Sophocles’ Oedipus at Colonus
Teacher’s Guide | Classical Reference Library
Richer Resources Editorial Team
Purpose of This Guide
Oedipus at Colonus presents the final stage of Oedipus’s life. The former king of Thebes, now blind, elderly, and living in exile, arrives at Colonus near Athens with his daughter Antigone.
Unlike Oedipus the King, which centers on the discovery of a terrible truth, this play explores what happens afterward. Oedipus must confront his past, defend his dignity, and decide whom he can trust.
This guide helps educators examine the play’s treatment of suffering, responsibility, family loyalty, political power, hospitality, and the possibility of finding peace.
Historical and Literary Context
Sophocles wrote Oedipus at Colonus near the end of his life. It was first performed in 401 BCE, after his death.
Colonus was Sophocles’ own birthplace, a community near Athens. Its sacred landscape plays an important role in the drama.
Although Oedipus at Colonus follows the events of Oedipus the King in the mythological story, it was written much later. It is not simply a continuation of the earlier tragedy. Its concerns are different, and Oedipus himself has changed.
The play also provides a connection to Antigone, which dramatizes the later conflict between Oedipus’s sons and its consequences for his daughters.
Plot at a Glance
Oedipus and Antigone arrive at Colonus, where Oedipus learns that he has entered ground sacred to the Furies, also called the Eumenides.
The local inhabitants are alarmed by his presence, but Oedipus insists that this place is connected to a prophecy concerning the end of his life.
Theseus, king of Athens, offers him protection.
Ismene arrives with news that Oedipus’s sons, Eteocles and Polynices, are struggling for control of Thebes. An oracle has revealed that the place associated with Oedipus’s death will bring protection or advantage to the land that possesses it.
Creon attempts to force Oedipus back under Theban control and seizes his daughters. Theseus intervenes and rescues them.
Polynices later seeks his father’s support in his campaign against Thebes. Oedipus refuses and pronounces a curse upon his sons.
As his death approaches, Oedipus leads Theseus to a secret place. Only Theseus is entrusted with knowledge of his final resting place.
Oedipus disappears in a mysterious death associated with divine power. His burial place becomes a source of protection for Athens.
Principal Characters
Oedipus: The former king of Thebes. Blind and physically vulnerable, but determined to defend his innocence concerning the acts he committed unknowingly and to choose the place of his final rest.
Antigone: Oedipus’s devoted daughter, who guides and cares for him during his exile. Her loyalty is expressed through sustained action.
Ismene: Oedipus’s other daughter. She brings news from Thebes and shares her sister’s concern for their father.
Theseus: King of Athens. He offers Oedipus protection and respects his dignity, providing a model of leadership grounded in hospitality and restraint.
Creon: Representative of Theban interests. His attempt to control Oedipus exposes the use of political power for advantage.
Polynices: One of Oedipus’s sons. He seeks his father’s support but receives a devastating rejection.
The Chorus: Elders of Colonus who initially fear Oedipus’s presence but gradually come to recognize his suffering and the significance of his arrival.
Major Themes
Exile and Belonging
Oedipus has lost his city, his former position, and the security of home. His arrival at Colonus raises questions about how communities treat people who arrive as outsiders.
The contrast between Thebes and Athens allows students to consider what it means to offer genuine refuge.
Guilt, Innocence, and Responsibility
Oedipus insists that his terrible acts were committed without knowledge of the identities of those involved.
Teachers should encourage students to distinguish between what Oedipus did, what he intended, and how he now understands his responsibility.
His defense is central to the play, but students need not accept every claim he makes without question.
Family Loyalty and Betrayal
Antigone and Ismene care for their father, while Oedipus believes his sons have abandoned him.
Polynices’ appeal complicates the conflict: he is both a son seeking reconciliation and a political actor seeking advantage.
The play asks whether family relationships create obligations that can survive serious betrayal.
Hospitality and Political Authority
Theseus and Creon provide contrasting examples of leadership.
Theseus protects a vulnerable stranger, while Creon attempts to use force to obtain a political benefit.
Students can explore the relationship between power, justice, and respect for those who cannot easily defend themselves.
Sacred Places and Divine Protection
The sacred grove at Colonus is more than a setting. Oedipus’s presence there is connected to prophecy, ritual, and the protective power of his final resting place.
