, 6<br />
Help me now in my need.<br />
May your invincible shafts<br />
Fly from your bow<br />
With its golden cord;<br />
You, Artemis, also,<br />
Who carry bright torches of fire,<br />
As you run over Lycian peaks.<br />
I call now on you, Bacchus of the wine-red face,<br />
Who gave your name to this l<strong>and</strong>: 210<br />
Your Maenads run near, <strong>and</strong> joyfully shout “Evoe,”<br />
Attack now with bright torch of pine<br />
The dark god who destroys us,<br />
That god whom no god honors.<br />
People assemble <strong>and</strong> OEDIPUS addresses them.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
You asked me for help.<br />
If you listen carefully,<br />
<strong>and</strong> treat the disease as I tell you,<br />
you will find a cure <strong>and</strong> relief from your suffering.<br />
Since I’m a stranger to both the story <strong>and</strong> what was done, 220<br />
I wouldn’t get very far without something to go on.<br />
I’m now also a citizen, so I make this announcement:<br />
whoever knows who killed Laius, son of Labdacus,<br />
I order you to tell me the whole story.<br />
Don’t be afraid!<br />
If you did it, you should give yourself up.<br />
The penalty won’t be terrible:<br />
only to leave the city,<br />
without any harm to yourself.<br />
If you know the person, or if he is a foreigner, 230<br />
I’ll gratefully give you a reward.<br />
But if you remain silent,<br />
whether out of fear for yourself,<br />
or someone else, beware.<br />
6 Apollo may be called Lycian because he accompanied his mother Leto to Lycia. She also assumed the<br />
form of a wolf to escape Hera’s notice, so Apollo is often called the wolf-god (Lukos means “wolf”).<br />
Wolves were often sacrificed to him, <strong>and</strong> wolves appeared with him on ancient coins. Lycius was also a<br />
person turned into a crow <strong>by</strong> Apollo for an improper sacrifice.<br />
16
I forbid any citizen of this l<strong>and</strong> over which I rule<br />
to let this man into your house,<br />
or to speak to him,<br />
or to let him pray,<br />
or sacrifice to the gods with you,<br />
or touch holy water. 240<br />
Instead you must drive him from your homes<br />
because he is the sickness described <strong>by</strong> Apollo.<br />
I decree this <strong>and</strong> so become the ally of the god<br />
<strong>and</strong> the dead man.<br />
I pray that he who has done this,<br />
whether a single man or several,<br />
that he may scratch out his life in total misery.<br />
I pray that if he lives in my own house<br />
with my own knowledge, 250<br />
that I be cursed in the same way.<br />
I order you to do this, for myself, for Apollo,<br />
<strong>and</strong> for this l<strong>and</strong> now infertile, godless, <strong>and</strong> destroyed.<br />
Even if the gods had not forced you,<br />
you should have investigated the murder<br />
of this noble man who was your king.<br />
Now I rule in his place,<br />
<strong>and</strong> sleep in his bed with his wife. 260<br />
If he had been as lucky as I was in having children,<br />
we would both have had them from the same mother,<br />
but as it was, fate cut him short.<br />
That’s why I’ll fight for him as if he were my own father,<br />
<strong>and</strong> discover his murderer.<br />
He was the son of Labdacus, whose father was Polydorus,<br />
who came from Cadmus <strong>and</strong>, before that, Agenor.<br />
For those who do not do what I ask,<br />
I pray the gods make their fields <strong>and</strong> their women barren, 270<br />
<strong>and</strong> that they die from what they suffer now, <strong>and</strong> even worse.<br />
But you who agree with what I’ve said,<br />
I pray that justice be your ally,<br />
<strong>and</strong> that all the gods walk at your side <strong>and</strong> favor you forever.<br />
CHORUS<br />
Since you press me, sir, I’ll speak.<br />
I didn’t kill him, <strong>and</strong> I don’t know who did.<br />
Apollo laid this comm<strong>and</strong> on us:<br />
HE should find the killer.<br />
17
OEDIPUS<br />
You are right.<br />
But no man can force a god against his will. 280<br />
May I say what I think second best<br />
CHORUS<br />
Tell me even third best.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
CHORUS<br />
Tiresias’ sight is next to Apollo’s.<br />
We would get a clear answer if we asked him.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
I’ve been busy there too. At Creon’s suggestion,<br />
we sent two men to bring him.<br />
I wonder why he’s not here yet.<br />
CHORUS<br />
For the rest, my lord, the story is all so vague <strong>and</strong> so old…<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Tell it to me. I want to look at everything. 290<br />
CHORUS<br />
They said some strangers on the road killed him.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
I heard that too, but apparently no one saw who did it.<br />
CHORUS<br />
After hearing your curses, if there is any fear in him,<br />
he won’t wait long to confess.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
18
A man who’s not afraid to commit murder has no fear of words.<br />
Enter the blind TIRESIAS, led <strong>by</strong> a boy.<br />
Here’s the man who will find him;<br />
here comes the divine prophet,<br />
in whom alone truth makes its home.<br />
CHORUS<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Tiresias, you know all things in heaven <strong>and</strong> earth, 300<br />
those that can be taught,<br />
<strong>and</strong> those that cannot be spoken;<br />
although you cannot see, you know what disease infests our city.<br />
You can be our savior, the only man to rescue us.<br />
I don’t know if you heard,<br />
but Apollo told us when we asked him,<br />
that we would be free from this affliction<br />
only when we discovered the killers of Laius,<br />
<strong>and</strong> either executed them, or sent them into exile from this l<strong>and</strong>.<br />
So share with us your messages from birds or anywhere else; 310<br />
save yourself, the city, <strong>and</strong> me, from this plague<br />
that comes to us from this dead man.<br />
We depend on you:<br />
it is the noblest task of all for a man<br />
to use his gifts to help others.<br />
How terrible knowledge can be<br />
when it burdens the one who possesses it.<br />
I forgot this <strong>and</strong> should never have come.<br />
TIRESIAS<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
What do you mean You seem to have misgivings about coming here.<br />
TIRESIAS<br />
Let me go home. It will be best both for you <strong>and</strong> for me. 320<br />
19
OEDIPUS<br />
It would be against the law not to tell us what we need to know,<br />
<strong>and</strong> it also shows no love for the city that raised you.<br />
TIRESIAS<br />
You don’t know what you are saying,<br />
<strong>and</strong> I don’t want to make the same mistake that…<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
We all beg you, for god’s sake, to tell us what you know.<br />
TIRESIAS<br />
You also don’t know what you are asking.<br />
I shall not reveal my dilemma, to say nothing of yours.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
What do you mean Do you know something but won’t reveal it 330<br />
You would rather betray <strong>and</strong> destroy the city<br />
TIRESIAS<br />
I will not cause either of us to suffer. So give it up!<br />
You won’t get anything from me.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
You could drive a stone mad! Won’t you speak<br />
Or do you prefer being stubborn <strong>and</strong> silent<br />
TIRESIAS<br />
You blame me for being difficult, but you don’t see your own anger.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Who wouldn’t be angry,<br />
hearing how you despise your own city! 340<br />
TIRESIAS<br />
Even though I reveal nothing, things will work themselves out.<br />
20
OEDIPUS<br />
But shouldn’t you tell me about these things<br />
TIRESIAS<br />
Rage away, if you must, but I refuse to speak.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
You’ve goaded me into telling you exactly what I think.<br />
You took part in the crime, although you didn’t kill him yourself.<br />
If you weren’t blind, you would probably have done that too.<br />
TIRESIAS<br />
Is that so 350<br />
Then I tell you to keep your word<br />
<strong>and</strong> remember what you said:<br />
don’t speak to others or to me from this day on,<br />
because YOU are the unholy affliction on this l<strong>and</strong>.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Can you st<strong>and</strong> there <strong>and</strong> shamelessly say that<br />
<strong>and</strong> think there will be no consequences<br />
Not for me. Blame the truth.<br />
TIRESIAS<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Where does this “truth” come from Not from your craft.<br />
TIRESIAS<br />
From you. You force me to speak against my will.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
What was it again I want to know exactly what you said.<br />
TIRESIAS<br />
Didn’t you underst<strong>and</strong> Is this a test 360<br />
21
OEDIPUS<br />
Say it again. I want to know exactly what you mean.<br />
TIRESIAS<br />
I say that you are the murderer you are looking for.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
You won’t get away with saying this nonsense twice.<br />
Shall I go on <strong>and</strong> make you even angrier<br />
TIRESIAS<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Go on, you can’t say anything<br />
that is more ridiculous than you already have.<br />
TIRESIAS<br />
I say you are blind to the filth in which you live,<br />
