Oedipus Characters & Themes

Main character,king of thebes. known for his intelligence and how he solved the riddle of the Sphynx. he was taken from the house of Laius as a baby and left in the mountains with his feet bound together. On his way to Thebes, he killed his biological father, not knowing who he was, and proceeded to marry Jocasta, his biological mother

Oedipus' brother in law, Jocasta's brother and was king of thebes for a short time. He has no desire to be king

Fortune teller. Tiresias tells Oedipus that he is the murderer he hunts,

Prior king, father of Oedipus, dead husband of Jocasta

The mother of Oedipus and his wife, Creons sister. She is comforting to her husband and calmly tries to urge him to reject Tiresias’s terrifying prophecies as false.

Leader of the Chorus

Oedipus asks the oracle, Tiresias, who killed the king. He tells him that he knows the truth but wishes he didn't. Oedipus continues to ask but is met with no answers until he accuses Tiresias of being the murderer. The oracle tells Oedipus that he was the one who murdered the king. He continues that the murder is both brother and father to his children, and both son and husband to his mother

Most important god, son of Zeus

The city in which Oedipus rules, deadly plague hit this city and has made it into a barren wasteland

Place where Oedipus murdered his father

Where the god's prophecies and advice were given

1) quest for identity 2) nature of innocence and guilt 3) nature of moral responsibility 4) limitations of human will versus fate 5) abuse of power