Assignment

Mythological References with Explanation in OEDIPUS REX

Boys group 4

Submitted to Sir Sajid Ullah

Submitted by Ibrar, Asim, Tanver

Dept B.s English

S.Date 22nd march 2021

 Mythological References in Oedipus Rex.
Apollo:
The god of music , poetry , prophecy and medicine in Greek and Roman
mythology . Here Apollo is most important as the source of the prophecies of the
oracle .
Some quotes about Apollo:
Chorus:
All wise are Zeus and Apollo, and nothing is hid from their ken;
They are gods ;

Jocasta:
So then Apollo brought it not to pass
The child should be his father's murderer ,
Or the dread terror find accomplishment,
And Laius be slain by his own son.
Such was the prophet's horoscope.

Oedipus:
So privily without their leave I went
To Delphi, and Apollo sent me back
Baulked of the knowledge that I came to seek .

Oedipus:
Apollo, friend, Apollo, he it was
That brought these ills to pass ;
But the right hand that dealt the blow
Was mine, none other.

Amphitrite:
Poseidon's wife, a Nereid/ Oceanid (nymph), lives in the sea

Some quotes about Amphitrite:

Chorus:
And grant that Ares whose hot breath I feel,
Though without targe or steel
He stalks, whose voice is as the battle shout,
May turn in sudden rout,
To the unharbored Thracian waters sped,
Or Amphitrite's bed.
Ares:
God of war, courage in battle, anger

Ares's position as the god of war is often referenced in the Oedipus plays and
sometimes his name seems to be used as a shorthand for battle or conflict.

Some quotes about Ares:

Chorus:
And grant that Ares whose hot breath I feel,
Though without targe or steel
He stalks, whose voice is as the battle shout,
May turn in sudden rout,
To the unharbored Thracian waters sped,
Or Amphitrite's bed.

Oedipus:
...So I pray and call
On the ancestral gloom of Tartarus
To snatch thee hence, on these dread goddesses
I call, and Ares who incensed you both
To mortal enmity .

Chorus:
But ere a torch our crown of towers could burn,
Ere they had tasted of our blood, they turn
Forced by the Dragon; in their rear
The din of Ares panic-struck they hear .

Artemis:
Goddess of hunting, archery, childbirth; associated with maidens

Artemis's hunting and archery skills are referenced. Also, she and several other
gods are asked to save Athens, and she (along with Athena and another woman) is
begged to save Thebes.
Some quotes about Artemis:
Chorus:
First on Athene I call; O Zeus-born goddess, defend!
Goddess and sister, befriend,
Artemis, Lady of Thebes, high-throned in the midst of our mart!
Lord of the death-winged dart!
Your threefold aid I crave
From death and ruin our city to save.

Chorus:
Yea, and the flashing lights
Of Artemis, wherewith the huntress sweeps
Across the Lycian steeps.

Chorus:
Hear us, Zeus, and hear us, child
Of Zeus, Athene undefiled,
Hear, Apollo, hunter, hear,
Huntress, sister of Apollo,
Who the dappled swift-foot deer
O'er the wooded glade dost follow;
Help with your two-fold power
Athens in danger's hour!

Athena:
Goddess of wartime strategy, wisdom

The chorus reminds the audience that Athena is Zeus's child, and calls for her help
to save Thebes and Athens. Note that Athens is an important location in the play,
and Athena is the patron goddess of Athens.

Some quotes about Athena:

Chorus:
First on Athene I call; O Zeus-born goddess, defend!
Goddess and sister, befriend,
Artemis, Lady of Thebes, high-throned in the midst of our mart!
Lord of the death-winged dart!
Your threefold aid I crave
 From death and ruin our city to save.

Chorus:
Hear us, Zeus, and hear us, child
Of Zeus, Athene undefiled,
Hear, Apollo, hunter, hear,
Huntress, sister of Apollo,
Who the dappled swift-foot deer
O'er the wooded glade dost follow;
Help with your two-fold power
Athens in danger's hour!

Chorus:
'Tis the grey-leaved olive that feeds our boys;
Nor youth nor withering age destroys
The plant that the Olive Planter tends
And the Grey-eyed Goddess herself defends.

Dionysus:
God of wine, revelry

Dionysus is the patron god of Thebes, and his mother was a Theban. In the play,
his position in Thebes is mentioned, as is his association with revelry.

Some quotes about Dionysus:

Chorus:
In the deep-embosomed glades
Of the Eleusinian Queen
Haunt of revelers, men and maids,
Dionysus, thou art seen .

Where Ismenus rolls his waters,

Where the Dragon's teeth were sown,
Where the Bacchanals thy daughters
Round thee roam,
There thy home;
Thebes, O Bacchus, is thine own .