in the worst relationship possible with those who are closest to you!<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Do you really think you can go on saying this<br />
If the truth counts for anything.<br />
TIRESIAS<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Yes, but not for you. You are blind in your ears, 370<br />
in your mind, <strong>and</strong> in your eyes.<br />
TIRESIAS<br />
It is too bad that you condemn me<br />
for something for which you will soon be accused.<br />
22
OEDIPUS<br />
You live in perpetual night,<br />
so you can’t harm me or anyone else who looks on the day.<br />
I won’t bring you down. Apollo will.<br />
TIRESIAS<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Is it you or Creon who is responsible for this plot.<br />
Creon’s not the problem, but you are.<br />
TIRESIAS<br />
OEDIPUS, to the chorus<br />
Dark <strong>and</strong> dangerous is the envy provoked <strong>by</strong> wealth <strong>and</strong> power, 380<br />
<strong>and</strong> a skill that surpasses skill!<br />
My proof is that Creon, my trusted friend from the beginning,<br />
has been plotting against me, secretly, out of desire for the throne,<br />
which the city gave to me without my asking.<br />
Now he sets on me this charlatan who weaves plots,<br />
a beggar up to tricks, who only cares about lining his own pocket,<br />
but is blind in his craft.<br />
To Tiresias.<br />
If you had any talent, why didn’t you help free the citizens<br />
in their hour of need when the singing Sphinx set her riddles 390<br />
Not anyone could solve those riddles!<br />
Some prophetic skill was needed,<br />
but you could find none from your birds or gods.<br />
No. I was the one, know-nothing <strong>Oedipus</strong>.<br />
I stopped her <strong>by</strong> using my brains, not nonsense from birds.<br />
And now it’s me you’re trying to throw out,<br />
thinking you’ll be a trusted advisor of Creon, 400<br />
sitting on the throne that used to be mine.<br />
You will be sorry that you came up with this plan<br />
to “throw out the defilement.”<br />
If you weren’t an old man,<br />
I’d teach you the hard way for devising this scheme.<br />
23
CHORUS<br />
You both have spoken in anger. That’s not helpful.<br />
We have to figure out how best to do what the god asked us to do.<br />
TIRESIAS<br />
Although you are the ruler, we have equal power to speak.<br />
I am not a slave to you, but I serve Apollo. 410<br />
I also am hardly in Creon’s service.<br />
You insult my blindness, but you, who are not blind,<br />
cannot see your own suffering, nor where you live, nor with whom.<br />
Do you know your parents<br />
You can’t see that you are the enemy<br />
of both those above <strong>and</strong> below the earth.<br />
One day, the deadly-footed, double-woven curse<br />
that comes from your father <strong>and</strong> mother<br />
will drive you from this l<strong>and</strong>.<br />
You see now, but soon you will be in darkness.<br />
How the mountains <strong>and</strong> shadowy caves<br />
will echo with your screams when, 420<br />
after having sailed into the port of your home,<br />
with winds at your back,<br />
you finally learn the truth about your marriage.<br />
But there’s worse to come, which you don’t even suspect,<br />
<strong>and</strong> it will destroy you <strong>and</strong> your children.<br />
You can blacken Creon’s name <strong>and</strong> mine as much as you like!<br />
No human being will ever be more utterly ruined,<br />
nor more cruelly, than you.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
This is intolerable! I won’t hear another word!<br />
Go to hell! Get out of here <strong>and</strong> go home, NOW! 430<br />
TIRESIAS<br />
I wouldn’t have come if you hadn’t sent for me.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
If I’d known you would speak such nonsense,<br />
I’d never have brought you here.<br />
24
TIRESIAS<br />
Nonsense Your parents thought me wise.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
My parents Wait! Who are they<br />
TIRESIAS<br />
This one day will both birth <strong>and</strong> bury you.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Your words are all smoke <strong>and</strong> riddles.<br />
TIRESIAS<br />
Aren’t you the master of riddles 440<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
You also insult my strength.<br />
TIRESIAS<br />
It’s that strength that ruined you.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
I don’t care what you say, if I saved the city.<br />
I’ll leave. Boy, lead me.<br />
TIRESIAS<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Yes. Take him away. You’re only a burden to me.<br />
Your departure will be good riddance to bad rubbish.<br />
TIRESIAS<br />
I’ve said what I came to say.<br />
I’m not afraid of you, because you can’t hurt me.<br />
25
But I tell you this: the murderer of Laius<br />
that you seek <strong>and</strong> threaten is here. 450<br />
He’s thought to be a stranger,<br />
but it will turn out that he’s native-born.<br />
He won’t be happy about that. Once he could see,<br />
but now he’ll be blind; once rich, now poor.<br />
He’ll tap his way with a stick, a stranger in a strange l<strong>and</strong>.<br />
He’ll be seen as both brother<br />
<strong>and</strong> father to his children with whom he lives,<br />
son <strong>and</strong> husb<strong>and</strong> to his wife,<br />
<strong>and</strong> murderer of his own father, 460<br />
sowing seeds in the same wife.<br />
That’s something for you to think about<br />
when you go back into your palace.<br />
If you find I’m wrong,<br />
then you can say I have no skill in seeing the future.<br />
Exeunt TIRESIAS <strong>and</strong> OEDIPUS.<br />
CHORUS<br />
Who is it<br />
The song of Delphi’s rock accused<br />
Of committing with his own bloody h<strong>and</strong>s<br />
What was more unspeakable<br />
Than unspeakable<br />
It is time for him to run<br />
Swifter than the storm horses<br />
Of a wild gale.<br />
Apollo will attack him<br />
With his father’s thunder <strong>and</strong> lightning 470<br />
And close behind,<br />
Fierce <strong>and</strong> infallible fates of death<br />
Are hot on the track of their prey.<br />
The word clear as crystal shone out<br />
From the snowy peaks of Parnassus,<br />
Ordering a search for the man in hiding.<br />
He w<strong>and</strong>ers though the dark wood,<br />
Into caves <strong>and</strong> over rocks,<br />
A bull, limping miserably on wounded hoof,<br />
Trying to escape the prophecies<br />
From Delphi, the center of the earth, 480<br />
But they buzz continually around his head.<br />
The wise seer has disturbed me,<br />
Disturbed me greatly.<br />
26
I have nothing to say,<br />
Either to agree or disagree.<br />
I know of no quarrel, neither then or now,<br />
Between <strong>Oedipus</strong>, son of Polybus, 490<br />
And Laius, son of Labdacus,<br />
To justify a trial.<br />
I cannot go against <strong>Oedipus</strong>’ fame that all men know<br />
To ally myself with Laius <strong>and</strong> his kin,<br />
Because of deaths hidden in mystery.<br />
Zeus <strong>and</strong> Apollo know what they are doing;<br />
They know the past, present, <strong>and</strong> future of man.<br />
A prophet is different: he can be wrong,<br />
And I can equal him in knowledge.<br />
One man is wise in one way, 500<br />
Another in another.<br />
Before I see the word come to pass,<br />
I shall not agree with his accusers.<br />
It was clear that the winged woman<br />
Once fought with him;<br />
He was seen to be wise in the contest,<br />
A friend to the city. 510<br />
In my heart, I shall never condemn him.<br />
Enter CREON.<br />
CREON<br />
Citizens.<br />
I have come because I heard that <strong>Oedipus</strong><br />
has accused me of terrible things.<br />
This is intolerable.<br />
If in any way he thinks<br />
that I have harmed him in word or deed,<br />
I won’t live with this shameful reputation.<br />
This loss is too great – I cannot take this lightly – 520<br />
when I hear that I am accused of betraying the city, you, <strong>and</strong> my friends.<br />
CHORUS<br />
Yes. That is what he said.<br />
But probably in anger, because he wasn’t thinking.<br />
CREON<br />
He said publicly that I persuaded the prophet to tell lies<br />
27
CHORUS<br />
Yes. But he didn’t mean it.<br />
CREON<br />
This was the charge he made against me,<br />
with his eyes wide open <strong>and</strong> his mind clear<br />
CHORUS<br />
I don’t know. I don’t underst<strong>and</strong> what rulers do. 530<br />
But here he is, just coming out of the house.<br />
Enter OEDIPUS.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
How dare you come here<br />
How dare you show your face here at my house,<br />
you who would be my murderer, <strong>and</strong> steal my throne<br />
Tell me, <strong>by</strong> the gods, did you think me a coward <strong>and</strong> an idiot<br />
Was that why you conceived this plan<br />
Did you think I wouldn’t find out or defend myself<br />
You fool! 540<br />
You need money <strong>and</strong> friends to steal a throne:<br />
wealth <strong>and</strong> supporters give power.<br />
CREON<br />
Listen to what I have to say, <strong>and</strong> then judge me.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
You are skilled in speech.<br />
But I’m not going to be a good listener<br />
to my enemy.<br />
CREON<br />
Please listen.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Just tell me you’re not a traitor.<br />
CREON<br />
No, I’m not.<br />
Don’t be stubborn, but be wise, <strong>and</strong> have an open mind. 550<br />
28
OEDIPUS<br />
It’s not wise to think<br />
you can harm someone close to you <strong>and</strong> not be punished for it.<br />
CREON<br />
