Theban Plays

<p>‘O Light! May I never look on you again,<br> Revealed as I am, sinful in my begetting,<br> Sinful in marriage, sinful in shedding of blood!’</p> <p>The legends surrounding the royal house of Thebes inspired Sophocles (496?406 BC) to create a powerful trilogy of mankind’s struggle against fate. <b>King Oedipus</b> tells of a man who brings pestilence to Thebes for crimes he does not realise he has committed, and then inflicts a brutal punishment upon himself. With profound insights into the human condition, it is a devastating portrayal of a ruler brought down by his own oath. <b>Oedipus at Colonus</b> provides a fitting conclusion to the life of the aged and blinded king, while <b>Antigone</b> depicts the fall of the next generation, through the conflict between a young woman ruled by her conscience and a king too confident in his own authority.</p> <p>E. F. Watling’s masterful translation is accompanied by an introduction, which examines the central themes of the plays, the role of the Chorus, and the traditions and staging of Greek tragedy.</p>

Author(s): Sophocles  

ISBN 10: 0140440038
ISBN 13: 9780140440034
Pages: 176
Format: Paperback
Publication: June 1950
Edition: Reprint