Listen to the chorus in Sophocles' Oedipus the King decrying human disregard of the gods
In this excerpt from Sophocles' tragedy Oedipus the King, learn about the function of the chorus, which, commenting here on actions and characters from the standpoint of traditional wisdom, decries human disregard of the gods, particularly of the oracles of Apollo concerning Oedipus. This video is an excerpt from a 1969 film produced by Encyclopædia Britannica Educational Corporation.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.“If for a day joy masters me / Think not my wounds are healed.”
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.Odysseus convinces Penelope that he is her husband by knowing a particular and secret detail of the construction of their bed.
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.Three lines. Five, seven, five.
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Courtesy of Folger Shakespeare Library; CC-BY-SA 4.0 (A Britannica Publishing Partner)William Shakespeare's Othello is discussed by the cast and crew of a Folger Shakespeare Library production of the play.
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.The crisis of Oedipus the King, in which a shepherd reveals Oedipus's hidden past and the awful truth that Oedipus has fulfilled the Delphic oracle's prophecy.
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.In Sophocles' Greek tragedy Oedipus the King, the blind Oedipus asks Creon to banish him from Thebes.
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.Oedipus, demonstrating an excess of presumption (or hubris) in his confidence that he has escaped the prophecy of Apollo's oracle, sees that he has been mistaken and that—just as foretold—he has married his mother and killed his father. He therefore blinds himself. In this excerpt from a 1959 production by Encyclopædia Britannica Educational Corporation of Sophocles' play Oedipus Rex, the blind Oedipus is conferring with the leader of the chorus.
Transcript
CHORUS: The man who goes his overbearing way in word and action, who fears no justice, honors no temples of the gods.
CHORUS [in unison]: May an evil destiny seize him and punish his ill-starred pride.
CHORUS: The man who makes profit by injustice, who acts without reverence and lay his hands on the untouchable and madness.
CHORUS [in unison]: May an evil destiny seize him and punish his ill-starred pride.
CHORUS: How shall such a man defend himself against god's perils if such thieves as these are honored and rewarded?
CHORUS: Why should we join the sacred dance and worship?
CHORUS: I shall go no more in reverence to Delphi, the holy center of the earth, nor to any temple in the world.
CHORUS [in unison]: Unless these prophesies come true, for all men to point at them in wonder.
CHORUS: Oh Zeus, king of heaven--if you deserve this name--ruler of all, do not let your everlasting power be deceived.
CHORUS [in unison]: Do not forget the old prophecies about Laius are dying. Men reject them now. Apollo is stripped of honor everywhere. The gods are defeated.
CHORUS [in unison]: May an evil destiny seize him and punish his ill-starred pride.
CHORUS: The man who makes profit by injustice, who acts without reverence and lay his hands on the untouchable and madness.
CHORUS [in unison]: May an evil destiny seize him and punish his ill-starred pride.
CHORUS: How shall such a man defend himself against god's perils if such thieves as these are honored and rewarded?
CHORUS: Why should we join the sacred dance and worship?
CHORUS: I shall go no more in reverence to Delphi, the holy center of the earth, nor to any temple in the world.
CHORUS [in unison]: Unless these prophesies come true, for all men to point at them in wonder.
CHORUS: Oh Zeus, king of heaven--if you deserve this name--ruler of all, do not let your everlasting power be deceived.
CHORUS [in unison]: Do not forget the old prophecies about Laius are dying. Men reject them now. Apollo is stripped of honor everywhere. The gods are defeated.