I agree. Tell me what did I do to harm you<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Didn’t you tell me to send for your prophet Do you deny it<br />
No, <strong>and</strong> I still believe it was good advice.<br />
CREON<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
How long has it been since Laius disappeared… 560<br />
was murdered.<br />
CREON<br />
It was a long time ago, <strong>and</strong> the years add up.<br />
Was Tiresias a skilled prophet then<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
CREON<br />
Yes. He was wise <strong>and</strong> honored then as now.<br />
Did he mention me then<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Not that I heard personally.<br />
CREON<br />
29
OEDIPUS<br />
Didn’t you try to find the killer<br />
CREON<br />
Of course, but we could find nothing.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Why didn’t the wise seer help you<br />
CREON<br />
I don’t know. If you know nothing, say nothing.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
You do know something,<br />
<strong>and</strong> if you know what’s good for you, 570<br />
you’ll tell me.<br />
What I won’t hold anything back.<br />
CREON<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
If he wasn’t plotting with you,<br />
he would never have called me the murderer of Laius.<br />
CREON<br />
If that is what he said.<br />
Now you must tell me as much as I’ve told you.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
I’ll tell you all I can; but I’m not the murderer.<br />
So. You’re married to my sister<br />
CREON<br />
30
OEDIPUS<br />
I don’t deny it.<br />
CREON<br />
You rule this l<strong>and</strong>, <strong>and</strong> she has an equal share in it<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
I give her whatever she wants. 580<br />
CREON<br />
Am I not your equal, the third in this triad<br />
Yes, <strong>and</strong> that is why I call you a traitor.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
CREON<br />
Listen to me, <strong>and</strong> think about it.<br />
Why would anyone want to be king <strong>and</strong> live in constant fear,<br />
rather than have the same power <strong>and</strong> sleep peacefully<br />
I don’t want to be king, as long as I enjoy the same privileges.<br />
Any sensible man would agree with me.<br />
I get all I want now <strong>and</strong> am free from fear, 590<br />
but if I were the ruler,<br />
I’d have to do a lot of things I would not want to do.<br />
Why do you think I’d prefer to be king,<br />
when I have the same power <strong>and</strong> influence<br />
without any of the worries I’m not stupid.<br />
I only want things that can benefit me.<br />
Now everyone calls me their friend <strong>and</strong> greets me warmly.<br />
If they want anything, they take me aside<br />
because they know I can get it for them.<br />
I’d never do what you accuse me of, 600<br />
nor would I be an ally of anyone who did.<br />
Go to Delphi, <strong>and</strong> find out whether what I reported was true.<br />
If you discover<br />
I have plotted with the seer,<br />
don’t kill me <strong>by</strong> one vote,<br />
but two: yours <strong>and</strong> mine,<br />
31
ut don’t accuse me without any proof.<br />
It is as wrong to call a bad man good as to call a good man bad. 610<br />
I think if you get rid of a good friend,<br />
you destroy your own life as well.<br />
You will eventually learn:<br />
it is only time that reveals the just man,<br />
whereas the unjust one is discovered in a day.<br />
CHORUS<br />
If you want the opinion of a cautious man, lord,<br />
I think he has spoken well.<br />
Too swift a judgment is never safe.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
A swift plot calls for swift action. To wait is to risk losing. 620<br />
CREON<br />
What do you want To drive me from this l<strong>and</strong><br />
OEDIPUS<br />
No. I want you to die; exile’s too easy.<br />
To make an example of you to show where envy leads ….<br />
CREON<br />
You refuse to believe me, <strong>and</strong> nothing will persuade you<br />
You’re not making sense.<br />
Enough sense to satisfy me.<br />
You should also think of me.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
CREON<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
You’re a traitor.<br />
CREON<br />
And if you are wrong<br />
32
OEDIPUS<br />
All the same, I have to rule.<br />
CREON<br />
Not if you rule badly.<br />
O city, my city.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
CREON<br />
It’s mine too, not yours alone. 630<br />
CHORUS<br />
Stop, I see Jocasta coming from the palace just in time.<br />
Now, with her help, you can settle your quarrel.<br />
Enter JOCASTA.<br />
JOCASTA<br />
You foolish men, what are you thinking of to quarrel like this<br />
Aren’t you ashamed to air your private differences,<br />
when the city needs you in its present crisis [Turning to OEDIPUS]<br />
<strong>Oedipus</strong>, please go inside, <strong>and</strong> you, Creon,<br />
go home, <strong>and</strong> don’t make a small problem into something big.<br />
CREON<br />
Sister, your husb<strong>and</strong> is threatening me with either death 640<br />
or exile.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
That’s right. Because I found him plotting to destroy me.<br />
I swear, if I have done anything you accuse me of,<br />
<strong>by</strong> the gods, may I be cursed forever.<br />
CREON, delivered with conviction<br />
JOCASTA<br />
<strong>Oedipus</strong>, believe him. That is a powerful oath, <strong>and</strong> we all heard it:<br />
the gods, me, <strong>and</strong> these people here.<br />
33
CHORUS<br />
I beg you lord, listen to her with both your heart <strong>and</strong> mind. 650<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
What do you want me to do<br />
CHORUS<br />
Believe this man who’s been trustworthy in the past;<br />
he’s sworn, <strong>and</strong> the gods have heard.<br />
Do you know what you want from me<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
CHORUS<br />
Yes.<br />
What Tell me<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
CHORUS<br />
Simply because you suspect him of something, do not banish this man who has proven<br />
himself <strong>by</strong> his oath to be loyal.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
You realize then you are asking either for my own death or exile<br />
CHORUS<br />
No, I swear! That’s not what I want. 660<br />
I just can’t bear to see these private troubles<br />
added to the ones that have been tearing our l<strong>and</strong> apart.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Then I’ll let him off, even though it might mean I die,<br />
or am driven from this l<strong>and</strong> in dishonor. 670<br />
I do this out of respect for you, not him:<br />
he’ll be my enemy forever.<br />
CREON<br />
Your anger is blazing,<br />
And that makes it hard for you to give in.<br />
34
Anger hurts the angry man most of all.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Haven’t you had enough yet Won’t you leave<br />
CREON<br />
I’ll go. You make no sense, but they do, <strong>and</strong> they have saved me.<br />
Exit CREON.<br />
CHORUS<br />
Lady, why don’t you take him into the house<br />
JOCASTA<br />
I will, after I find out what happened. 680<br />
CHORUS<br />
It was only stupid talk, but even that can cause harm.<br />
JOCASTA<br />
From both of them<br />
Yes.<br />
CHORUS<br />
JOCASTA<br />
What did they say<br />
CHORUS<br />
Let’s leave it alone now. It is our l<strong>and</strong> that is my concern.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
I know you mean well,<br />
but do you see how you have no real regard for me<br />
<strong>and</strong> what I desire with all my heart.<br />
CHORUS<br />
I would be mad to ignore you, 690<br />
because you saved my beloved country<br />
35
when it was going through stormy times:<br />
rescue it again, <strong>and</strong> bring it safely to harbor.<br />
Please tell me what has angered you so much<br />
JOCASTA (to OEDIPUS)<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
I shall. I respect you more than everyone here. 700<br />
Creon was plotting against me.<br />
Tell me the details.<br />
He says I killed Laius.<br />
JOCASTA<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
JOCASTA<br />
Did he see you, or did he learn this from someone else<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
He cleverly covered his own guilt<br />
<strong>by</strong> sending a prophet to accuse me with his lies.<br />
JOCASTA<br />
I’ll set your mind at peace. Listen to me.<br />
No mortal can be a prophet, <strong>and</strong> I’ll prove it to you. 710<br />
Laius was given a prophecy,<br />
not from Apollo, but his priests,<br />
who said that he would die at the h<strong>and</strong>s of his son.<br />
What happened<br />
Laius was killed <strong>by</strong> robbers<br />
at the place where three roads meet.<br />
When his ba<strong>by</strong> son was three days old,<br />
his ankles were bound together,<br />
<strong>and</strong> he was left to die on a wild mountainside.<br />
So Apollo’s oracle did not come to pass: 720<br />
the son did not kill his father;<br />
Laius did not suffer what he feared,<br />
36
death at his son’s h<strong>and</strong>s.<br />
So much for prophets. Ignore them.<br />
What the gods want to happen, they will see to themselves.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
A strange feeling came over me as you spoke just now:<br />
my heart started to race, <strong>and</strong> my mind to w<strong>and</strong>er….<br />
What are you worrying about now<br />
JOCASTA<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
