Tiresias, however, does not leave Oedipus until he has disclosed everything about him that he is the native of Thebes, the murderer of his father, and the husband of his mother and brother to her children.Īs soon as Creon approaches the king, Oedipus alleges his treachery and demands his removal from the scene at which the chorus appears to advise him restraint. Yet, Oedipus makes fun of the blindness of the soothsayer, saying he is a fake prophet at which he alleges that Oedipus is blind rather than he. However, the arguments become too hot to be cooled down by Jocasta, who immediately appears on the scene and advises patience to Oedipus. Seeing himself coming clean of this accusation, Oedipus accuses Tiresias of plotting with Creon to orchestrate his overthrow. However, when the situation spirals out of control, Tiresias still refuses to respond to his fury and finally breaks his silence saying Oedipus is the filth that the city needs to cleanse, which means that Oedipus has killed King Laius.

Cocksure about his sincerity and loyalty to the city and the public, Oedipus fumes and berates Tiresias for his being cruel and senseless and further goes on to insult that he was talentless too. When Tiresias sees Oedipus, he refuses to answer his questions and advises him to break his vow about his responsibility. While looking for the truth about the person associated with King Laius’s murder, soon Oedipus faces Tiresias, the blind prophet to whom he has called for assistance to find out the murderer. The reason Oedipus left his hometown and came to Thebes because in search of answers regarding his birth parents and the ill prophecy associated with this leading to the abandonment of him while he was still an infant. To that, the people request him to take over the crown and marry their queen Jocasta. Before searching for the answers to end the plague, the story goes on like this: when Oedipus enters the city Thebes and saves everyone from sphinx. Upon knowing this Oedipus vows to fulfill his duty and exact the revenge and end the plague. Creon, however, soon returns with the riddle that there is some religious pollution in the city cleansing of which can make the city rid of this plague which is linked to the murder of the former king, Laius.

The Thebans have been gathering at the gate of the palace to make the king aware of his responsibility.

He sends his brother-in-law, Creon, to Delphi to seek assistance from the oracle about the plague ravaging the city. The story of the play starts with Oedipus, who is ruling Thebes.

Oedipus trilogy