Oedipus

The Mysterious Death of a King-Oedipus the King In Oedipus The King, scene 2, Oedipus is steadily trying to figure out the death of Laios. Oedipus is the protagonist throughout the drama who is the King of Thebes. He is known for his intelligence in the play and also for his witty ability to solve riddles (add chorus line). Laios was the king of Thebes before Oedipus. Throughout the scene the writer keeps the question active of who killed Laios' In scene 1, Oedipus assures the Thebans that he will reward the man who knows who killed Laios, and will not harm the murderer, but will make sure to exile him from the city. Although Oedipus is trying to obtain evidence on who killed Laios, he still makes sure that no one in the town of Thebes be associated with that person. Creon, brother-in-law of Oedipus, enters the scene asking the chorus if it is true Oedipus is accusing him of treason. Creon feels as if he should not be called disloyal for his actions. He also wonders if Oedipus knows if it were Creon who seduced the old prophet into lying. Soon all of Creon’s questions were to be answered because Oedipus had entered and waited no time to confront Creon. Face to face Oedipus accuses Creon of treason and states the following: Do you think I do not know That you plotted to kill me, plotted to steal my throne' Tell me, in God’s name: am I coward, a fool, That you should dream you could accomplish this' A fool who could not see your slippery game' A coward, not to fight back when I saw it' You are the fool, Creon, are you not' hoping Without support or friends to get a throne' Thrones may be won or bought: you could do neither. (Fitzgerald 2.22-30) Creon then rebuttals Oedipus’s statement with a speech of his own why he could never plot against Oedipus and that he basically deserves a share of power to rule the kingdom. In lines 63-65 he reiterates that because of the relationship between Oedipus and Iocaste, Creon’s sister, the privileges and rights of king should be hand in hand with Oedipus and Iocaste. Oedipus is still infuriated with Creon and doesn’t listen to a word Creon says. Oedipus wanted Creon’s life taken away for what he thought was treason. Iocaste later enters the scene pretty upset at the fact that Oedipus and Creon are arguing in public while Thebes is dying: Iocaste: Poor foolish men, what wicked din is this' /Thebes sick to death, is it not shameful/That you should rake some private quarrel up' (119-121). Oedipus and Iocaste soon talk in private and Iocaste tells Oedipus that Apollo’s oracle once prophesied that Laios’s son would kill him, but Laios put his son out on the mountainside to let him die. With that being said, Iocaste then tells Oedipus where Laios was killed and Oedipus starts to figure out who really killed Laios. After getting the facts to Laios’s murder, Oedipus realizes it was him who killed Laios. As Oedipus is worried about the killing of Laios, Iocaste is steadily trying to tell Oedipus that it wasn’t him who killed Laios (add line). Oedipus explains to Iocaste how he is from Corinth, not Thebes and at one part of his life killed a man at a crossroad, which relates to the story Iocaste had told him. Knowing that he killed Laios, Oedipus realizes that he must leave Thebes because of the punishment he had rendered for the murder. The scene ends with the chorus singing a song about how pride will bring men down. It also speaks of how great the God’s are and Apollo’s oracle at Delphi. While Oedipus was worrying about how he would deal with Creon, he really should’ve been putting the pieces together to Laios’s murder. Looking back at the scene, Creon had every right to believe he should have some rule of the kingdom along with Oedipus and Iocaste, and now that Oedipus is the prime suspect in the murder of Laios, maybe Creon should have rule over Thebes. Oedipus was so quick to judge Creon on treason that he didn’t even take the time out to think of the death of his father, Laios.