You said that Laius was killed 730<br />
at a place where three roads meet<br />
JOCASTA<br />
Yes. That was what they said then, <strong>and</strong> still do now.<br />
And that’s where it happened<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
JOCASTA<br />
Yes. In Phocis. One road leads from Delphi,<br />
one from Daulis, <strong>and</strong> one goes south.<br />
How long ago did these things happen<br />
Just before you became king.<br />
Oh, Zeus, what are you doing to me<br />
What is it that’s bothering you<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
JOCASTA<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
JOCASTA<br />
37
OEDIPUS<br />
Don’t ask me now. 740<br />
What did Laius look like, <strong>and</strong> how old was he<br />
JOCASTA<br />
He was dark, <strong>and</strong> his hair was just turning gray.<br />
He looked rather like you.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Oh, without knowing, I may have cursed myself.<br />
I’m afraid to look at you now.<br />
JOCASTA<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
I have a terrible feeling that the blind seer could see,<br />
but tell me something else.<br />
JOCASTA<br />
I am afraid, but whatever you ask, I’ll tell you what I know.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Did he travel with a few people, 750<br />
or many guards, as a king would<br />
JOCASTA<br />
There were five in all, <strong>and</strong> a herald with them.<br />
Just one carriage for Laius.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Oh God, crystal clear now. Who told you that<br />
A slave. The only one who escaped.<br />
JOCASTA<br />
38
OEDIPUS<br />
Is he here now In the palace<br />
JOCASTA<br />
He’s not here now.<br />
When, after Laius’ death, you took over,<br />
he begged me to send him to the fields to be a shepherd; 760<br />
he said he wanted to be as far from the city as he could.<br />
I sent him away;<br />
he was a good slave <strong>and</strong> deserved even better than this.<br />
Could we get him here quickly<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
JOCASTA<br />
Yes, why<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
I’m afraid I’ve said too much. That’s why I want to see him.<br />
JOCASTA<br />
He’ll come. But I think I have a right to know 770<br />
what it is that bothers you.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
I won’t deny you this, now that dark forebodings haunt me.<br />
Who better than you should hear<br />
about all that has happened to me<br />
My father was Polybus, King of Corinth,<br />
<strong>and</strong> my mother Merope, a Dorian.<br />
In everything I was privileged<br />
above all others in the kingdom.<br />
Then something happened, which was indeed offensive,<br />
but hardly something that<br />
should have disturbed me as much as it did.<br />
A man, who too much wine had made loose-tongued,<br />
said that I wasn’t my father’s child. 780<br />
I was deeply disturbed <strong>and</strong> bridled at the insult.<br />
39
The next day I went to my father <strong>and</strong> mother<br />
<strong>and</strong> they were furious at the drunken lout.<br />
Although their reaction in some measure placated me,<br />
grim doubts continued to torment me.<br />
Without disclosing my intention,<br />
I went to Delphi to consult the Pythian oracle,<br />
but Apollo ignored what I’d asked,<br />
<strong>and</strong> instead told me other horrible things: 790<br />
I would have sexual intercourse with my mother<br />
<strong>and</strong> sire a brood that other men<br />
would shudder to see.<br />
In addition to this, I would be the killer of my father.<br />
After this, guided <strong>by</strong> the stars, I left my home, Corinth,<br />
meaning never to see it again,<br />
so that those dreadful prophecies would never be fulfilled.<br />
I walked to the place where you say the king died.<br />
I’ll tell you the truth. 800<br />
When I came to the crossroads,<br />
I met a man, riding in a carriage, with a herald, just as you said.<br />
The driver <strong>and</strong> the old man tried to force me off the road.<br />
In my fury I struck out at the driver,<br />
who was trying to push me away.<br />
When he saw this, the old man waited until I was coming past<br />
<strong>and</strong> then hit me full on the head<br />
with his double-pronged stick,<br />
which he used to goad the horses.<br />
I gave back double what he delivered: 810<br />
I struck him full on with my staff<br />
<strong>and</strong> knocked him out of the carriage.<br />
By then I was besides myself with rage.<br />
I killed him <strong>and</strong> then I killed them all.<br />
But if it turns out that this stranger was indeed Laius,<br />
then I would be the most miserable of all men:<br />
no one more hated <strong>by</strong> the gods.<br />
No stranger, no citizen could invite me into his home,<br />
<strong>and</strong> no one speak to me: everyone must drive me away.<br />
Only I am to blame for this curse that I laid on myself. 820<br />
I have touched you in the bed of the dead man<br />
with the same h<strong>and</strong>s that murdered him.<br />
Am I a criminal Am I an unholy monster<br />
Must I run away <strong>and</strong> not see my family<br />
May I not return to my native soil,<br />
because then I risk marrying my mother<br />
40
<strong>and</strong> killing my father Polybus, who raised me <strong>and</strong> gave me life<br />
Wouldn’t someone be right to say<br />
that this fate comes from a savage god<br />
O God, O God, <strong>by</strong> all that is holy, 830<br />
let me die now rather than live to see such a day!<br />
Banish me from the eyes of men<br />
before I commit such filthy crimes.<br />
CHORUS<br />
Yes, you describe horrible things to us,<br />
but until you hear what the witness has to say,<br />
keep up your hope.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
My only hope now is for this shepherd to get here.<br />
JOCASTA<br />
When he does, what do you want from him<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
I’ll tell you: if he agrees with what you said, then I’m acquitted. 840<br />
What was it that I said<br />
JOCASTA<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
You said that the shepherd claimed robbers killed Laius.<br />
If he still says it was more than one,<br />
then I didn’t kill the king.<br />
One does not equal many.<br />
But if he says clearly it was one man alone,<br />
that weighs more against me.<br />
JOCASTA<br />
He said it was many, <strong>and</strong> he can’t say otherwise now,<br />
because the whole city heard him, not only me. 850<br />
Even if he changes his story now,<br />
he still can’t prove that the killing of Laius was as predicted,<br />
namely that my son did it.<br />
That poor child never killed him,<br />
41
ut died himself before he did.<br />
From this point on,<br />
I won’t take prophecy seriously.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
You make good sense,<br />
but be sure to send someone to bring the man here. 860<br />
JOCASTA<br />
I’ll send for him quickly.<br />
Let’s go inside. I would not do anything you didn’t want.<br />
Exeunt OEDIPUS <strong>and</strong> JOCASTA.<br />
CHORUS<br />
May my destiny lead me always<br />
To be reverent <strong>and</strong> pure in both word <strong>and</strong> deed,<br />
And follow the laws that come from on high:<br />
They are born in the lofty heavens,<br />
And only Olympus is their father.<br />
No mortal nature theirs, 870<br />
Nor does forgetfulness lull them to sleep.<br />
There is a great God in these laws,<br />
And He is ageless.<br />
Pride breeds the tyrant.<br />
Pride, if overstuffed<br />
Beyond the proper <strong>and</strong> profitable,<br />
Climbs up to the rooftop,<br />
And plunges headlong into<br />
Doom, sent <strong>by</strong> necessity,<br />
Where feet are useless.<br />
I pray that God 880<br />
Never reverse the city’s fair triumph.<br />
God will always be my protector.<br />
But if someone walks disdainfully,<br />
Arrogant in speech or action,<br />
Careless of justice,<br />
Without reverence for the gods,<br />
May an evil fate seize him<br />
For his misguided insolence<br />
If he does not win his profit justly<br />
Or restrain himself from unholy acts,<br />
42
Or touches what must not be touched. 890<br />
Whoever does these things<br />
Shall not escape the shafts<br />
Of disaster that will attack his soul.<br />
If such a man is honored,<br />
Why should I dance for the gods<br />
I shall no longer go to the holy shrine of Delphi,<br />
The navel of the earth,<br />
Nor to the shrines of Abae or Olympia, 900<br />
If oracles do not tell the truth to all mankind.<br />
Almighty Zeus, lord of all,<br />
If you hear what I say,<br />
Do not let this escape you,<br />
And your immortal rule.<br />
The oracle’s sight is growing dim;<br />
Apollo’s honor no longer shines;<br />
The power of the gods is dying. 910<br />
JOCASTA enters with offerings for Apollo.<br />
Leaders of the l<strong>and</strong>,<br />
I decided to go to the temples of the gods,<br />
<strong>and</strong> with my own h<strong>and</strong>s<br />
offer these crowns of flowers <strong>and</strong> incense.<br />
JOCASTA<br />
<strong>Oedipus</strong> is tormenting himself with every possible doubt.<br />
He no longer sensibly weighs new information against the old,<br />
but agrees with every new speaker,<br />
especially if the message is a bad one.<br />
Turns to the altar <strong>and</strong> addresses the god.<br />
Since he ignores my advice,<br />
I have come to you, Lycian Apollo. 920<br />
You are closest, <strong>and</strong> I pray<br />
that you find some good outcome.<br />
We all are terrified<br />
to see the captain of our ship struck down.<br />
