Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus

The latest title to join the acclaimed Greek Tragedy in New Translations series, Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus tells the story of the last day in the life of Oedipus. It was written at the end of the fifth century BCE in Athens, in the final years of the "Golden Age" of Athenian culture, and in the last year of Sophocles' own life. At the center of the play is the mysterious transformation of Oedipus from an old and blind beggar, totally dependent on his daughters, to the man who rises from his seat and, without help, leads everyone to the place where he is destined to die. In the background of this transformation stands the grove of the Furies, the sacred place of the implacable goddesses who pursue the violators of blood relationships. Although Oedipus, who killed his father and married his mother, is an obvious target of the Furies' vengeance, he enters their grove at the beginning of the play, sure that it is the resting place Apollo has predicted for him. The reversals and paradoxes in the play speak to the struggle that Oedipus' life and the action of the play bring vividly before us: how do we as humans, subject to constant change, find stable ground on which to stand and define our moral lives? Sophocles offers his play as a witness to the remarkable human capacity to persevere in this struggle.

Author: Sophocles, Eamon Grennan, Rachel Kitzinger
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 12/16/2004
Pages: 122
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.40lbs
Size: 8.59h x 5.58w x 0.38d
ISBN13: 9780195135046
ISBN10: 0195135040
BISAC Categories:
- Drama | Ancient & Classical

About the Author

Eamon Grennan is the Dexter M. Ferry Professor of English at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, and the author of six books of poetry. Rachel Kintzinger is the Matthew Vassar Professor Of Greek and Latin Language and Literature at Vassar and the co-editor of Civilization of the Ancient Mediterranean.

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