Book Review – Oedipus at Colonus by Sophocles

Last to be written by, probably second overall, Oedipus at Colonus continues Sophocles’s tales of pride and justice. Where Oedipus the King was similar to a modern murder mystery, Oedipus at Colonus is like an adventure tale with a tale of good and bad kings and the hints of the supernatural that makes a pre-Enlightenment tale fun.

Oedipus returns and even though his ending during the last story was hubris before the fall, it’s hard to not like him and that character trait is held up by Sophocles at the beginning of the story even if Oedipus is a little more whiney at the beginning. Returning character of Creon is less virtuous here than he was in the previous story and is the clear knave here and the character change from Oedipus the King is a bit off from the innocently accused but noble character from before. The character to shine though is Thesus, the king of Athens. It’s clear that Sophocles would write the king of Athens in such a grand way, being an administer of justice, protector of the weak, and enlightening leader. It’s quite clear through this character that Sophocles is calling the Greeks to a higher calling and comes from that same line of Homer and Aeschylus where one goes from a confederation of people to cities and onto nation states. What type of people do you want to be and is it one who wants to enrage the gods or be blessed by them by doing what you know is the right thing.

While it’s not as big of a roller coaster ride that Oedipus the King was, Oedipus at Colonus is a great read to see the development of what the West will become.