Enter MESSENGER.<br />
MESSENGER<br />
Strangers, could you tell me where’s the palace of <strong>Oedipus</strong><br />
Or better still, could you tell me where he is<br />
43
CHORUS<br />
This is his home, <strong>and</strong> he’s inside.<br />
Here is his wife <strong>and</strong> mother of his children.<br />
MESSENGER<br />
May she be happy <strong>and</strong> live with happy people always! 930<br />
Blessings on the mistress of the house.<br />
JOCASTA<br />
Blessings on you stranger, who deserve it for your graciousness.<br />
But tell me why you have come, or what message you bring.<br />
MESSENGER<br />
I have good news for your house <strong>and</strong> your husb<strong>and</strong>.<br />
What news is that, <strong>and</strong> from whom<br />
JOCASTA<br />
MESSENGER<br />
From Corinth, <strong>and</strong> what I shall tell you will please you,<br />
but also bring you some sadness.<br />
What is it A double-pronged message<br />
JOCASTA<br />
MESSENGER<br />
Those in Corinth have said they want to make him king. 940<br />
JOCASTA<br />
How can that be Doesn’t Polybus still rule<br />
No. Death has welcomed him home.<br />
MESSENGER<br />
44
JOCASTA<br />
What are you saying <strong>Oedipus</strong>’ father is dead<br />
MESSENGER<br />
May I die if I lie.<br />
JOCASTA<br />
You there, go tell the master at once.<br />
So much for prophecies from the gods!<br />
<strong>Oedipus</strong> avoided his father<br />
because it was prophesied that he would kill him,<br />
but, see, he has died from natural causes!<br />
Enter OEDIPUS.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
My dearest wife, why have you sent for me 950<br />
Listen to this man, <strong>and</strong> then tell me<br />
what you think about God’s holy oracles!<br />
Who is he, <strong>and</strong> what does he have to say<br />
JOCASTA<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
JOCASTA<br />
He’s from Corinth, to say that Polybus has passed away: he’s dead.<br />
What is this Tell me yourself.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
To put it bluntly, you can be sure he’s dead.<br />
MESSENGER<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
By some treachery Or sickness 960<br />
45
MESSENGER<br />
Even a small gust blows an old body to its resting place.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
So he died from sickness, the poor man.<br />
MESSENGER<br />
And the many years he’d put in.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Why should one look to Delphi, <strong>and</strong> those screeching birds<br />
that predicted I was going to kill my father<br />
He’s dead <strong>and</strong> buried.<br />
I’m here, <strong>and</strong> I touched no weapon,<br />
unless he died from missing me. 970<br />
But Polybus sleeps in Hades,<br />
<strong>and</strong> with him went the worthless oracles.<br />
JOCASTA<br />
Haven’t I been telling you so for a long time now<br />
Yes. But I was afraid.<br />
Don’t worry any longer.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
JOCASTA<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
But shouldn’t I be afraid of sleeping with my mother<br />
JOCASTA<br />
Why should any man fear what may happen<br />
when he can do nothing about it<br />
There’s no certain way to predict the future,<br />
so it’s best to take life easy.<br />
And don’t be afraid of marrying your mother! 980<br />
Many a man has lain with his mother in his dreams.<br />
He lives best who regards all prophecies <strong>and</strong> dreams as nonsense.<br />
46
OEDIPUS<br />
That would all be fine, if my mother weren’t living.<br />
But, even though what you said is correct,<br />
as long as she lives, I’ll be afraid.<br />
You must be relieved at least<br />
to hear your father died a natural death.<br />
Yes. But I’m afraid while she is still alive.<br />
Of whom are you afraid<br />
MESSENGER<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
MESSENGER<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Merope, old man, who lived with Polybus. 990<br />
Why are you afraid of her<br />
MESSENGER<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
There was a terrible prophecy.<br />
MESSENGER<br />
Can you tell me, or is that forbidden<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
No. Apollo said that I would have intercourse with my mother<br />
<strong>and</strong> shed my father’s blood with my own h<strong>and</strong>s.<br />
That is why I lived far away from Corinth.<br />
Things worked out well for me,<br />
but it is sweetest of all to look into the eyes of our parents.<br />
MESSENGER<br />
Was that the fear that drove you out of our city 1000<br />
47
OEDIPUS<br />
Yes, so that I wouldn’t be my father’s murderer.<br />
MESSENGER<br />
Since I have come as a friend, why don’t I set your mind free<br />
If you can do that, I’ll reward you well.<br />
Yes. I came here with that hope,<br />
<strong>and</strong> that when you came back home,<br />
you would reward me for my services.<br />
I’ll never return to my parents.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
MESSENGER<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
MESSENGER<br />
It is clear you don’t know what you’re doing.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
What do you mean For God’s sake, tell me!<br />
MESSENGER<br />
It’s on their account you don’t go home 1010<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Yes. I’m afraid that the oracle will come true.<br />
MESSENGER<br />
So you are avoiding crimes against your parents.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
48
Yes. That’s what frightens me.<br />
MESSENGER<br />
You have nothing to fear.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
How can that be if they are my parents<br />
MESSENGER<br />
Polybus was not related to you.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
What are you saying Isn’t Polybus my father<br />
MESSENGER<br />
No more than I am, <strong>and</strong> equally so.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
How can my father be equal to someone who is of no relation to me<br />
MESSENGER<br />
Neither he nor I was your father. 1020<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Then why did he call me his son<br />
MESSENGER<br />
I gave you to him as a gift from my h<strong>and</strong>s.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
How could he love, as much as he did, a ba<strong>by</strong> he received from another’s h<strong>and</strong>s<br />
MESSENGER<br />
He had no children of his own.<br />
49
OEDIPUS<br />
Did you buy me or find me, before giving me to him<br />
MESSENGER<br />
I found you in the wooded valley of Cithaeron.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
What were you doing there<br />
MESSENGER<br />
I was a shepherd, in charge of flocks grazing there.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
A w<strong>and</strong>ering shepherd, serving someone<br />
MESSENGER<br />
Yes, <strong>and</strong> the person who saved you at a critical time. 1030<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Why critical<br />
MESSENGER<br />
Your ankles carry the telltale scars.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Oh, why do you speak of that old pain<br />
MESSENGER<br />
I released your ankles which were pierced <strong>and</strong> tied together.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
A terrible shame from infancy.<br />
MESSENGER<br />
50
That’s how you got your name, <strong>Oedipus</strong>, which means<br />
“swollen foot”.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Did my mother or father give me that name Tell me.<br />
MESSENGER<br />
I don’t know. The man who gave you to me knows better.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Then you didn’t find me, 1040<br />
but received me from some other shepherd<br />
Yes. Another shepherd gave you to me.<br />
Who was he But you said you found me.<br />
Can you tell me the truth now<br />
Someone said he was Laius’ man.<br />
Laius, who used to rule here<br />
MESSENGER<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
MESSENGER<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
MESSENGER<br />
Yes. That man was the king’s shepherd.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Is he alive, so that I can see him<br />
MESSENGER<br />
51
Your people here would know that best.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Does anyone of you know this shepherd of whom he speaks<br />
Have you seen him here, or in the fields<br />
Tell me, it’s time everything is revealed. 1050<br />
CHORUS<br />
I think he is the same man<br />
that you asked to come here from the fields,<br />
but Jocasta would be the best one to tell you.<br />
Turning to JOCASTA.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
You know the man we’ve sent for. Is this the same man<br />
JOCASTA<br />
Why ask about him Pay no attention.<br />
Forget what has been said.<br />
It’s worthless information.<br />
OEDIPUS, getting irritated<br />
Do you want me to cover up my birth,<br />
just when we’re getting so close<br />
JOCASTA<br />
I beg you, <strong>by</strong> the gods above, 1060<br />
if you care about your life,<br />
don’t try to find this out.<br />
It is enough that I’m sick over it.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Don’t worry.<br />
Even if I’m a slave,<br />
born of a slave mother,<br />
whose own mother <strong>and</strong> gr<strong>and</strong>mother were slaves,<br />
you are still noble.<br />
JOCASTA<br />
52
Please. Listen to me. I beg you.<br />
Don’t do this!<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
You will never talk me out of discovering the truth.<br />
