The Three Theban Plays: Antigone, Oedipus the King, and Oedipus at Colonus

by Sophocles

"All men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong, and repairs the evil. The only crime is pride." Sophocles, Antigone

Genres: Classics, Plays, School, Fiction, Drama, College

277 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 21, 2021

About the author

Sophocles (497/496 BC-406/405 BC), (Greek: Σοφοκλής ; German: Sophokles , Russian: Софокл , French: Sophocle ) was an ancient Greek tragedian, known as one of three from whom at least one play has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or contemporary with, those of Aeschylus; and earlier than, or contemporary with, those of Euripides. Sophocles wrote over 120 plays, but only seven have survived in a complete form: Ajax, Antigone, Women of Trachis, Oedipus Rex, Electra, Philoctetes, and Oedipus at Colonus. For almost fifty years, Sophocles was the most celebrated playwright in the dramatic competitions of the city-state of Athens which took place during the religious festivals of the Lenaea and the Dionysia. He competed in thirty competitions, won twenty-four, and was never judged lower than second place. Aeschylus won thirteen competitions, and was sometimes defeated by Sophocles; Euripides won four.
The most famous tragedies of Sophocles feature Oedipus and Antigone: they are generally known as the Theban plays, though each was part of a different tetralogy (the other members of which are now lost). Sophocles influenced the development of drama, most importantly by adding a third actor (attributed to Sophocles by Aristotle; to Aeschylus by Themistius), thereby reducing the importance of the chorus in the presentation of the plot. He also developed his characters to a greater extent than earlier playwrights.

Reviews

[☆ emeline · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

antigone is marvelous.

has anyone's life ever gone as horribly wrong as oedipus's??

[Amanda Nunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my second collection of Sophocles' works, and overlaps slightly with the first one I read, as Oedipus at Colonus is in both.

Here, three "Theban Plays" are presented together to form a pseudo-trilogy, although they were not originally presented as such. Sophocles probably wrote these years apart, as entries in now-lost separate trilogies. However they still struck me a forming a coherent whole.

Oedipus the King is the only one of the three which doesn't seem to focus on Sophocles' usual theme of "stubbornly doing right no matter the cost" vs "picking your battles". It's more of a straight presentation of the story as we know it - the dramatic irony is laid on thick as Oedipus discovers the truth behind his ancestry and marriage. As in Oedipus at Colonus, Oedipus's fatal flaw of stubborn and hasty anger is present as he rages at both his brother in law Cleon and the sage Teirisias before finally realising the truth.

I feel like I preferred the other translation of Oedipus at Colonus, although that might have just been because it was fresher the first time. I didn't identify any obvious differences between the two versions.

Antigone follows the fallout from the events of Oedipus at Colonus, as Oedipus's fiery and loyal daughter insists on burying her traitor brother, despite being threatened with death. The ending is very "Romeo and Juliet"-coded, which goes to show there's no new stories under the sun.

Taking the "tilogy" as a whole, I found Cleon to be the most intriguing character, and he seems to go through a full character arc from the "first" to "last" play (there's no guarantee they were actually written in that order). In Oedipus the King, he's the brother of the queen, uninterested in gaining the crown for himself but fully dedicated to the stewardship of his city. As time marches on, he becomes increasingly ruthless, resorting to more and more extreme acts for the good of his city. Finally, in Antigone he has become what Oedipus once was - blinded by his own stubborn anger and unsuspecting of the punishment fate is about to exact upon him. Like Oedipus, he loses everything.

A couple of notes. I was confused when I first started reading the Theban plays, because I thought Thebes was a city in Egypt, and had no idea there was also a Thebes in Greece. They don't tell you that in these books, presumably because they presume a passing familiarity with ancient Greece.

The second is the answer to a translation convention that has been bothering me throughout my Greek literature journey. The use of "God" and "hell" and so forth in an anachronistic fashion is apparently deliberate - the translators have chosen to replace certain instances of Zeus etc with modern idioms in order to invoke the correct reaction in the reader/audience. Personally I find it more jarring this way, but at least I now know why they do it!

[moon]

first time rereading antigone in a while and as always i love antigone. scene 4 kills me every time but i just. god… truly one of my favorite of anything of all time. god.

the part where her and ismene talk about how antigone chose death and ismene chose life and antigone is already dead and i just. it broke my heart especially after colonus. like. god. there’s more k wanna say i just can’t quite voice it rn

oedipus at colonus is… wow. god. enjoyed a lot. will probably reread with a diff translator.

also i like. just read alcestis. so naturally as antigone floats between the boundary of life and death i was also thinking of alcestis. idk man . lots of thoughts .

[Paul Ataua · Rating 4 out of 5]

Greek tragedies are always worth revisiting and this time I listened to the BBC versions of Oedipus Tyrannus, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone. The translations and renderings were solid even if not the best versions I have listened to , and as always for me, the first and third were more powerful that the second. Greek tragedy never grows old and always provoke thought.

[Keenan Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read all three plays in a day across a couple of sittings and i loved it! Oedipus at colonus is probably my favorite because it has a somewhat pleasant ending but the other two are classic tragedies in themselves! Very excited to ready Fagles’ translation of Homers Iliad soon

[Andy Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great stuff. The plays go fast but the the introduction to the book and individual dramas are what give it a good rating. Some of the paradoxes in Antigone are not so clear but with a good Jesuit education it's possible to develop some good insights and parallels (if that's the correct word).

[Elianne del Campo]

Only read Oedipus the King so far.

[death spiral · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m trying to make it to 💯

[Vivienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

we must bear what the gods give us to bear—

don’t fire up your hearts with so much grief.

No reason to blame the pass you’ve come to now.

[Mister Weintruab · Rating 2 out of 5]

Who?

[Michael Baranowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once I realized I could ignore the (long and boring) academic introductions and get right into the plays, I was rewarded with three amazing stories!

[Ida · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[vi · Rating 5 out of 5]

always in my heart

[Audrey]

Love Antigone oedipus is eh

[p]

tulner's english class grade 11/12p1

[Mina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I re-read antigone. I find myself relating to her, and sometimes I look up to her.

[Ramy K · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hate Robert Fagles, I hate Richard Lattimore, I hate Stanley Lombardo.

[Anna Ingram · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oedipus the King… what a classic play that follows the fate of a king. The dramatic irony was top notch and my 9th graders became fully invested.