The play’s religious meaning should not be reduced to a simple reward for good behavior. The relationship between suffering and divine favor remains complex.
Suffering and Dignity
Oedipus does not recover his former life or undo his past.
Yet he gains a measure of authority over his final decisions and is treated with respect by Theseus.
The play invites discussion of whether dignity requires innocence, social status, forgiveness, or something else.
Dramatic Techniques
Contrast: Theseus and Creon represent different uses of political authority. Antigone’s care also contrasts with the conduct Oedipus attributes to his sons.
Sacred setting: The grove at Colonus creates an atmosphere of mystery and establishes the religious significance of Oedipus’s final journey.
Supplication: Appeals for protection and assistance structure important encounters. Students should notice who asks for help, who has power to grant it, and what obligations follow.
The Chorus: The elders’ changing responses reveal how fear and suspicion may give way to recognition and respect.
The mysterious ending: Oedipus’s death is not presented as an ordinary death scene. The secrecy surrounding his resting place strengthens its sacred and political importance.
Teaching Objectives
Students should be able to:
- Explain how Oedipus at Colonus differs from Oedipus the King in its dramatic concerns.
- Summarize the competing interests of Oedipus, Athens, and Thebes.
- Analyze Oedipus’s defense of his past actions.
- Compare Theseus’s and Creon’s approaches to authority.
- Examine the roles of Antigone, Ismene, and Polynices.
- Explain the significance of the sacred grove and Oedipus’s final resting place.
- Develop interpretations supported by passages from the play.
A Flexible Teaching Sequence
1. Establish the background. Review the essential events of Oedipus’s earlier life and explain his exile. Introduce Colonus and its sacred significance.
2. Examine the arrival. Read the opening encounter with the inhabitants of Colonus. Discuss fear, hospitality, and Oedipus’s claims about his past.
3. Consider protection and power. Study Theseus’s welcome and Creon’s attempt to seize control. Compare their treatment of Oedipus and his daughters.
4. Explore family obligations. Read Polynices’ appeal and Oedipus’s response. Consider whether reconciliation remains possible.
5. Interpret the ending. Discuss the mysterious circumstances of Oedipus’s death and the significance of his secret resting place.
6. Draw conclusions. Ask students how their understanding of Oedipus has changed since Oedipus the King.
Passages Worth Close Reading
Oedipus’s arrival at the sacred grove: The treatment of strangers and the meaning of sacred space.
Oedipus’s defense of his past: The distinction between intention and responsibility.
Theseus’s promise of protection: Hospitality, political leadership, and moral obligation.
Creon’s confrontation with Oedipus: The conflict between coercion and legitimate authority.
Polynices’ appeal: Family loyalty, resentment, and the limits of reconciliation.
The final account of Oedipus’s disappearance: Divine mystery, secrecy, and the transformation of suffering into protective power.
Use passage references from the translation assigned in class.
Core Discussion Questions
- How has Oedipus changed since Oedipus the King?
- Why does Oedipus insist that his past actions were not deliberate crimes?
- What makes Theseus’s treatment of Oedipus different from Creon’s?
- Does Oedipus treat Polynices justly?
- How does Antigone’s loyalty influence our understanding of her father?
- Why is the location of Oedipus’s final resting place kept secret?
Classroom Approach
Ask students to compare the ways Theseus, Creon, and Polynices approach Oedipus. What does each want, and what methods does each use?
Students can then consider whether Oedipus is valued as a person, as a father, or as a source of political advantage.
For a concluding response, ask students to explain how Oedipus’s final position differs from his position at the end of Oedipus the King, using evidence from both plays.
Interpretive Cautions
Avoid presenting Oedipus at Colonus as a simple story of redemption. Oedipus retains his anger and can be harsh toward others, particularly his sons.
Do not assume that his arguments about innocence settle every moral question raised by the play.
The sacred meaning of his death belongs to the play’s religious and mythological world. Students should distinguish what the drama presents from modern assumptions about justice or divine reward.
Note to the Educator
Encourage students to see Oedipus as a complicated figure whose suffering does not erase his anger, and whose anger does not erase his dignity. The play offers a rich opportunity to discuss how communities treat vulnerable outsiders and how individuals seek recognition after profound loss.
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