I’m telling you this for your own good.<br />
JOCASTA<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
It’s that “good” that has been tearing me apart for a long time now.<br />
JOCASTA<br />
O you miserable man. I hope you never learn who you are!<br />
OEDIPUS, to chorus<br />
Let her go <strong>and</strong> glory in her wealth <strong>and</strong> high birth.<br />
Will someone bring the shepherd to me 1070<br />
Unhappy man!<br />
That’s all I can call you,<br />
<strong>and</strong> nothing else ever again.<br />
JOCASTA<br />
Exit JOCASTA.<br />
CHORUS<br />
Why has she rushed off in such wild anguish<br />
I’m afraid that from this silence,<br />
an evil storm will erupt.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Let the storm’s fury rain down on my head!<br />
Even if I’m born from beggars,<br />
I want to know where I came from.<br />
But she, with her high <strong>and</strong> mighty airs,<br />
she’ll be ashamed if it turns out I’m not noble.<br />
I’m a child of chance,<br />
<strong>and</strong> I won’t be despised for that.<br />
53
Chance is my mother, 1080<br />
<strong>and</strong> my brothers <strong>and</strong> sisters<br />
are the moons <strong>and</strong> stars,<br />
that determined at one time, for me to be small,<br />
<strong>and</strong> at another time, great.<br />
With such a parent, how could I turn out<br />
to be a man who would not search out his origin<br />
CHORUS<br />
I swear <strong>by</strong> Olympus without end,<br />
If I can see anything,<br />
And am wise in my judgment,<br />
When the full moon shines tomorrow,<br />
Cithaeron,<br />
<strong>Oedipus</strong> will praise you<br />
As his kinsman, his mother, <strong>and</strong> his nurse.<br />
We shall dance in your honor, 1090<br />
Because you are celebrated <strong>by</strong> our king.<br />
O Apollo, to whom men cry out,<br />
May this find favor in your eyes.<br />
Which of the gods,<br />
Who w<strong>and</strong>er the mountains at Pan’s side, 1100<br />
Gave birth to you, <strong>Oedipus</strong><br />
Did Apollo bed a goddess<br />
He loves mountain pasturel<strong>and</strong>.<br />
Or Hermes perhaps<br />
Or divine Bacchus,<br />
Who lives on the mountain tops<br />
Did some bright-eyed nymph,<br />
One of his beloved playmates,<br />
Offer you to him as a gift of fortune<br />
Enter SHEPHERD.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
I don’t know the man, 1110<br />
but if I can judge from his age,<br />
<strong>and</strong> from my attendants with him,<br />
I would say that here comes<br />
the shepherd we are looking for.<br />
You could say better than I,<br />
because you know him.<br />
54
CHORUS<br />
Yes. I recognize the man.<br />
Although only a shepherd, he was Laius’ trusty servant.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
I ask you first, stranger from Corinth,<br />
is this the man of whom you spoke 1120<br />
Yes. The man before your eyes.<br />
MESSENGER<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
You there, old man, look at me <strong>and</strong> answer my questions.<br />
You were Laius’ servant once<br />
Yes. I was a slave. I wasn’t bought,<br />
but I was born <strong>and</strong> raised in the household.<br />
SHEPHERD<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
What was your work, <strong>and</strong> what sort of life did you lead<br />
SHEPHERD<br />
For most of my life, it was taking care of the flock.<br />
Where did you stay with your flock<br />
Cithaeron, <strong>and</strong> the places near<strong>by</strong>.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
SHEPHERD<br />
OEDIPUS (pointing at the MESSENGER)<br />
Do you know this man, <strong>and</strong> did you meet him there 1130<br />
55
SHEPHERD<br />
Doing what What man are you talking about<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
This man here. Have you ever had anything to do with him<br />
Not that I could say or remember quickly.<br />
SHEPHERD<br />
MESSENGER<br />
No wonder. But I’ll jog his memory.<br />
I’m sure he remembers that place around Cithaeron<br />
where he had two herds, <strong>and</strong> I had one.<br />
I kept company with him three times from spring<br />
Through summer. Then, when winter came,<br />
I drove my flocks home, <strong>and</strong> he took his back to Laius’ l<strong>and</strong>.<br />
Is that true or not 1140<br />
That’s true. But it was a long time ago.<br />
SHEPHERD<br />
MESSENGER<br />
Now tell me this.<br />
Do you remember giving me a child to raise as my own<br />
SHEPHERD<br />
What Why are you asking this<br />
MESSENGER (pointing at OEDIPUS)<br />
That’s him. He is that ba<strong>by</strong>, grown up, <strong>and</strong> king!<br />
SHEPHERD<br />
Damn you, can’t you keep your mouth shut (He tries to hit the MESSENGER.)<br />
56
OEDIPUS<br />
Don’t hit him! He doesn’t deserve it as much as you do.<br />
O best of masters, what have I done wrong<br />
SHEPHERD<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
You’re not telling us what we want to know about the child. 1150<br />
SHEPHERD<br />
He doesn’t know what he’s talking about, <strong>and</strong> he’s wasting our time.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
If you won’t answer simple questions,<br />
we’ll use force, <strong>and</strong> you’ll soon be crying from the pain.<br />
SHEPHERD<br />
I am old. Don’t hurt me.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Tie his h<strong>and</strong>s behind his back.<br />
SHEPHERD<br />
Oh, no, for what What do you want to know<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Did you give the child we are talking about to this man<br />
SHEPHERD<br />
I did, <strong>and</strong> I wish I had died on that day.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
You’ll get your wish, if you don’t tell me what I want to know.<br />
57
SHEPHERD<br />
If I speak, I’ll die more surely that way.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
This man is wasting our time. 1160<br />
SHEPHERD<br />
No. I already told you I gave him the child.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Where did you get it from Was it your own, or someone else’s<br />
SHEPHERD<br />
It wasn’t my own. Someone gave it to me.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
From what citizen, <strong>and</strong> from what home<br />
SHEPHERD<br />
Please, <strong>by</strong> god, don’t ask any more.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
You are a dead man, if I have to ask again.<br />
SHEPHERD<br />
It was someone from Laius’ palace.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
A slave, or one of Laius’ family<br />
SHEPHERD<br />
Oh. Now I’m on the verge of revealing something terrible.<br />
58
OEDIPUS<br />
And I, to hear it. But it must be heard. 1170<br />
It was said that the child was Laius’,<br />
but his wife inside could tell you best.<br />
Did she give it to you<br />
SHEPHERD<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
SHEPHERD<br />
Yes.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Why<br />
SHEPHERD<br />
To kill it.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
How could a mother do that<br />
SHEPHERD<br />
From fear of prophecies.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
That said what<br />
SHEPHERD<br />
That he would kill his parents.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Why did you give the ba<strong>by</strong> to this old man<br />
SHEPHERD<br />
I pitied it. I thought he could take it to another country.<br />
59
He did, but in doing that he saved it for the worst:<br />
if you are that man he says you are,<br />
you are born to suffer. 1180<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Oh! Oh! It’s clear as crystal now.<br />
Light of day! This is the last time I look upon you, I, who am shown<br />
to be born from whom I should not have been born,<br />
to have slept with her with whom I should not have slept,<br />
<strong>and</strong> to have killed him whom I ought not to have killed.<br />
Exit OEDIPUS.<br />
CHORUS<br />
Oh, generations of men,<br />
Your lives add up to nothing.<br />
What happiness 1190<br />
Man thinks he has<br />
Is only an illusion.<br />
It glitters for a moment<br />
And then fades away.<br />
I count no man happy, <strong>Oedipus</strong>,<br />
When I see you <strong>and</strong> your suffering,<br />
You <strong>and</strong> your fate.<br />
You stretched your bow <strong>and</strong> hit the mark!<br />
Yes, <strong>by</strong> God, no one more successful <strong>and</strong> fortunate<br />
Than when you slew the riddle-singing siren<br />
Of the curved claws.<br />
You protected our country,<br />
And stood like a wall against death! 1200<br />
That’s why you are called my king,<br />
Honored with the greatest honors,<br />
Ruler over mighty Thebes.<br />
What can be worse than what followed<br />
A life overturned,<br />
Companion to suffering <strong>and</strong> wild destruction<br />
One generous harbor<br />
Received both child <strong>and</strong> father<br />
When they entered their marriage bed. 1210<br />
How long, how long could the field<br />
Plowed <strong>by</strong> your father<br />
Bear it all in silence<br />
60
Time, the all-seeing,<br />
Has found you out, all unwilling,<br />
And judged you of old,<br />
Indicting that marriage that was no marriage,<br />
Father, not father, <strong>and</strong> child, not child,<br />
But both one <strong>and</strong> the same.<br />
O son of Laius,<br />
How I wish, how I wish,<br />
Never to have seen you.<br />
Streaming from my lips<br />
Is sorrow, bitter sorrow.<br />
If I speak truly, 1220<br />
You gave me life again,<br />
Only to close my eyes in their final sleep.<br />
Enter second MESSENGER.<br />
