Th Harcourt Brace botholeqy of Drama Bed ed F WB Woe thes TSN 0-1S-SOBOSS-S | OEDIPUS THE KING i Sophocles t "TRANSLATED BY ROBERT PAGIES —— cataracrens — ‘essen from Cort se ano scene: The royal bons of The. Dene doors dominate 3 30 conor, hing of Thies (AERIS of Zeus ‘s SHBPEERD ‘cRBON, bridle of Jocsta ‘A MESSENGER from ini the AN CHORLS of Thebans citizens palace ‘and ther VEADER ANMGONE, SENS, danghters srmasias a blind proper of Ondipas and Joasts JOCASTA, te auc, wife of SANDS aid RETENDANTS Oedipus PUES of Thebes ‘Many pests ho parsed smc OmDIPUS sola te riddle ofthe Sphinx ind aiended tbe throne of Ths, and new a plague bas src the Shy. A pracsnn of PRIEST enters splints, bron and dpe, ‘hay carry bene wend ix el and lay them on he aia. “Th ders open, GUARDS axonble, OBDIUS comes forcard, majestic a for aad Hip, ad toy views th cndivion of bis pple. corpses: Oh my children, the new blood of ancient Thebes, ‘why ate you here? Huddling at my seas, praying before me, your branches wound in wool Gur ciey reeks with the smoke of burning incense, tings with cries for the Healer aad wailing forthe dead. Tehoughe fe wrong, my childeen, eo hear the eraeh from others, messengers, ete [am myself— you all know me, the world knows my fare: Tamm Oodipas. (eying R00 20 Bs fr.) Speale up, old man, Your yeu ‘your dignity—you shoald speak for che ores ‘Why hete and kneeling wae preys upon you 80? Some sudden fear? some strong desire? ‘You can ust me, Lam ready 10 help, Fido anything, J would be blind ro misery ‘not to pity my people kneeling ae my fee. paiiss © Oedipus, king of che land, our greatest power! "You see us before you now, men ofall ages clinging to your altars. Here ace boys, still coo weak o ly from the nest, fand here the old, boseed down wich the years, the holy ones—« pries of Zeus myself—and here the picked, uomstried men, the young hope of Thebes ‘And all che cest, your great family gathers now, branches wreathed, massing in the squares, Kneeling befose eke ewo temples of queen Athens fof the riverine where che embers glow and die ‘and Apolla sees the Facure in the ashes ‘One city look around you, see with your own eyes— ‘oar ship pitehes wildly, cannot lift her head fiom the depth she xed waves of death « Thebes is dying. A blight on che fresh crops and the rich pastures, cattle sicken and die, the fade sone aber thands atte center of the sage and the women die in labor, childcen silboro, td the plague, the fixy god of fever hurls down ton he dry, his lighting slashing through ws— raging plague inal cs vengeance, devastating the houte of Cadmus? And black Death luxariares fn che rv, walling miseries of Thebes. [Now we pray to you, You cannot equal the gods, {your eiklen know ehat, bending at your altar Bat we do rte you fise of men, both in the common crises of ou lives tnd face-to-face encounters with the gods. ‘You freed us from the Sphinx, you came to Thebes and cae us loose from the bloody cribute we had paid ‘hac hah, brutal singer: We caught you nothing, fo skill, no extra knowledge, still you eiumphed, A god was with you, so they say, ad we believe it~ you lifted up ove lives. ‘so now again, ‘Oedipus, king, we bend to you, your power— ‘we implore you, all of us on our knees find us strength, rescue! Pethaps you've heard the yoice of god or someching fom other men, ‘Osipus what do you know? “The man of experience—you se it every day— his plans will work in acess, bis ise ofall ‘Ace naw—wve beg you, best of men, euise up our ciy! ‘Act, defend yourself, your former glory! ‘Your country calls you savior now for yout zeal, your action years ago. [Never let us remember of your reign: ‘you helped ws stand, only to fll ence more, ‘Oh tase up our cey, set us on our fer. "The oment were good chat Gay you brought us joy-— be the same man today! ‘Rule our land, you kaow you have che power, hue rale a land of che living, nota wasteland Ship and coweted city are noching, stripped