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The Theban Plays: King Oedipus, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone

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Greek Studies, Literary Studies.

Mass Market Paperback

Published January 1, 1959

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5 stars
14 (40%)
4 stars
17 (48%)
3 stars
4 (11%)
2 stars
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
Profile Image for Kaitlin Olson.
1 review
May 22, 2024
Umm maybe next time don’t kill your dad and marry your mom…just a thought
Profile Image for Afnan.
31 reviews
June 23, 2025
Het is echt leuk, de stukken zijn allemaal in wat ouder Engels, maar het is echt wel goed te doen, een beetje Shakespeare-ish. Maar aangezien t niet niet is enz, kom je er toch wel makkelijk doorheen.
Profile Image for caity ☾.
155 reviews149 followers
November 1, 2024
really loved the story but struggled with the translation, I think I might give Fagles’ translation a go and see if I like it better
Profile Image for Lady Macbeth.
40 reviews
February 11, 2025
Where do I begin? Shall I keep this short?
I have already lined out my thoughts on the individual plays.

Here are my favourite things:

- the character of Antigone
- the character of Teiresias
- the chorus

- the frequent mythological references
- the oracle of Delphi
- the different names to allude to gods
- the mentions of altars and worshipping of gods

- the philosophical question of whether we have free will or
everything is decided for us
- whether man can redeem himself
- if it is worth it to go against the law to preserve one's own morals

- insight into ancient greek plays -> this was my first (i
believe)
- learning more about ancient greek mythology and history
- geographical mentions
Profile Image for Laetitia.
36 reviews
November 3, 2025
Gelezen voor drama. Was gaaf om voor het eerst Sophokles te lezen. Mooie, indrukwekkend teksten die je aan het denken zetten. In sommige stukken merk je wel dat de oude Grieken toch wel een andere denkwereld hadden dan wij nu.
Ik vond twee stukken over Oedipus wel een beetje te veel van het goede. Op een gegeven moment weten we wel hoe tragisch slecht het met hem gaat. Gelukkig was het steeds op het einde dan toch wel weer interessant. En je leest zo’n toneelstuk ook wel snel even uit.
3 reviews
January 10, 2026
Beautiful translations of a deeply profound and tragic "trilogy" of plays. In this books contains the entire story of Oedipus - his rise, his fall, his redemption, and his legacy.

We are presented with deeply human stories, each teaching us valuable lessons on fate, responsibility, values, love, family, and piety.

The Greeks rarely disappoint, and The Theban Plays acts as a great introduction to Greek and classical theatre. Heavy recommend.
7 reviews
October 9, 2025
Fantastic and enduring. Especially loved Polynices/Oedipus' and Haemon/Creon's dialogues.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews

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