Oedipus

Written by Sophocles

Narrated by Michael Sheen, John Moffatt, Full Cast and Heathcote Williams

This new translation of the great classic of Ancient Greece starts a cycle of drama recordings by Naxos AudioBooks. The anguished tale of Oedipus, who having solved the riddle of the Sphinx and become King of Thebes, gradually realises the crimes he has, unwittingly, committed, remains a drama of unremitting power 2,500 years after it was written. With full drama values, Naxos AudioBooks the atmosphere of the Greek amphitheatre to the soundworld of audio, with the outstanding young actor Michael Sheen – recently seen as Henry V (RSC) and Amadeus (West End) and on film and TV.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Naxos Audiobooks
• Release date: Aug 18, 1999
• ISBN: 9789629546991

Sophocles

Sophocles is one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived. His first plays were written later than or contemporary with those of Aeschylus, and earlier than or contemporary with those of Euripides.

Reviews for Oedipus

[grlintrrptdrdng · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It's a classic tragedy play, I think it's great. It keeps you guessing while telling you everything. Can be hard to read, but if you take it slow and take the time to look up what the words mean, it's understandable.

[wellreadcatlady · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It's a classic tragedy play, I think it's great. It keeps you guessing while telling you everything. Can be hard to read, but if you take it slow and take the time to look up what the words mean, it's understandable.

[cassiewinters-2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was one of the hardest reads. I didn't enjoy the writing at all in this particular writing, but I was forced to read it for my theater course. It was an okay read, but I would not want to subject someone else to this book. It is very sad and horrible, in my opinion.

[wdavidhurley · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the first (in logical order) play in the Oedipus trilogy (actually, each play stands by itself) about a doomed family. This play has been called the first great detective story. Remember -- the Oedipus complex. The Oxford Press edition is a highly readable translation with helpful notes and glossary.

[christian · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is quite staggeringly superb, both in the translation and the acting. It had me weeping at the end. Eu! Eu! I recommend this without reservation.

[ericpatterson · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was one of the hardest reads. I didn't enjoy the writing at all in this particular writing, but I was forced to read it for my theater course. It was an okay read, but I would not want to subject someone else to this book. It is very sad and horrible, in my opinion.

[quantum_flapdoodle · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The classic play that gave rise to the Freudian "Oedipus Complex", the idea that somehow all boys hate their fathers and want to sleep with their mothers. A play about prophecy and predestination, and gods that will blight an entire country because they're angry with one person, who has done something without knowing it, and is being given cryptic hints as to what has been done. Also about divine retribution and poetic justice; after Oedipus twits the blind man, he ends up himself blind and helpless. Overall, a good solid read, not too long to read in one sitting, and some interesting moments when it's possible to spot how many of the ideas presented in this work of ancient Greece are still bouncing around the modern world.

[john257hopper · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This classic play is an out and out dramatic classic of murder,
incest, self-mutilation and suicide. It is amazing to think that this play was performed nearly 2,500 years ago, five times longer ago than Shakespeare's plays. Put another way, when Jesus was born and lived, this play was as far in the past to people living then as Shakespeare's plays are to us now in 2024. It won second prize in a competition in 429 BC to a play now lost to us written by a nephew of Euripides, one of the other two most prominent Greek tragic writers of the era. What huge influence this and other plays of the era have had on the literature of the past two and a half millennia.

[wanderlustlover_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Fall 2018, Teacher Read:

My Seniors are doing Oedipus, and my Sophomores are doing Antigone, and it seemed fitting that I should read the whole Theban Trilogy again since my daily life is half-immersed within it currently. I still love the whole focus on how free will as we view it might still be winding us into the clutches of fate unknowingly, even if the book is a travesty of tragic flaws playing themselves out.

[Thedevilcountness · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Oedipus Rex by Sophocles is one of the classic works of Greek theater, whose importance is crucial for Western civilization. Besides being a masterful piece from a theatrical point of view, it represents a series of human conflicts and social values that are considered archetypical.

The plague has broken out in Thebes and the people are dying. In their desperation, everyone goes to the agora to ask for King Oedipus's intervention. In order to understand the cause and remedy of such a terrible situation, Oedipus seeks the help of Creon, his wife Jocasta's brother.

After consulting the oracle of Delphi, Creon informs him that the plague is the punishment of the gods for the murder of Laius, the former king of Thebes whom Oedipus never came to know. Therefore, until the responsible party atones for his sins, the plague will continue to ravage the city.

Oedipus orders an investigation and urges the people to deliver the guilty party. Meanwhile, the king consults the blind Tiresias at Creon's suggestion. Tiresias informs him that he is the murderer of Laius and, furthermore, lives in incest with his mother, Jocasta. Oedipus, who believes himself to be the son of Polybus, the king of Corinth, and Merope of Doria, concludes that Creon has conspired with Tiresias to dethrone him.

