This is a play by Sophocles. It is in GB Volume 5. My newsletter post is here
Notes
Page 1 (Lines 1-81)
- The play opens in front of the royal palace in Thebes. A group of suppliants (chorus) are gathered before Oedipus, the king.
- A priest of Zeus, on behalf of the group, says that a plague is ravaging the city, affecting crops, livestock and people.
- Oedipus says that he will find a solution and has already sent Creon, his brother-in-law to consult the oracle at Delphi.
Page 2 (Lines 82-184)
- Creon comes in, says that the message from the oracle is that Thebes needs to get rid of a ‘defiling thing’ from their city.
- The murderer of King Laius, who was murdered on a road on his way to Delphi, is still alive and needs to be exiled for the plague to go away.
- Oedipus vows to solve the mystery and find out who killed the previous king.