Oedipus at Colonus

A tragedy by Sophocles in which the exiled Oedipus finds refuge at Colonus near Athens and dies under divine protection.

Oedipus: A figure of Greek mythology who unknowingly kills his father, marries his mother, and becomes king of Thebes. The aged, exiled Oedipus is the play’s central character.
Athenian democracy: The system of direct citizen participation in government developed in classical Athens. The play presents Theseus’s Athens as a civic contrast to coercive Theban rule.
Sophocles: An Athenian tragedian whose surviving plays include Antigone, Oedipus the King, and Oedipus at Colonus. He wrote the tragedy late in life; it was produced after his death.
Oedipus at Colonus and Oedipus the King: A comparison of Sophocles’ tragedies about Oedipus’s discovery of his past and his final years in exile. The first play’s polluted ruler becomes the second play’s divinely guarded guest.
Antigone: A daughter of Oedipus who defies royal authority to bury her brother Polynices. She accompanies and supports her father throughout his exile.
Theseus: A legendary king of Athens celebrated for defeating the Minotaur and uniting Attica. His protection of Oedipus makes Athenian hospitality the play’s political ideal.
Ancient Greek theatre: A civic performance tradition featuring tragedies and comedies at religious festivals in ancient Greece. The play was staged as a tragedy at the Athenian City Dionysia.
Greek tragedy: A dramatic form of ancient Greece that stages human suffering through conflict with family, society, and divine forces. This late tragedy turns catastrophic recognition into a solemn account of death and sanctuary.
Ismene: A daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta who appears in Sophocles’ Theban plays. She brings news from Thebes and shares her sister’s devotion to their father.
Oedipus the King: A tragedy by Sophocles in which Oedipus discovers that he has killed his father and married his mother. Its revelations explain the crimes and exile that precede this play.

Linked from 4 pages