of men alive within i, living all ss one conpIPUs: My children, {pity you. I see—how could | fail to see what longings bring you here? Well I know you are sick co death, all of you, Bar sick as you ate, aot one is sick a I. » 4 ® 30 8 Cy 6 702 © “ 3% 6 0 6 ” ‘Your pain seikes each of you alone, each in the confines of himself, no cher But my spice srieves forthe city for myself and all of you. Twasa' asleep, dreaming, You haven't wakened me— have wept chrough the aighs, you muse know that, ‘groping, boring over many peths of thonghe ‘After painful search I found one cue Tacted a once. Tent Czeon, my wifes own brother, to Delphi-— Apollo the Prophee'’s oracle—o learn ‘wha F might do or say to save our city ‘ovlay’s the day. When I count the days gone by it torments me... what is he doing? Strange, he's late, e's gone to0 long. Bue once he returns, thea, chen Pl bea erator i do not do all the god makes clear aust Timely words. The men aver there ae signaling —Creon’s just aetiving, ‘oRDIPUs: (Sigving CREON, the curing fsb alter.) Lewd Apollo, let him come with a focky word of rescu, shining like his eyes! vaussr: Welcome news, I chink—he's crowned, look, and the laurel wreath is bright wich beri ‘osniPUs: We'll soon see, Hees close enough to hear — (Eater CRON fram the sisi Face it shaded with a wreath.) 0 0s ho us Groon, prince, my kinsman, what do you bring us? Whac message ftom the god? caso: Good news. tell you even the hacdese things to bea, if they should earn out well all would be well. OBDIPUS: Of course, bur whae were the god's wand? There’ ‘no hope and nothing ro fer ia what you've ssid so fr ‘aon: Ifyou wane my repore in the presence of these people (Pointing tbe vases wbile drawing OnoieUstowsnd the pala) Tm ready now, oF we might go inside ents ‘Speak out, speak 10 us all. grieve for chese, my people, far more than T fear for my own lite can08: Very well, Twill ell you what I heaed from the god. Apollo commands us—he was quite Cear— “Drive che creuption fom the land, dont harbor ie any longer, pase al eure, dlon’e nurse i¢ in your soil—root ic ou! ‘RDIFUS: How can we cleanse ourscves—whattites? ‘What’ the source ofthe trouble? ‘Ctgow: Banish the maa, or pay back blood with blood ‘Marder ses che plague-storm on the city. ‘ont ‘Whose musder? ‘Whose fate does Apollo bring to light? ‘creo ‘Onur leads, ‘my lord, was once a man nemed Laies, before you came and pur us straight of course ono or so Ive beerd. I never saw the min myself T know — SOPHOCLES @ OEDIPUS THE KING 75 (CREON: Well, he was killed, and Apollo commands us now— be could not be more clear, “Pay the killers back—whoewer is responsible.” ‘OnDrPUS: Where on each ace they? Where co find ic now, the el ofthe ancient guilt 50 haed ro eruce? ‘exson “Here in Thebes,” he ssi Whatever is sought for can be caught, you know, whatever is neglected slips away owreus But where, in the palace, the fields ot forcign sil, where did Laius meet hie Bloody death? ‘cxsow: He wene ro consule an oracle, Apolo said, and he see out end never came home again, DOEDiPUS: No messenger, no fellow-aveler saw what happened? | Someone to cross-examine? cxton: No, thy were all killed bur one. He escaped, Cerrfied, he could cell us nothing clearly, nothing of what he sawe—just one thing osnius: ‘What's thee? ‘One thing could bold the key toi all, « small beginning give us grounds for hope, ‘CREON: He sti chieves attacked them—a whole band, not single-handed, cut King Laius dow oxpris: A chief, s0 daring, so wild, he'd kill s king? Impossible, unless conspirators paid him off in Thebes ‘caBons: We suspected as much. But with Leivs deed ‘no leader appeared co help us in ous troubles, ‘onpirus: Trouble? Your Aing was mudersd—oyal blood! ‘What stopped you from tracking down the killer thea snd there? cxtow: ‘The singing, riding Sphinx, ‘She... persuaded us co let che mystery go and concentrate on what lay at out feet, ones: No, Vl seat sgein—'l