Summary
After years of wandering in exile from Thebes, Oedipus
arrives in a grove outside Athens. Blind and frail, he walks with
the help of his daughter Antigone. Neither she nor Oedipus knows
the place where they have come to rest, but they have heard they
are on the outskirts of Athens, and the grove in which they sit
bears the marks of holy ground. A citizen of Colonus approaches
and insists that the ground is forbidden to mortals and that Oedipus
and Antigone must leave. Oedipus inquires which gods preside over
the grove and learns that the reigning gods are the Eumenides, or
the goddesses of fate. In response to this news, Oedipus claims
that he must not move, and he sends the citizen to fetch Theseus,
the king of Athens and its environs. Oedipus then tells Antigone
that, earlier in his life, when Apollo’s oracle prophesied his doom,
the god declared that Oedipus would die on this ground.
The Chorus enters, cursing the strangers who would dare
set foot on the holy ground of Colonus. The Chorus convinces Antigone and
Oedipus to move to an outcropping of rock at the side of the grove,
and then interrogates Oedipus about his origins. When Oedipus reluctantly
identifies himself, the Chorus cries out in horror, begging Oedipus
to leave Colonus at once. Oedipus argues that he was not responsible
for his horrible acts, and says that the city may benefit greatly
if it does not drive him away. Oedipus expresses his arguments with
such force that the Chorus fills with awe and agrees to await Theseus’s
pronouncement on the matter.
The next person to enter the grove is not Theseus but
Ismene, Oedipus’s second daughter. Oedipus and the two girls embrace. Oedipus
thanks Ismene for having journeyed to gather news from the oracles,
while her sister has stayed with him as his guide. Ismene bears
terrible news: back in their home of Thebes, Eteocles, the younger
son of Oedipus, has overthrown Polynices, his elder son. Polynices
now amasses troops in Argos for an attack upon his brother and Creon,
who is ruling along with Eteocles.
The oracle has predicted that Oedipus’s burial
place will bring good fortune to the city in which it is located.
Both sons, as well as Creon, know of this prophecy, and Creon is
currently en route to Colonus to try to take Oedipus into custody
and thus claim the right to bury him in his kingdom. Oedipus swears
he will never give his support to either of his sons, for they did
nothing to prevent his exile years ago. The Chorus tells Oedipus
that he must appease the spirits whom he offended when he trespassed
on the sacred ground, and Ismene says that she will go and perform
the requisite libation and prayer.
Analysis
Oedipus at Colonus is set many years
after Oedipus the King, and the long-wandering
Oedipus has changed his perspective on his exile. First, he has
decided that he was not responsible for his fate, though at the
end of the previous play Oedipus proudly claimed responsibility
for his actions, blinding himself and begging for exile. Oedipus
has also decided that his sons should have prevented his exile, though
in Oedipus the King his sons never even appeared
onstage. We do not yet know what to make of Oedipus’s revised sentiments—he may
simply be a broken man making excuses, or perhaps his many years
of wandering have imbued him with a new kind of wisdom.
Although Oedipus seems to have traded his former pride
and disdain for kindness, the scene that opens the play creates
a puzzling contradiction. The characters are trespassing on holy
ground that is described lovingly by Antigone. The trespass must
be rectified with libation and with prayers, and it is. At the same
time, it seems odd that a play dedicated to piety begins with trespass
on holy ground. What seems clear is that this Oedipus is far more
devout than he once was—when a prayer or libation is called for,
he agrees to it at once. Yet, although Oedipus has his daughters
perform the necessary rites, he does not really apologize for his
trespass. Rather, he regards himself as someone who holds knowledge
of the gods beyond that of the naïve citizens. This odd tension
between piety and pride will not cease but increase as the play
progresses.
