Discussion Topic
The problem afflicting Thebes in Oedipus Rex
Summary:
The problem afflicting Thebes in Oedipus Rex is a devastating plague. The citizens are suffering from widespread disease and death, prompting them to seek help from King Oedipus to find a solution. This crisis sets the stage for Oedipus's investigation into the murder of the previous king, Laius, which ultimately leads to the revelation of his own tragic fate.
What problem afflicts Thebes in Oedipus Rex?
The problem in Oedipus Rex is the king's refusal to accept the truth which Teiresias brings him: Oedipus himself is the cause of the plague because he is the murderer of the previous king of Thebes,
When the plague besets Thebes, the people approach their king, who has been made king because previously he so wisely solved the mystery of the sphinx. They beg him to save them from the plague that beseiges them, so Oedipus speaks with his brother-in-law, Kreon. From him Oedipus is told that
The god commands us to expel from the land of Thebes
An old defilement we are sheltering (99-100).
When pressed, Kreon expands on the message, explaining that it was "Murder that brought the plague-wind in the city" (105) and Apollo has commanded that Thebes rid itself of this murderer. Specifically, it is the man who murdered the former king of Thebes, who was...
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King Laius.
While Oedipus acknowledges this message, he fails to accept the truth that
Teiresias later reveals only under duress; that is, Oedipus himself is this
murderer. Oedipus rejects this truth and, in his hubris, he
defies the words of the Oracle of Apollo.
However, after he angrily banishes Kreon from Thebes, his wife Jocasta, who is
so distraught over the enmity between her brother and her husband, tries to
help Oedipus solve the mystery of the plague by telling him that an oracle told
King Laius, her husband, that he would be killed by his own child. As Oedipus
learns that the location of the murder of Laius was at the point where three
roads meet in Phocis, he realizes that this location was where he once killed a
man of position. And, he begins to suspect that he is, in fact, the murderer.
When he finally accepts his guilt, the problem is solved, although
tragically.
At the beginning of the play, the Chorus has come to Oedipus's royal palace in Thebes, and when Oedipus comes out to speak to them and find out what is wrong, the leader tells him,
[...] our ship of State,
Sore buffeted, can no more lift her head,
Foundered beneath a weltering surge of blood.
A blight is on our harvest in the ear,
A blight upon the grazing flocks and herds,
A blight on wives in travail; and withal
Armed with his blazing torch the God of Plague
Hath swooped upon our city emptying
The house of Cadmus, and the murky realm
Of Pluto is full fed with groans and tears.
There are several problems in Thebes that are sorely affecting its citizens. The Chorus leader says that these problems are so many and so destructive that the very livelihood of Thebes is threatened. First, something is ruining the crops so that the food seems to rot in the field. Second, some illness is killing the livestock, and, third, women in labor are having terrible trouble, perhaps even dying during childbirth. These plagues have descended on the city (caused by Apollo, the god associated with both plague and prophecy, which shortly becomes relevant in the play), causing a great deal of death so that the Underworld (the realm of Pluto, also called Hades) is filling up with depressed deceased victims.
What is the problem facing the city of Thebes in Oedipus Rex?
In Oedipus Rex, two unresolved crimes have plagued the royal house of Thebes: incest (with the mother) and patricide (murder of the father). As such, the gods are punishing the city with a plague. These are the two worst crimes in the ancient Greek tradition, as they destroy not only the family but the fabric of society. To have these two crimes in the royal house brought about swift retribution by the gods.
This is the second major plague that has descended on the city. The first plague, in which the Sphinx held the city hostage, took place just before Oedipus got there. The Sphinx's destruction was presumably a punishment for Laius and Jocasta' crime of attempted infanticide against Oedipus.
I assume that you are asking what is wrong in the city of Thebes at the start of the play. If that is the case, there are a number of things wrong. In general, things are going very badly for the city and that is why the people want to find out the cause of the troubles.
Among the problems are plague, fires, and famine. These things have been killing people and animals and the city is in bad shape.
As it turns out, the Oracle and Delphi says that all of these problems are happening because the previous king, Laius, had been murdered.
What is the problem with Thebes in Oedipus Rex by Sophocles?
Oedipus Rex by Sophocles opens with Oedipus ruling the city of Thebes. A plague has descended upon the city. The cause of the plague is the anger of the gods, but Oedipus, his advisers, and the citizens of Thebes are uncertain what they have done to bring the gods' anger upon them. The plot of the play revolves around the efforts of Oedipus and the other residents of the city to uncover the reasons why the gods cursed them with the plague.
Eventually, through the medium of the prophet Teiresias and inquiries into the past history of Thebes, we discover the reason for the ritual pollution which has caused the plague. We discover that Oedipus accidentally killed his own father Laius and married his mother Jocasta. These events are in part due to a curse that Laius brought down upon the family.