num_pages: 168
description: ‘O Light! May I never look on you again, Revealed as I am, sinful in my begetting, Sinful in marriage, sinful in shedding of blood!’The legends surrounding the royal house of Thebes inspired Sophocles (496–406 BC) to create a powerful trilogy of mankind’s struggle against fate. King Oedipus 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. Oedipus at Colonus provides a fitting conclusion to the life of the aged and blinded king, while Antigone 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.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.
language: English
title: The Theban Plays
titlecomplete: The Theban Plays
characters: Ismene (sister of Antigone), Oedipus, Antigone
genres: Literature, School, Classics, Mythology, Drama, Plays, Fiction, Poetry, Read For School, Theatre
ratings_count: 66063
places: Thebes
series: The Theban Plays
awards: name: City of Dionysia Award
category: Second Place
publisher: Penguin Classics