Source edition
Seneca, Lucius Annaeus. Tragoediae. Peiper, Rudolf; Richter, Gustav, editors. Leipzig: Teubner, 1921.
Source data
Perseus Digital Library · CC BY-SA (per Perseus's terms)
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
This Latin tragedy depicts the devastating downfall of Oedipus, the King of Thebes, who is relentlessly pursued by a horrific destiny. The drama begins in a plague-stricken Thebes, where a desperate Oedipus agonizes over the divine curse afflicting his city and the dark premonitions about his own fate. In order to lift the plague, Oedipus vows to find the murderer of the former king Laius, leading to terrifying sacrificial rituals and necromancy conducted by the blind prophet Tiresias. As the investigations unfold, the gruesome truth of his parricide and incest is relentlessly exposed. Upon realizing that he is indeed the culprit, Oedipus blinds himself in a frenzy of self-punishment, while his mother and wife, Jocasta, commits suicide. Ultimately, the blind Oedipus departs from Thebes into exile, taking the city's curses with him in a tragic and absolute resolution.