MESSENGER (2)<br />
You, who are honored most in this l<strong>and</strong>,<br />
What things you will now hear that were done,<br />
<strong>and</strong> what things you will see for yourselves!<br />
How you shall mourn if you still are loyal to the house of Labdacus! I do not think that<br />
the Ister or Phasis rivers<br />
could cleanse this house of the horrors it conceals,<br />
<strong>and</strong> which the light of day will now illuminate,<br />
both those done willingly <strong>and</strong> those unwillingly. 1230<br />
Those sufferings pain us most that we ourselves have chosen.<br />
CHORUS<br />
What has happened is already beyond endurance;<br />
how can you add anything more<br />
Jocasta is dead.<br />
MESSENGER (2)<br />
Poor woman. How did she die<br />
CHORUS<br />
MESSENGER (2)<br />
She did it herself.<br />
You’ve escaped the worst, because you didn’t see it.<br />
61
I did, <strong>and</strong> I will tell you all that I remember,<br />
<strong>and</strong> what the poor woman suffered. 1240<br />
She was beside herself<br />
<strong>and</strong> rushed inside right to her bridal bed.<br />
She ripped at her hair with both her h<strong>and</strong>s.<br />
She called on the long dead Laius,<br />
remembering the lovemaking of long ago<br />
which resulted in his death at the h<strong>and</strong>s of a child,<br />
who was cursed because of him.<br />
She wailed over the bed for her double misery:<br />
that she had given birth to a husb<strong>and</strong> from a husb<strong>and</strong>,<br />
<strong>and</strong> children from a child. 1250<br />
I don’t know the details of her death,<br />
because <strong>Oedipus</strong> broke into the room, screaming,<br />
<strong>and</strong> I couldn’t see clearly as he moved around.<br />
He w<strong>and</strong>ered about asking us for a sword,<br />
<strong>and</strong> where he could find his wife, no wife,<br />
but that field that bore a double harvest<br />
of himself <strong>and</strong> his children.<br />
Some god guided him,<br />
not us men who were st<strong>and</strong>ing near.<br />
He shouted furiously <strong>and</strong> burst against the double doors, 1260<br />
twisting the bolts from their sockets,<br />
<strong>and</strong> he lurched into the room.<br />
We saw his wife hanging there, from a noose of knotted rope.<br />
When he saw her, he let out a terrible howl,<br />
<strong>and</strong> slashed through the rope.<br />
When she lay on the ground,<br />
what followed then was horrible.<br />
<strong>Oedipus</strong> took from her dress<br />
the long golden pins that held it together;<br />
he pierced his eyes <strong>and</strong> screamed that they 1270<br />
would not see what he suffered,<br />
or the terrible things that he had done.<br />
What ought not be seen<br />
would be covered in darkness for all time,<br />
<strong>and</strong> his eyes would not recognize<br />
even those whom he longed to see.<br />
Chanting, he repeated things like this,<br />
<strong>and</strong> struck his eyes again <strong>and</strong> again.<br />
His bleeding eyeballs wet his cheeks<br />
<strong>and</strong> the bloody rain did not let up.<br />
A dark storm of clotted blood dripped down like hail.<br />
62
Terrible horror for both husb<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> wife. 1280<br />
Yes, they were once happy, truly happy,<br />
but now today only moans, destruction, death, shame<br />
<strong>and</strong> all the evils that man can name attend them<br />
CHORUS<br />
Can that suffering man find any relief from his pain<br />
MESENGER (2)<br />
He cries out for someone to open the gates <strong>and</strong> show<br />
to all the citizens of the city<br />
the man who slew both his father <strong>and</strong> his mother.<br />
He said unholy things, which I won’t repeat.<br />
He refuses to remain in the house,<br />
But wants to be exiled out of this l<strong>and</strong>. 1290<br />
He says he is cursed, <strong>and</strong> he put that curse on himself.<br />
He needs the strength of a guide,<br />
because his sickness is more than he can bear.<br />
He’ll show you himself.<br />
The gates are opening.<br />
You will see someone you will pity,<br />
even if you now loathe him.<br />
CHORUS<br />
Oh, suffering terrible for men to see,<br />
The most terrible I have ever known.<br />
What madness came over you, miserable man 1300<br />
What god leapt the longest leap of all,<br />
Pouncing on you from the heavens, to bring you down<br />
You poor, poor man,<br />
I can’t bear to look at you.<br />
I want to ask you so much,<br />
Learn so much,<br />
And see so much;<br />
Such is the horror you cause me to feel.<br />
Enter OEDIPUS.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Aiai aiai, such pain!<br />
Where can I go<br />
What breeze carries my voice, <strong>and</strong> where 1310<br />
63
Where has fate brought me<br />
CHORUS<br />
Into a terrible darkness, where nothing can be heard nor seen.<br />
Cloud of darkness,<br />
unspeakable visitor,<br />
Irresistible <strong>and</strong> carried <strong>by</strong> an evil wind…<br />
The pain of it! Pain again.<br />
The memory of what I have done<br />
Lays into me like a lash on open wounds.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
CHORUS<br />
It’s no wonder after what has happened:<br />
You both suffer <strong>and</strong> cry out again <strong>and</strong> again. 1320<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Dear friend,<br />
you still help me,<br />
<strong>and</strong> stay to care for a blind man.<br />
Oh, yes,<br />
I know you’re there: you can’t hide.<br />
Although it’s all dark for me, I can hear your voice.<br />
CHORUS<br />
What a terrible thing you have done.<br />
How could you put out your eyes<br />
What demon inspired you<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Apollo did it, Apollo, friends:<br />
He caused all this evil, this misery, <strong>and</strong> made me suffer. 1330<br />
But it was me —<br />
My h<strong>and</strong> alone struck out my eyes.<br />
Why should I see<br />
I am a man for whom sight holds nothing sweet.<br />
I know.<br />
CHORUS<br />
64
OEDIPUS<br />
What is left for me to see, or love,<br />
Or what words could be pleasant to hear<br />
Dear friends,<br />
Throw me out, throw me away, 1340<br />
One who stinks of death,<br />
A man most hated <strong>and</strong> most cursed <strong>by</strong> the gods.<br />
You suffer both in mind <strong>and</strong> fate.<br />
I wish I had never come to know you.<br />
CHORUS<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Damned be that shepherd<br />
Who released my feet from their cruel ties, 1350<br />
Snatched me from death, <strong>and</strong> saved me.<br />
He did me no favor.<br />
If I had died, there would have been no suffering<br />
For those close, nor for myself.<br />
That would have been my wish also.<br />
CHORUS<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
I would not have killed my father,<br />
Nor be known as the husb<strong>and</strong> of she who bore me.<br />
Now I am a godless man, child of cursed parents, 1360<br />
A man who conceived children as siblings<br />
To those his own father had conceived.<br />
If there is an evil that surpasses evil itself,<br />
<strong>Oedipus</strong> claims it.<br />
Somehow you were ill-advised,<br />
Because you would be better off dead<br />
Than living as a blind man.<br />
CHORUS<br />
65
OEDIPUS<br />
Stop telling me what to do, 1370<br />
or that what was done was not done for the best.<br />
When I come to Hades, if I were able to see,<br />
I don’t know how I could look on my father, or my mother,<br />
against whom I have committed unforgivable sins.<br />
Would I want to see my children,<br />
knowing how they were conceived<br />
Never with these eyes!<br />
Nor would I want to see the city,<br />
the towers, or the holy statues of the gods!<br />
I, the noblest man in Thebes, to my misery cursed myself, 1380<br />
telling everyone to drive out the man<br />
whom the gods showed to be a sinner,<br />
he who was discovered to be of Laius’ race.<br />
How could I look on my city,<br />
after I announced my own crime <strong>and</strong> punishment<br />
Never! If I could have halted the stream of my hearing,<br />
I would have welcomed it:<br />
to lock up this suffering body<br />
in a prison with no sight or sound.<br />
It is sweet to live in thoughts alone, far from evil. 1390<br />
Cithaeron, why did you save me<br />
Why couldn’t you have killed me straight off,<br />
so I would never have revealed to men my origin<br />
Polybus <strong>and</strong> Corinth, called home of my fathers,<br />
how fair you made seem the foulness underneath,<br />
<strong>and</strong> so you raised me.<br />
But I am foulness itself, born from those who were foul.<br />
Three roads, <strong>and</strong> a hidden valley, a small cluster of trees,<br />
<strong>and</strong> that narrow path where three roads meet:<br />
you drank my blood <strong>and</strong> the blood of my father 1400<br />
that I myself shed.<br />
Do you still remember what I did<br />
when I was on my way here<br />
Marriage, marriage, you made me,<br />
<strong>and</strong> you made more from the same seed:<br />
you brought to light fathers who were brothers,<br />
children of incest,<br />
brides who were both wives <strong>and</strong><br />
mothers to their husb<strong>and</strong>s –<br />
66
yes, you engendered<br />
the most shameful acts that man can do.<br />
But it is not right to speak of what was not right to do;<br />
so for the sake of the gods, hide me away, 1410<br />
as soon as possible, out of sight,<br />
or kill me: throw me into the ocean,<br />
where you will never see me again.<br />
