Oedipus Rex

Oedipus again addresses his people, commanding anyone who knows anything about Laius’s murder to speak to him. If one of the murderers himself should come forward, Oedipus will treat him mercifully, exiling him rather than killing him. No one speaks up, so Oedipus adds that it is every Theban’s duty to drive out the murderer if they know who he is. Appalled that Laius’s murder has gone uninvestigated for so long, he vows to “fight for him as if he were my father” (173).

A man in the crowd speaks up, observing that if Apollo knows there’s a murderer among them, Apollo should also tell them who it is. Oedipus replies that there’s no compelling the gods. But the man suggests that Oedipus consult Tiresias, a blind prophet known to speak directly for Apollo. Oedipus has already thought of that—in fact, Tiresias has been sent for and Oedipus is surprised the old man isn’t here already.

Right on cue, Tiresias arrives. He’s been avoiding this encounter because he knows the horrible truth. Oedipus presses him, getting angrier and angrier, but Tiresias stonewalls until Oedipus accuses him of murdering Laius himself. At last provoked, Tiresias tells him what he knows: “I say you are the murderer you hunt” (180).

Oedipus is enraged at this accusation, and spits insults at Tiresias, scorning his age and blindness: Maybe Tiresias has been conspiring with Creon, or maybe if he’s so smart, he should have solved the riddle of the Sphinx when that monster plagued the city.

The citizen leader who started this conversation breaks in and tries to cool down the tempers of both king and prophet, advising them to focus on the real matter at hand. This doesn’t work: Tiresias replies that Oedipus is blinder than he’ll ever be, and that “No man will ever/be rooted from the earth as brutally as you” (183). Oedipus leaves in disgust before Tiresias can deliver the most ominous part of his prophecy: Oedipus will find he is both son and husband to his mother, both brother and father to his children.

The Chorus sings a terrified song. They’ve seen too much that they don’t understand, and they feel the approach of the future like a flock of dark birds. But they will never side with Oedipus’s accusers until they see some real evidence; even seers need proof.

Creon arrives, infuriated. He’s heard that Oedipus has accused him of conspiracy. While the citizen leader cautions him that Oedipus may merely have spoken in anger, Creon isn’t satisfied. Oedipus emerges from the palace and throws oil on the fire, repeating his allegations of treason. Oedipus interrogates Creon about his past involvement with Tiresias, wondering why Tiresias has made no accusation against Oedipus until now.

Creon replies that he has no interest in kingship—he already has a king’s privilege without a king’s responsibilities, which “[n]o one with any sense of self-control” would want (193). If Oedipus doubts him, he should go to Delphi himself and ask the oracle to repeat the message. The citizen leader jumps in and agrees, warning Oedipus against jumping to conclusions. But Oedipus is too suspicious to listen: He wants Creon dead.

As the two men get into a shouting match, Jocasta arrives and orders her husband and her brother to stop their fighting. When Oedipus repeats his accusations, Jocasta begs him to give up this folly. The Chorus supports her, warning, “Respect [Creon]—he’s been no fool in the past / and now he’s strong with the oath he swears to god” (197). Out of love for Oedipus, a great king who saved their city, the Chorus doesn’t want him to make a terrible mistake. Oedipus relents—for the Chorus’s sake, not Creon’s.