Thursday, August 6, 2009

Oedipus at Colonus

The final one, well I think it was placed well I mean the time line of this series goes
Oedipus the King
Oedipus at Colonus
Antigone
but this one explains a LOT like why Eteocles and Polynice killed each other and why Antigone buried her brother polynice. Now from the beginning, so Oedipus never went to the hole like he wanted but instead walked with Antigone as his eyes after wandering for a while they end up in the Grove of the Furies, or as citizens there call them, the Kindly Ones. The Furies were the three goddesses of Vengeance, Tisiphone (Murder), Megaera (Jealous), Alecto (constant Anger)the Furies would protect the innocent and punish the Guilty sorta like a Executioner but they would punish them after death instead of hand it out like candy before death, and they tortured them since you cant die if your dead. But they got to the Grove of the Furies where Oedipus prayed to the Furies to not be harsh to Apollo but to put all harshness meant to Apollo go to him and to bless the city with good fortune until the citizens and there leader got there and later after there discussion of how the king would know hes there if he didn't go tell him Theseus the king got there who was a big fan of Oedipus so treated him as his Honored guest. Actually in reality i thought it was a bit over the top for a king to treat an Exile as a greater i mean you would think he would be one of those kings that think they are better then all others but no he wasn't and if this was written in an actual ancient Greek society that tells me that kings back then were willing to break there backs for others. But anyhow later Creon came to get him and his daughters to take them back to Thebes he failed at getting Oedipus, he got Ismene and Antigone but Theseus himself and his guard got them back and was glad, but soon after he got them Polynice got there and tried to face his father who cursed him which is where Antigone comes into play, in the play Antigone Polynice died by his brothers hand and Eteocles by Polynice's which was what Oedipus cursed him with. So he left but before he did he asked Antigone to Bury him if he dies and give him his Proper Rites. So he left and right after Zeus got mad and shot Lightning and Thunder upon the earth and killed Oedipus as he knew he would. When Antigone found out she asked Theseus to see his tomb which he asked him not to let her so he didn't, but did take them back to Thebes where, a few years later I would guess, Antigone started.

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