The Phoenician Women, pages 73-98 Summary

The scene is in front of the palace at Thebes. Jocasta was wife of Laius, the king of Thebes. Oracles told Laius not to father a child, or that child would kill him, but he and Jocasta had a baby boy, who they abandoned at birth but who did not die. The child, Oedipus, met Laius by accident on the road. Neither knew the other, and Oedipus killed Laius. Meanwhile, the Sphinx was tormenting Thebes. Oedipus solved the Sphinx's riddle and rid the land of the monster. As reward, Oedipus was made king of Thebes and married Jocasta, not realizing she was his mother.

Oedipus and Jocasta had four children: Ismene, Antigone, Polyneices, and Eteocles. When Oedipus learned the truth about his background, he gouged out his own eyes. His sons locked him in the...