Characters:
· Oedipus- King of Thebes
· Odysseus- Oedipus Father
· Penelope- mother/ wife of Oedipus
· Creon- Penelope's brother
· Tiresias- blind prophet
· Messenger from Corinth
· Shepherd from Corinth
Fate is Unavoidable
Long ago in the kingdom of Thebes their lived a king named Oedipus and a queen named Penelope with their children. In the kingdom the people had suffered and the only person who could save them is Oedipus. One day Oedipus sent Creon, his brother-in-law and some fellow rulers to find out how to stop the plague from suffering because of the plague. Creon then comes back and Oedipus asks what the oracle has said. They said that the murderer of Odysseus, who ruled Thebes before Oedipus, is in Thebes and that he should be taken out in order for the plague to end. Later on, Oedipus says he will end the plague himself and promised that the person who tells who the murderer is will be rewarded and the murderer will receive no harsher punishment than exile. Time goes by and Oedipus curses Odysseus' murderer and anyone protecting him. At that moment Oedipus curses himself by proclaiming that the murderer would be a member of his family and that the murderer should be treated like how Odysseus was treated. One day the blind prophet named Tiresias talks to Oedipus sin Oedipus wanted to know who was murderer of Odysseus. Tiresias answers him by saying that he knows the truth but wishes he did not. Oedipus gets angry and starts to accuse Tiresias of being the murderer. Tiresias then tells Oedipus that Oedipus himself is the curse and that he is the murderer. Oedipus gets even more furious and starts to insult Tiresias blindness and Tiresias responds back by saying that the insults Oedipus tells him will eventually be turned on Oedipus. Which makes Oedipus think that Tiresias and Creon are conspiring to overthrow him. Tiresias answers his insults by saying that the murderer of Odysseus will turn out to be both brother and father to his children, and both son and husband to his mother. Penelope enters and convinces Oedipus that he should not exile Creon and that all prophets are false. To show Oedipus that all prophets are false she tells the story about how the oracle once told Odysseus that he would be murdered by his son, while his son was out of Thebes as a baby and Odysseus was murdered by thieves. The story sounds familiar to Oedipus and that's when he starts thinking that maybe he was the one who murdered Odysseus so, Oedipus tells his side of the story. After, Oedipus sends for the Shepherd who was the only man to survive the attack. The Shepherd tells Penelope that he has come from Corinth to tell Oedipus that his father, Polybus, is dead and that Corinth wants Oedipus to be the ruler there. Oedipus rejoices with Penelope and states that prophecies are worthless. However, Oedipus still fears the part of the prophecy that said he would sleep with his mother. That's when the Messenger says that Polybus and his wife, Merope, are not his real parents. That's when the Messenger tells Oedipus that he used to be a shepherd a long time and that one day he found a baby on Mount Cithaeron, which is near Thebes. The baby's ankles were pinned together and he set them free that is why Oedipus walks with a limp. The Messenger also explains that one of Odysseus servants gave him the baby. At this moment, Penelope realizes she is the mother of Oedipus but Oedipus still doesn't realize it. So, she begs him to abandon his search bur Oedipus insists on finding his real parents. Penelope flees back to the palace and Oedipus dismisses her concerns that he may be born of poor parents. That's when the Shepherd who witnessed Odysseus' murder and gave the messenger the baby comes in and Oedipus interrogates him. But the Shepherd refuses to talk so, Oedipus threatens to torture him. The Shepherd then tells Oedipus that the baby came from the house of Odysseus and that Penelope gave it to him to destroy because of a prophecy hat said that the baby would kill his parents so, the Shepherd gave him to the other Shepherd. Oedipus now knows the truth and runs back to the palace. When Oedipus gets in the palace he finds Penelope hanging. Seeing this, Oedipus cried then tooled the gold pin that held Penelope's robe and stabbed out his eyes. Oedipus then asks to be banished from Thebes. Creon then enters and forgives Oedipus and agrees to exile him from the city. Oedipus then tells Creon that his two sons are men and can take care of themselves but asks that he takes care of his girls, which he would like to see one last time. Oedipus embraces them and tells them the truth. After, Creon orders the guards to take Oedipus daughters and tells Oedipus that his power has ended.