bring ie all ro Light myself Apolo is tight, and so aze you, Creon, ‘0 turn our attention back to the murdered man. Now you have me eo fight for you, you'll see Lam che lands avenger by all ighes, snd Apollo's champion too But noe to assse some distant kinsman, a0, for my own sake Tl id us of his corruption, ‘Whoever killed che king may decide t kil me too, with the same violeae hand—by avenging Lavus defend enysel. (Tote passes.) Quickly, my children, Up from the steps, take up your branches now. (fo the uanns.) (Oxe of you summon the city heze before us tell them Ill do everything. God help us, ‘ve will se our tivmph—or our fil, (OEDIPUS and CREON enter th lacy, fllewed by the CUARDS,) v0 130 M40 150 ss 1016s 170 180 185 190 » 205 210 36 UNIT) @ CLASSICAL ATHENS: nibsh Rise, my sons. The kindness we came for ‘Oedipus volunteers himself Apollo hs seat his word, his oracle— Come dowo, Apollo, save us, stop the plague (Tbe vases vise, remsw their Brae and exit othe side. ter a tons, the citizens of The whe have not beard tbe aout that (CRBON Fring. Thay marc around te altar, chanting.) conve: Zeus! Great weleome voice of Zeus, whae do you bring? “Whar word from the gold vaults of Delphi comes t brilliane Thebes? Racked with teror— error shakes my héare and [ ery your wild cries, Apollo, Healer of Delos Tvorship you in dread... whe now, wae is your price? seme new sacrifice? some ancient rte from the past ‘ome round again each spring?— ‘what will you bring to birth? Tell me, child of golden Hope warm voice thae never dies! You are the fst I call, daughter of Zeus deathless Athena—I call yous sister Artemis, Iheae ofthe marker place enthroned in glory, ‘gonedian of our icth— Teall Apollo, Archer astride the chuadetheads of heaven: O triple shield agnince death, chine before me now! ever, once in che pas, you stopped some aula Faunched againse our walls ‘you hurled the Fame of pain fa, far from Thebes—you gods ‘come naw, come down once mere! the miseries sumberless, grief on ton mach to bear, we ar all dying O my people «- Thebes Like « grea army dying and there is ao sword af though to seve fl the fruits of out fanaous earth, ehey will noe eipen ‘0 and the women cannot scream theit pangs to bie feteams foe the Healer, children dead in the wombs tad life om life goes down yon can watch chem go like seabieds winging west, ouracing the days fre down the horizon, irresistibly sereaking ot €0 the shores of Evening Death so many deaths, numbsetless deaths on deaths, no end-— ‘Thebes is dying, look, her children srripped of picy ‘generations strewn on the ground unburied, unepe, the dead spreading death and the young wives and gray-hoited mothers with ehem cling to the altars, wailing in fra all over che city— "Thebes, city of doath, one long cortege fand the suering rises wals for mercy ise sand the wild hymn for the Healer blazes out clashing with our sobs ue ctes of mouening— (© golden daughecr of god, send rescue sadiant at the kindness in your eyet! Deive him backt—the fever, the god of death that caging god of wae not armored in bronze, no shielded now, he burns me, battle cries in che onslaughe burning on (© tout him ftom our borders! Sail him, blase him out co the See-queen's chamber the black Atlantic gulfs cor the northern harbor, death ral, ‘wheee che Thracian suef comes crashing. [Now what the nighe spates he comes By day and kills — the god of deaeh, (© led ofthe stormeleud, you who ewie! the lightning, Zeus, Father, ‘hander Death co nothing! Apollo, lord ofthe lighs, I beg you— Whip your longbow's golden cord showering arrows on our encinies—shalts of power champions strong before us rushing on! Artemis, Huntress ‘ocches faring over the eastern ridges — ride Death down in pain! God of the headdress gleaming gold, I ery to you~ your name and ours aze one, Dionysus came with your fie aflame with wine ‘your raving wornen's cries you army on the march! Come with che lightning