Show yourselves to be good men, <strong>and</strong><br />
be kind enough to touch this suffering man.<br />
Do it, <strong>and</strong> don’t be afraid.<br />
I alone am polluted:<br />
I am the only man able to bear this suffering.<br />
CHORUS<br />
Here is Creon; he will advise you about what you should do.<br />
He rules the country now <strong>and</strong> is our sole protector.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
What can I say to him<br />
How can he trust anything I say 1420<br />
Everything I said or did before was wrong.<br />
Enter CREON.<br />
CREON<br />
I am not here to taunt you,<br />
or to criticize you for past wrongs.<br />
But if you have no shame before me,<br />
at least respect the light of the sun<br />
that fosters all things.<br />
Do not show your crime, one that neither the earth,<br />
nor the holy rain, nor the light can tolerate.<br />
To a slave.<br />
Now take him into the house.<br />
It is right that only his family 1430<br />
should see <strong>and</strong> hear about his sufferings.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Since, beyond my wildest hopes,<br />
you have acted as the best of men towards me, the worst of men,<br />
67
I beg of you one favor. I ask it for your sake, not mine.<br />
And what is it that you would ask of me<br />
CREON<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Throw me out of this l<strong>and</strong> as quickly as possible,<br />
to a place where no living person will speak to me.<br />
CREON<br />
I would have done exactly that,<br />
but I wanted to consult first with the oracle<br />
to find out what must be done.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
But it’s clear what he said, 1440<br />
that I, the unholy father-killer, should die.<br />
CREON<br />
It is better to learn what must be done in the present crisis.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Will you ask about me, miserable man that I am<br />
CREON<br />
Yes. And this time, even you should trust the god.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
I ask you to bury her who is inside –<br />
for it is right she be buried <strong>by</strong> her own family -<br />
but as for me, don’t tell my father’s city to shelter me, 1450<br />
but let me go live in the mountains,<br />
in that place called Cithaeron,<br />
which, when they were alive,<br />
my mother <strong>and</strong> father wanted to be my tomb.<br />
Let me die where they tried to kill me.<br />
I know that I would not have died<br />
68
from sickness or anything else:<br />
I was saved from death<br />
for something terrible <strong>and</strong> evil.<br />
Let my fate lead where it will.<br />
Don’t worry about my boys, Creon; 1460<br />
they are men <strong>and</strong> can earn their own living wherever they are.<br />
But take care of my two little girls,<br />
who always shared food at my table,<br />
<strong>and</strong> shared in all that I touched. Please do this for me.<br />
You, my lord, noble from birth, please let me touch them<br />
<strong>and</strong> weep with them over all that I have suffered.<br />
Touching them would be as good as seeing them.<br />
Enter daughters.<br />
But why do I say this<br />
Don’t I hear my dear ones crying now 1470<br />
Creon has pitied me,<br />
<strong>and</strong> sent me my dearest beloved daughters<br />
Is this so<br />
CREON<br />
You are right. I gave you this.<br />
I knew that they would bring you a moment of joy,<br />
as they always did in the past.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
I wish you good fortune,<br />
<strong>and</strong> may God lead you on a better path than he led me.<br />
Children, where are you 1480<br />
Come here, children, come to your brother’s <strong>and</strong> father’s h<strong>and</strong>s:<br />
they have become his eyes, which used to be bright.<br />
Not seeing, not knowing,<br />
he became your father through her<br />
from whom he also was born.<br />
I cannot see you, but I weep for you.<br />
I know how bitter your life will be,<br />
the one that you now will be forced to lead.<br />
What assembly, what feast, what parties 1490<br />
will you not leave in tears, rather than in joy<br />
69
And when you grow up,<br />
when someone hears the story of your birth,<br />
who will risk marrying you<br />
Will they risk gossip about you <strong>and</strong> your parents<br />
It’s all there. Your father killed his father;<br />
he had children from his mother,<br />
the source of his own life.<br />
Those are the insults you will hear;<br />
so who would marry you 1500<br />
No one.<br />
You’ll die unmarried <strong>and</strong> childless.<br />
Creon, son of Menoeceus,<br />
you are their father now.<br />
Their own parents are dead.<br />
Do not let them become beggars, or be unwed.<br />
Do not let them suffer what I have had to suffer.<br />
Take pity on them:<br />
they have nothing<br />
except what you choose to give them.<br />
Say yes, you good man,<br />
<strong>and</strong> touch them with your h<strong>and</strong>. 1510<br />
I could tell you a lot of things, children,<br />
if you were old enough.<br />
But, now, pray that you live where you can,<br />
<strong>and</strong> that your life be better than your father’s.<br />
You have wept enough: go inside now.<br />
I don’t want to, but I’ll do what you say.<br />
Everything good has its time <strong>and</strong> place.<br />
Do you know my conditions for leaving<br />
CREON<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
CREON<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
70
CREON<br />
Tell me. I’ll listen.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Send me out of the country.<br />
CREON<br />
It’s up to God.<br />
The gods hate me.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
CREON<br />
So then, you’ll probably get what you want.<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
Will you do what you promised 1520<br />
I don’t say things I don’t mean.<br />
Take me away from here now.<br />
Leave now, <strong>and</strong> let your children go.<br />
No. Don’t take them away.<br />
CREON<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
CREON<br />
OEDIPUS<br />
CREON<br />
You no longer have any say in what happens here.<br />
Your days of power are over.<br />
Exeunt OEDIPUS, CREON <strong>and</strong> CHILDREN.<br />
71
CHORUS<br />
All you who live in Thebes,<br />
Look here on <strong>Oedipus</strong>!<br />
After he solved the famous riddle,<br />
He became the most powerful of men!<br />
Every citizen looked upon him with envy.<br />
See what a fierce storm of disaster<br />
Has swept him away!<br />
You who are born to die,<br />
Look to your last day.<br />
Call no one happy,<br />
Until that person has ended life<br />
Free from sorrow. 1530<br />
THE END<br />
72
GLOSSARY<br />
Abae (A, as in add, -bee), a shrine in Greece.<br />
Agenor (Ah-GENE-or), father of Cadmus, descendant of Zeus <strong>and</strong> Io (EYE-oh).<br />
Apollo (ah-POL-oh), god of prophecy, with a shrine at Delphi.<br />
Ares (AIR-ease), god of war.<br />
Amphitrite (am-phih-TRY-tee), sea-god.<br />
Athena (Ah-THEE-nah), goddess of wisdom, daughter of Zeus.<br />
Bacchus (BAH-cuss), another name for Dionysus.<br />
Cadmus (CAD-muss), founder of Thebes <strong>and</strong> gr<strong>and</strong>father of Labdacus, <strong>Oedipus</strong>’<br />
gr<strong>and</strong>father.<br />
Corinth (CORE-inth), city ruled <strong>by</strong> Polybus.<br />
Creon (CREE-on), brother of Jocasta.<br />
Cithaeron (kith-THY-ron), a mountain near Thebes, where <strong>Oedipus</strong> was exposed as a<br />
child.<br />
Delphi (DELF-ee), city in Greece, site of Apollo’s shrine.<br />
Daulis (DOW-lis), a city towards which a road led from the crossroads where <strong>Oedipus</strong><br />
met his father.<br />
Dionysus (DIE-oh-NIGH-suss), god of wine <strong>and</strong> theatre.<br />
Dorian (DOR-ee-an), settlers in Greece around 1100-1000 BC.<br />
Hades (HAY-deese), king of the underworld: death,<br />
Jocasta (joe-CAST-ah), <strong>Oedipus</strong>’ mother <strong>and</strong> wife.<br />
Labdacus (LAB-da-cuss), gr<strong>and</strong>father of <strong>Oedipus</strong>.<br />
Laius (LIE-us), <strong>Oedipus</strong>’ actual father.<br />
Lycian (LIH-see-un), a title of Apollo.<br />
Menoeceus (Men-EE-kee-us), father of Creon.<br />
73
Merope (MAIR-rope-ee), adoptive mother of <strong>Oedipus</strong>.<br />
Miasma (my-AS-mah), pollution, sickness, sacred disease; a person or a city suffering<br />
this must go through purification rituals to get rid of it;<br />
sometimes that person must leave the city.<br />
<strong>Oedipus</strong> (EE-dih-puss), king of Thebes, married to Jocasta.<br />
Olympia (Oh-LIMP-ee-ah), a shrine in Southern Greece with one temple dedicated to<br />
Zeus, <strong>and</strong> another to Hera. The Olympic games took<br />
place there.<br />
Olympus (Oh-LIMP-us), a mountain in Northern Greece where the Gods were said to<br />
live.<br />
Polybus (POLLY-bus), <strong>Oedipus</strong>’ adoptive father, King of Corinth.<br />
Polydorus (polly-DOR-us), father of Labdacus.<br />
Sphinx (SFINKS), monster with the body of a lion <strong>and</strong> head of a woman, who killed the<br />
people of Thebes if they did not answer her riddle: “What goes on<br />
four legs in the morning, two at noon, <strong>and</strong> three at night” The<br />
answer is “Man”: ba<strong>by</strong> crawling; adult st<strong>and</strong>ing on two feet; old<br />
man with cane.<br />
Thebes (THEEBES), city ruled <strong>by</strong> Laius <strong>and</strong> <strong>Oedipus</strong>.<br />
Thrace (THRAYCE), country in the north of Greece.<br />
Tiresias (Tie-REE-see-us), a blind seer.<br />
Zeus (ZOOSE), king of the gods.<br />
74