“Nay, what should mortal fear, for whom the decrees of fortune are supreme, and who hath clear foresight of nothing?”
~ ‘Oedipus The King’ by Sophocles (Richard. C. Jebb translation. p108)
First off, my sincerest apologies for the break that lasted over a month. I appreciate your patience and look forward to resuming regular weekly posts!
The play opens in front of the royal palace in Thebes. A group of suppliants are gathered before Oedipus, the king. One of them, the Priest of Zeus, tells Oedipus that Thebes is suffering from a terrible plague, and they are looking to him to save the city like he saved them in the past by solving the riddle of the Sphinx. Oedipus has already sent his brother-in-law, Creon, to the Oracle of Delphi to learn how to stop it. Creon gets back, saying that the Oracle told him that the plague would only end when the murderer of the previous king, Laius, was brought to justice.