- 01Plot summary of Oedipus's fate and rise
- 01Thebes in the grip of plague
- 02Oedipus addresses the suppliants
- 01Creon's return with Apollo's oracle
- 02Theban plague and the chorus's prayers
- 03Oedipus's public curse on Laius's murderer
- 01Teiresias summoned as Thebes’ prophet
- 02Oedipus and Teiresias’ accusation exchange
- 03Chorus on the seer’s prophecy
- 01Creon’s defense before the chorus
- 02Oedipus accuses Creon of treason
- 03Creon questions the murder charge
- 04Creon’s argument against ambition
- 01Jocasta intervenes in the quarrel
- 02Creon’s oath and the chorus’s plea
- 03Oedipus relents and Jocasta asks about the dispute
- 01Jocasta's account of Laius's oracle and death
- 02Oedipus recognizes the crossroads and fears the prophecy
- 01Oedipus recounts his parentage and the oracle
- 02Jocasta dismisses prophecy and the chorus on justice and pride
- 03Jocasta’s prayer and the Corinthian messenger’s arrival
- 01Polybus’s death and the failed oracle
- 02Oedipus’s fear of his mother
- 03The foundling on Cithaeron
- 04The search for the shepherd and Jocasta’s warning
- 01The herdsman identified and questioned
- 02The child from Laius’s house
- 03Oedipus’s recognition and lament
- 01Jocasta’s suicide
- 02Oedipus’s self-blinding
- 01Oedipus's self-blinding and ruin
- 01Oedipus’s self-blinding and despair
- 02Exile, shame, and the curse on his birth
- 01Creon’s arrival and Oedipus’s plea for exile
- 02Creon’s refusal to act without the god’s counsel
- 03Oedipus’s final requests for burial and his children
- 01Oedipus’s farewell to Antigone and Ismene
- 02Creon ends the meeting and orders Oedipus inside
- 01Chorus on Oedipus’s rise and fall
Antigone
Conflict between conscience, family, and state.
3Chapters
42Lessons
111Topics
Certificate of completion included
This course was produced by Cavua from a public-domain text.
Skills this course leaves you with.
- Summarize the plot and dramatic structure of Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone.
- Explain how conscience, family loyalty, and state authority conflict across the Theban plays.
- Analyze Creon, Antigone, Oedipus, and Teiresias as tragic figures and moral voices.
- Trace how prophecy, fate, and recognition shape the action in the Oedipus narratives.
- Compare the roles of the chorus, messengers, and dramatic reversals in Greek tragedy.
- Interpret the endings of the plays and the consequences of defiance, pride, and lament.
Curriculum
The full table of contents.
Every chapter, every lesson, every topic — laid out before you enroll. Click any chapter to expand it.
- Chapters
- 3
- Lessons
- 42
- Topics
- 111
- 01Dramatis personae
- 01Arrival at Colonus and the sacred grove
- 02The Stranger identifies the holy ground
- 03Athens, Colonus, and Theseus
- 01Oedipus’s plea at Colonus
- 02Oedipus reveals his identity
- 03Antigone’s appeal and the Chorus’s hesitation
- 01Ismene’s arrival and family reunion
- 02Theban succession crisis and oracle news
- 03Oedipus rejects his sons and recalls their neglect
- 01Purification ritual for the grove
- 02Oedipus recounts his suffering and crimes
- 01Theseus arrives and offers aid
- 02Oedipus’s plea against return to Thebes
- 01Theseus grants Oedipus protection and citizenship
- 02Chorus ode to Colonus
- 01Creon’s appeal to Oedipus to return to Thebes
- 02Oedipus rejects Creon’s false friendship
- 03Creon seizes Antigone and threatens Ismene
- 04The Chorus and Athenians resist Creon
- 05Creon’s final threats and Oedipus’s curse
- 01Theseus orders the pursuit of Creon
- 02Creon’s defense and Oedipus’s rebuttal
- 03Theseus and Oedipus resolve to recover the maidens
- 01Antigone and Ismene’s return with Theseus
- 02Oedipus’s gratitude to Theseus and the request for counsel
- 03Theban suppliant and Oedipus’s refusal
- 04Antigone’s plea for Polynices
- 05Chorus on the burdens of old age and death
- 01Polyneices’ plea for mercy
- 02Exile, succession, and the march on Thebes
- 01Polyneices’ appeal for support against Thebes
- 02Oedipus’ denunciation and curse on his son
- 03Antigone’s plea to Polyneices
- 01Oedipus’s final summons to Theseus
- 02The secret promise to Athens
- 03Oedipus’s death and the messenger’s account
- 01Oedipus’s mysterious death and departure
- 02Antigone and Ismene’s lament for their father
- 03The sisters learn Oedipus was buried without them
- 01Antigone and the Chorus lament their plight
- 02Antigone asks to visit Oedipus’ tomb
- 03Theseus refuses and promises protection
- 01Antigone and Ismene before the palace gates
- 02Chorus song on Thebes and the Argive assault
- 01Creon’s appeal to the Theban elders
- 02Burial decree for Eteocles and Polyneices
- 01The guard’s anxious approach and plea of innocence
- 02Creon’s accusation of bribery and threat of death
- 03The guard’s departure and the Chorus’s ode on man
- 01Guard reports Antigone's burial act
- 02Antigone's defense of divine law
- 03Creon's condemnation of defiance
- 01Ismene claims Antigone’s guilt
- 02Creon condemns both sisters
- 01Creon's defense of authority
- 02Haemon's filial obedience
- 01Haemon’s plea for moderation
- 02Creon and Haemon’s argument over authority
- 03Creon’s sentence of burial alive
- 01Antigone’s farewell and bridal death
- 02Family curse and defense of burial rites
- 03Final protest and Danae comparison
- 01Teiresias’ prophecy and warning to Creon
- 02Creon’s reluctant reversal
- 01Messenger’s warning on Fortune
- 02Haemon’s death and Eurydice’s arrival
- 03Messenger’s account of the double suicide
- 04Eurydice’s silent departure and ominous silence
- 01Creon’s confession and first lament
- 02Haemon’s mother’s death and Creon’s despair
- 03Chorus on wisdom and divine punishment
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