Oedipus Rex by Sophocles Author:Sophocles, Translated by E. H. Plumtre, Introduction by Patricia Robinson Jordan The story of King Oedipus is compelling from its first lines. The king, a great man whose life heretofore has been favored by fate suddenly finds his kingdom beset with numerous and mysterious afflictions of which he is unaware until he discovers a crowd of priests and boys kneeling in abject supplication at the altar of Zeus. After consulting t... more »he Oracle, the king is commanded to drive out a pollution that is now ingrained in the land. It is disclosed to Oedipus that a king has been murdered and the perpetrator must be found in order to lift the curse on Thebes. From this point onward, like a line of dominoes, one horrifying discovery after another leads to Oedipus' ultimate downfall, leaving the audience paralyzed with dread and emotionally exhausted by the final scene.« less