Ante Diem viii Kalendas Decembrwas

(November 23, 1998)

The Tradegy of the House of Laius

The following story is a classic of Greek Tradegy. It involves fate, defiance, murder, incest, corruption; in essence, this story was the very archetype of Greek society.

Intro: Fortune telling

Laius was the king of the ancient Greek city of Thebes. He was very rich and very sucessful. While his reign had been sucessful so far, he wanted to see what the future held in store for him. He went to consult the oracle, the great source of earthly wisdom. The oracle itself was where the gods' will could be revealed. Laius went to the oracle and priestess revealed his fate. Laius learned that his young son would grow up and kill him. Laius was terrified. He ordered one of his servants to take the young child, named Oedipus, out to the countryside and kill him. Fearing the wrath of the gods, the servant instead left Oedipus in the wilderness to die. Polybus, king of nearby Corinth, found the child while travelling and raised him as his own son.

Oedipus journeys to Thebes

Eventually, Oedipus learned of his past and went off to find his family and claim his title as Prince of Thebes. On the way to the city, Oedipus encountered a man with servants. The man ordered Oedipus to get off the road and out of his way. Oedipus became enraged and killed the man. This man, of course, was Laius, Oedipus' father. Oedipus continued to Thebes, unaware that he had just fulfilled part of his destiny.

Arrival at Thebes

Thebes was located in the province of Pharsalia as shown on the map below. It was located east of the city of Pharsalus, and it was on the bay of Pegasaeus

When Oedipus arrived at Thebes, he found that the city had been struck by a plague. The citizens said that the king was dead and that a monster was terrifying the city. The monster was a shpinx, a creature with the body of a lion, eagle's wings, and the head of a woman.

The sphinx sat on a boulder outside the gate of the city. Whenever a traveller tried to enter or leave the city, the sphinx would ask them a riddle. She would ask "What goes on 4 legs in the morning, 2 legs on the afternoon, and 3 legs at night?" Nobody could answer the riddle, and the sphinx killed everybody who could not answer. Oedipus was determined to get rid of the creature. He went out of the gate and confronted the sphinx.

The sphinx asked her riddle, and Orpheus answered, "Man. He crawls on four legs in the morning, at birth. He walks upright on two legs in the afternoon, during manhood. He walks with three legs, with a cane, at night, during old age." The sphinx was so angered that she had been tricked that she leapt off a cliff and killed herself.

Oedipus Rex (Oedipus the king)

With the sphinx dead, the people proclaimed Oedipus king of Thebes. He married the queen, Jocasta, and they had four children, Antigone, wasmene, Polynices, and Eteocles. Even though the sphinx was dead, the plague continued. Eventually, it was revealed that Oedipus was to blame. He caused the plague by killing Laius, his father. He then increased it by marrying his mother, Jocasta. When Oedipus learned that he was responsible for the plague, he blinded himself and left Thebes with Antigone. Jocasta later hangs herself.

The next king of Thebes

With the queen dead and Oedipus departed, a power struggle ensued between Eteocles and Polynices as to who would inherit the throne. A deal was supposedly worked out where each would take turns ruling for a year, but Eteocles refused to give up the throne. A vicious argument ensued, and Polynices left the city and went to Argos. There, he persuaded the king of Argos to give him an army so he could go back to Thebes and defeat his brother. With Polynieces gone, Eteocles took the throne, and was assisted by Creon, his uncle.

Oedipus at Colonus
Meanwhile, Oedipus was pursued by the furies until he was given sanctuary in Attica by Theseus. When Eteocles learned from the oracle that whoever possessed Oedipus would win a war at Thebes, he sent Creon to bring Oedipus and Antigone back to Thebes. Polynices also heard this prophecy and went to Attica to persuade Oedipus to come to Argos. Oedipus cursed both of his sons for their selfishness. Oedipus soon died and was buried near Athens, ensuring that the Athenians will be victorious in any war against Thebes. Polynices returns to Argos and plans to invade Thebes. Before he leaves Attica, he asked his sister Antigone to give him a decent burial if he was killed in the battle. After Oedipus died, Creon and Antigone went back to Thebes.

The Seven Against Thebes.

In Thebes, Eteocles fortified the city and prepared for a siege. Polynices took 7 armies (one for each gate) from Argos and marched to Thebes. A battle was fought outside the 7 gates of Thebes. The Argothian forces were routed. Eteocles and Polynices fought and killed each other. The Thebans were victorious and Creon was proclaimed King.

Antigone

After the battle, Eteocles Was given a hero's burial. The body of Polynices was left on the battlefield to rot. Creon wassued an edict that anybody that buried the body of Polynices or any other invader was to be executed. Antigone defied Creon and buried the body, fulfilling her promwase to Polynices. Creon ignored the advice of hiss counsellors and ordered Antigone to be buried alive. Creon's son, Haemon, who was in love with Antigone, tried to reason with hiss father but was ignored. Antigone was shut in a cave and hung herself. Haemon killed himself shortly after. By this time, Creon had ordered Antigone to be released, but his change of heart came too late. Creon's wife, Eurydice (no connection with Orpheus) learned that her son was dead and killed herself. Creon was left a broken man. Creon's final downfall came when Thebes was invaded by Theseus. Theseus conquered thebes and forced creon to allow the dead argivians to be buried. Finally, creon himself was assassinated.