Creon and Oedipus argue heatedly until Jocasta arrives. In order to dispel Oedipus's worries, Jocasta informs him that Laius died at the hands of some bandits at the crossroads of three roads. She also encourages him not to fear the prophecies of the oracle, as in the past it was predicted that Laius and she would have a son who would kill his father and marry his mother. To avoid this, they got rid of the child.

A similar prophecy had been given to Oedipus in his youth, which is why he exiled himself from Corinth to avoid his fate. He then remembers that in his exile he killed someone at the crossroads of three roads, but he did it by himself and not as part of a group. Even so, he begins to fear that he is the murderer of Laius.

A messenger appears to announce that Polybus has died and he must go take his place as successor. In the conversation, Oedipus discovers that he is not Polybus's blood son, as the same messenger explains that he received him from a shepherd when he was a child and delivered him to the king of Corinth.

They immediately summon the shepherd, who confesses that this child was Laius's son, who had entrusted him to kill it. However, he took pity on the child and gave him to the messenger, thinking he would take him far away from there.

Faced with the terrible truth, Jocasta commits suicide. Oedipus, distraught, decides to blind himself with Jocasta's dress pins, so that when he dies he cannot look his parents in the eye in Hades. Blind, he asks Creon to exile him and condemns himself to live forever as a stranger, stripped of all power, affection, and consideration. (Translated from Spanish)

[conscienciaIntranquila · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Oedipus, although we have all known him primarily for his tragedy and its respective resonance in the works of Sigmund Freud, represents the downfall of a poor cursed man, and here, how the noble man becomes supreme. There is no loss, neither in the work, nor much less in that majestic ending. (Translated from Spanish)

[Mane MH · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Laius, king of Thebes, consults the oracle of Delphi, and it prophesies that he would be killed by his own son. When Jocasta, his wife, gives birth to their firstborn, Laius orders the child's feet to be bound and to be thrown onto Mount Cithaeron to await his fate, the only possible one, his sad end. That child was named Oedipus.

But the slave who transported him takes pity on the child and delivers him to a shepherd from another land, who gives him to the kings of Corinth, who could not have offspring, and they raise him as a prince. Once he is a man, he hears a rumor, a gossip, and decides to consult the oracle about his origins. The oracle gives him a cruel answer: that he would kill his father and marry his mother. Horrified by such a possibility, Oedipus flees from Corinth to escape such an exposed destiny, a desperate flight forward, to build his fate, to his time and his history, in his feet, in his will, in his sword, until, at a crossroads…

Oedipus was happy when he was most blind to his origins. And when he saw everything, he was unhappy. A cruel and beautiful metaphor that speaks to us of the divine, the profane, the arrogance of knowledge, the brutality of ignorance, of man. And of fate. (Translated from Spanish)

[JorgeLopez · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A masterpiece used by psychoanalysts to uncover issues between parents and children. It should be mandatory reading for teenagers and up. Very good story. (Translated from Spanish)

[leslie398 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This translation by F. Storrs was disappointing. My Kindle edition also was missing formating (such as line breaks between different speakers) which made it difficult to read.

[thekillerofkoopas · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the quintessential Greek tragedies. I had previously read Antigone, and since I am obviously not respecting the order of the trilogy, I can state that, although related, all the works are independent. Thebes is ravaged by an epidemic, and the oracle tells Oedipus that it is because of an unatoned sin. Determined to do so, Oedipus curses the murderer of the previous king, not knowing that he is cursing himself. They call for the seer Tiresias to confess who the culprit is, but he refuses to speak. The dialogue between the two is extremely entertaining, and an enraged Oedipus claims that since Tiresias is blind, he knows nothing, and that he won’t listen to him because at least he can see (XD). Tiresias angrily then tells him that Oedipus is the guilty one, but he does not believe him. In the end, as is usual in tragedies, some unfortunate oracles about the kings and his son, very well interconnected and presented for the antiquity of the work, result in Oedipus killing his father and having children with his mother, for one cannot escape the designs of the gods. Jocasta, upon learning this, commits suicide, and Oedipus blinds himself with one of her brooches. He cedes the throne to his uncle-brother-in-law Creon and prepares to leave Thebes. It is brilliant; I liked it very much. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Translated from Spanish)

[March Delgado · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Whenever I feel like something theatrical, I try to return to the classics because they don't disappoint me.
I have once again hit the mark with this second part of Oedipus, a good man marked and pursued by his fate.
I was moved by that daughter, a loving caregiver to her elderly and blind father, and also felt anger for the son, as well as impotence and sadness for that great king fallen from grace.
An intense read that doesn't take more than a little while, but that time will certainly be entertaining, I recommend it. (Translated from Spanish)

