The Theban Plays is made up of three plays dealing with the fate of Oedipus due to a curse by Apollo, the aftermath of his death and the continuation of the curse throughout his family. I find the plays to be heartfelt pieces of tragedy. Personally though, I'd read King Oedipus and then Antigone cos I think Oedipus at Colonus is a waste of time. It's a boring and lengthy play although it is admittedly a fitting conclusion describing the death of Oedipus. As you will see from the summary, not much actually happens and what I've managed to say in a couple of sentences takes Sophocles a whopping 1,780 lines! Talk about elaboration! So, here is the story of Oedipus and the curse of Apollo.
Laius, king of Thebes and his wife, Jocasta had a baby boy. However, before he was even named, Apollo said that he was destined to kill his father and marry his mother. Scared that the god's prediction would come true, Laius and Jocasta decided that it was best if the child died. They pinned his ankles together and gave it to a shepherd to expose on the mountains. However, the shepherd didn't have the heart to abandon the baby and so gave the child to a fellow shepherd, a Corinthian who worked for King Polybus of Corinth. The king and his wife, Queen Merope, took in the child and adopted him as their own. They named him Oedipus which means 'swollen-foot' in commiseration for his painful treatment.
Oedipus grew up and was the honoured Prince of Corinth and beloved foster-son of those he thought were his true parents. By chance, he came to hear Apollo's prediction that he will in due time kill his father and marry his mother. He fled from Corinth to escape the oracle's predictions and his wanderings took him on to the road to Thebes. On the way to the city, he had a misunderstanding with an old man over the right of way and killed him on the crossroads. He arrived in Thebes to find confusion. King Laius was dead and the city was under the influence of the Sphinx, a deadly monster killing all those who failed to answer her riddle. However, Oedipus was able to answer her riddle and he destroyed her power over Thebes. As a reward, he was given marriage to the widowed queen Jocasta and they had four children: Polynices, Eteocles, Ismene and Antigone. Fifteen years passed and a plague was brought upon Thebes. The people then went to Oedipus for advice as he had saved their city before.
(King Oedipus begins here)
The people of Thebes made their plea to Oedipus and he tells them that he has sent his brother-in-law, Creon, to the Delphic Oracle to ask Apollo for advice. Creon returns and tells Oedipus that Thebes is saved once Laius' murderer is found. In his quest to find the murderer, Oedipus slowly realises that he himself is the murderer and that he is also the son of Laius and Jocasta. Horrified that the prediction of Apollo has come true and that he has unwittingly sinned, he runs into the palace where he finds Jocasta has killed herself in the shame of marrying her son. Oedipus punishes himself by stabbing out his eyes and sends himself into exile.
(End of King Oedipus)
The years rolled on and Oedipus was a permanent wanderer and grew old. Antigone became a constant companion in his wanderings while Ismene waited at home for any signs of change for the better. However, Eteocles and Polynices rebelled against Creon who was holding the throne in Thebes as each demanded to be made king. Eteocles secured the backing of the citizens of Thebes and Polynices, angry that he was having to fight for something that was his by consent as he was the elder of the two brothers, went to Argos to raise an army. He married the daughter of King Adrastus and prepared to battle against his brother.
(Oedipus at Colonus begins here)
Oedipus and Antigone reach the hamlet of Colonus which is one mile outside the city of Athens. Oedipus hears of the rivalry between his sons/brothers and finds out that each want the remains of his dead body to secure their aims for the throne. He curses them to be killed by each other's hands and arranges with King Theseus of Athens to be allowed on to sacred ground where, once everyone's eyes are averted, his life is taken by the gods and his body vanishes without a trace.
(End of Oedipus at Colonus)
So Oedipus passed from mortal sight and the strife between the two brothers went on with unabated fury. Polynices led his Argive army and their allies against the seven gates of Thebes. Polynices and Eteocles finally kill each other in battle as Oedipus had predicted and Creon is yet again master of Thebes. Creon demanded that Eteocles be given a hero's funeral for defending the city but Polynices was to be left unburied and dishonoured as a punishment for attempting to raise an army against his homeland. The penalty to be inflicted for honouring Polynices was death.
(Antigone begins here)
Antigone thought this new law to be unfair. Both Polynices and Eteocles were her brothers and she was not going to honour one but defy the other, especially as she saw both of them being equal in death anyway. She therefore resolves to bury Polynices despite Creon's law and Ismene's fears for her life. Creon discovers Antigone's actions as deliberately going against his law and after questioning her, declares that she must die. However, she is betrothed to Creon's son, Haemon, and he attempts to persuade his father to relent and release Antigone as he has angered the gods by leaving Polynices without a funeral and she has only sought to appease them. Creon refuses to heed the words of his son and Antigone is sent out to a cave on the plains where she is to be sealed up and left to die. Tiresias, a blind prophet, now tells Creon that he has angered the gods by denying Polynices a funeral and condemning Antigone to death. Creon hurries to the cave to release Antigone but she has already committed suicide. Haemon is furious with what has happened and kills himself next to Antigone's body. Creon's wife Eurydice too commits suicide after hearing of Haemon's death. Creon returns to the palace, a tragic figure and on the receiving end of the curse of Apollo.
(End of Antigone)