Greek Tragedy XVI: Sophocles’s Oedipus at Colonus, or When Oedipus Met Theseus

In this episode, we reach the end of Sophocles’s plays and see both the playwright and Oedipus as old men.

Discussion Prompts

1. Do you think radio, or podcast, is the best medium for Greek tragedies today? Why or why not?
2. If you were producing the Sophocles Oedipus trilogy, would you cast the same man as Oedipus in both Oedipus Rex and Oedipus at Colonus? Why or why not? What about Antigone, Ismene, and Creon who appear in all three plays?
3. If you were designing the set and/or lighting for Oedipus at Colonus, how would you show that Colonus is a liminal space?
4. How do you think the story would have ended if Eteocles hadn’t changed his mind about Creon becoming ruler of Thebes after Oedipus was exiled?
5. Compare and contrast Aeschylus’s The Eumenides with Sophocles’s Oedipus at Colonus.
6. What do you think of Creon in this play? What about his relationship to Antigone? Is there consistency between Oedipus at Colonus and Antigone?
7. Fate plays a huge role in the entire Oedipus myth. Discuss.
8. Much like the Star Wars original trilogy and prequels, these plays were not released in chronological order. Do you think it would be better to present these in order by chronology or release date? Why?