[MeluOrtega95 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Pretty good, although I didn't understand much of it xD (Translated from Spanish)

[KK · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I read the Greek tragedies (Oedipus, Antigone, Electra) during my school years, but I still remember the details of that book in such a palpable way as if it were yesterday, and more than 25 years have passed. It's a masterful book. I didn't enjoy Electra as much. (Translated from Spanish)

[onbooxxg · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

For a required reading, it was really good, I have to admit it. It's just that Greek mythology overwhelms me. Despite books like the Iliad (another required reading) that I struggled a lot to read and did not finish, resulting in a bad grade on the exam ?. Oedipus Rex, although I left it for the last moment, was a "light" read, because I still didn't understand some things. (Translated from Spanish)

[AleCR · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I already knew what it was going to lead to, but I wanted to read it.
It's very short, but that doesn't take away from its quality; a tragedy; a man who was warned about his future tries to change his destiny, but no matter what he did, he ended up in what had already been foretold would happen. (Translated from Spanish)

[CieloGM · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What a tragedy
The beginning was a bit heavy and I didn't like the choruses much. I loved the development, my favorite part is when he discovers his origin.
Destiny, no matter what you try to do or what actions you want to take to change it, destiny is written; it will happen whether you like it or not. (Translated from Spanish)

[aysearentsdi · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

108 pages, written as a work of theater in the style of Greek tragedy, which makes it not very easy to understand. The plot is good but becomes tedious at times. I had to seek literary support to better understand the book. (Translated from Spanish)

[nxtalia · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I didn't have much faith in a Greek tragedy, so when I saw that I was enjoying it, I was surprised. Although it doesn't have very difficult vocabulary and is quite short, when I started reading it, I didn't understand anything; it seemed like it was in Hebrew. I suppose knowing the story beforehand helped me a lot. Once you get the hang of it, you can't put it down. (Translated from Spanish)

[JorgeGLopez · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A masterpiece that is used by psychoanalysts to uncover issues between parents and children. It should be mandatory reading for adolescents and older. Very good story. (Translated from Spanish)

[paula1970 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I have reread this play and I must say that I still remember the first time I read it, when I knew nothing of its plot and how I felt so powerless for poor Oedipus who, by trying to do the right thing, ended up fulfilling that disastrous fate. And how, in so few pages, the idea of ultimate fatality is summed up. (Translated from Spanish)

[Mary R.?✨ · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It's incredible the way this tragedy is written. It helped me out of a short reading block thanks to its brevity and the way it keeps you on edge in such a situation. It is simply wonderful and quite tragic, with a heartbreaking ending, which is interesting because it aligns with the readings I usually enjoy, yet it doesn't seem like it. I wanted to read something with a "Greek" touch, and it worked. I definitely recommend it. (Translated from Spanish)

[Emma Entre Libros · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This story should be read without knowing anything. This way, it is more impactful. It is short and accessible if you want to start reading Greek classics. Moreover, it is an important sample of their theater (which is wonderful) and the idea they had in ancient times about fate: Inevitable even if you want to stop it. The story of Oedipus is raw and cruel. Being in misfortune without knowing it, being in happiness without noticing its roots. It is incredible all the actions and truths that come to light in just a few pages. It is definitely the perfect example of how stories were at that time: With worship of the gods and fear of their designs. In conclusion, it is recommended, but you should have at least a vague idea of Greek mythology and some of its gods, or of stories prior to Oedipus Rex if you want to understand more deeply the development of events (I refer to an event regarding Laius). (Translated from Spanish)

[NelsyLorena · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Thanks to Oedipus Rex, I learned to enjoy reading Greek tragedies; their thematic depth is something that few allow themselves to appreciate and reflect on. I read Antigone many years later and didn't enjoy it as much; however, it's interesting to see the unexpected twists that occur throughout the plot. (Translated from Spanish)

[drfuriosa · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It's a fascinating concept, the question of whether or not you can truly escape your fate. This style of the play feels a bit clunky, and the content matter is HEAVY.

[juva_3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When Thebes is struck by a terrible plague on both its crops and its residents, the people appeal to their king to discover why the gods are tormenting them. Oedipus the king, a man who has been fleeing from his destiny for his whole life, sets himself to discover the source of the god's displeasure. Alas, it is him. For he has slain his father and married his mother. This was the prophecy that Oedipus had been trying to avoid when he fled his home. However, he met a man on the road and slew him in a fit of rage. When he came to Thebes he saved the city and married the recently widowed queen. All the time, he did not realize the truth - that he had fulfilled the prophecy.

In horror, his wife-mother kills herself and he stabs out his own eyes. He condemns himself to walk through the world blind and alone.

This is a grim and dramatic play, but I found the performance captivating. This audio program also comes with a Q&A session with the translator which I found very interesting.