Books with title Oedipus At Colonus

Oedipus at Colonus by Sophocles. Classic Greek Tragedy. Translated by F. Storr. Oedipus at Colonus is one of the three Theban plays of the Athenian tragedian Sophocles. It was written shortly before Sophocles' death in 406 BC and produced by his grandson (also called Sophocles) at the Festival of Dionysus in 401 BC. Oedipus, the blind and banished King of Thebes, has come in his wanderings to Colonus, a deme of Athens, led by his daughter Antigone. He sits to rest on a rock just within a sacred grove of the Furies and is bidden depart by a passing native. But Oedipus, instructed by an oracle that he had reached his final resting-place, refuses to stir, and the stranger consents to go and consult the Elders of Colonus (the Chorus of the Play). Conducted to the spot they pity at first the blind beggar and his daughter, but on learning his name they are horror-striken and order him to quit the land. He appeals to the world-famed hospitality of Athens and hints at the blessings that his coming will confer on the State. They agree to await the decision of King Theseus. From Theseus Oedipus craves protection in life and burial in Attic soil; the benefits that will accrue shall be told later. Theseus departs having promised to aid and befriend him. No sooner has he gone than Creon enters with an armed guard who seize Antigone and carry her off (Ismene, the other sister, they have already captured) and he is about to lay hands on Oedipus, when Theseus, who has heard the tumult, hurries up and, upbraiding Creon for his lawless act, threatens to detain him till he has shown where the captives are and restored them. In the next scene Theseus returns bringing with him the rescued maidens. He informs Oedipus that a stranger who has taken sanctuary at the altar of Poseidon wishes to see him. It is Polyneices who has come to crave his father's forgiveness and blessing, knowing by an oracle that victory will fall to the side that Oedipus espouses. But Oedipus spurns the hypocrite, and invokes a dire curse on both his unnatural sons. A sudden clap of thunder is heard, and as peal follows peal, Oedipus is aware that his hour is come and bids Antigone summon Theseus. Self-guided he leads the way to the spot where death should overtake him, attended by Theseus and his daughters. Halfway he bids his daughters farewell, and what followed none but Theseus knew. He was not (so the Messenger reports) for the gods took him.

Originally published in 1946, this book presents R. C. Trevelyan's English metrical translation of Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus. The translation was based upon the text published by Sir Richard Claverhouse Jebb in 1900. A short introduction by Trevelyan is also included. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in English translations of ancient Greek drama and the works of Sophocles.

Oedipus at Colonus is one of the three Theban Plays of the Greek Athenian tragedian Sophocles. The ancient & classical Greek tragedy Oedipus at Colonus was written shortly before Sophocles' death in 406 BC. In the timeline of the ancient dramas & plays, the events of Oedipus at Colonus occur after Oedipus the King and before Antigone, however Oedipus at Colonus was the last of Sophocles' three Theban plays to be written. The drama & play describes the end of Oedipus' tragic life. Led by Antigone, Oedipus enters the village of Colonus and sits down on a stone. They are approached by a villager, who demands that they leave, because that ground is sacred to the Furies, or Erinyes. Oedipus recognizes this as a sign, for when he received the prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother. Apollo also revealed to him that at the end of his life he would die at a place sacred to the Furies, and be a blessing for the land in which he is buried. Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus is considered a literature & fiction classic in the Greek dramas & plays genre and is often required textbook reading in the following disciplines; English, literature & fiction, Ancient & Medieval Literature, ancient & classical, dramas & plays, Greek tragedy, and world literature.