Summary- The play opens with Oedipus the King and a priest talking. The priest says how there is a plague taking over the city. He asks Oedipus to once again save the city like he did before when he solved the riddle of the Sphinx. Oedipus says how he has been very concerned about the plague and has already sent his sister's brother Kreon to Delphi to the oracle in order to find out how to end the plague. Kreon then enters and says how the oracle told him that they needed to find the person who murdered King Laios and expel him from Thebes. He said that the murderer is living in Thebes. All of the men who witnessed the murder are dead, but one ,who left the city soon after. Oedipus then asks how Laios was killed. Kreon says he was killed when he went on a trip, but they didn't search for the murderer because they were concerned about solving the riddle. Oedipus then declares that he will find the murderer. The chorus then comes in. They pray to the gods and say how bad the plague is and how it has affected Thebes. They also want the murderer to be punished, but they are worried about what could happen when they find out whom the murderer is.
Response: At the beginning of the play, Oedipus seems like a good leader. He has the qualities that are valued for a king. He is intelligent and powerful. He has the typical role of a man. He saves the city and is able to rule them. He also seems very certain in his ability to find the murderer. Oedipus has hubris because he was able to solve the riddle of the sphinx and no one else was able to. Since he thinks he is so smart, he believes that he will be able to solve anything. Its odd how they didn't search for Laios murderer after he died and were more concerned about solving the riddle of the Sphinx. I would think that they would be concerned about who killed their leader. I think it is also odd how the city believes a plague could be caused by one person. I guess thought that was just their culture and view point at the time though. They believed in prophecies and many different gods, so that is why the story was probably believable for the time. The play was also able to depict their culture well and helps you understand why they believed the things they did and also all of the different gods they worshiped. Did the plague stop when Thebes was ridden of Laios' murderer? Laois was probably a strong and good leader which makes it kind of hard to believe that one man could kill him and his men. Also, the chorus in the play seem like the voice of the people or the town and reflect what they think and feel.
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