by Sophocles
the goddesses who see everything.
Other places might give them harsher names. 50
OEDIPUS
Then let them be kind to this suppliant!
I’ll never leave this sacred ground.
STRANGER
Why do you say that?
OEDIPUS
It all fits: here is where I meet my fate.
STRANGER
Well, then, I won’t presume to drive you out.
Not till I get permission from the city.
STRANGER starts to leave.
OEDIPUS
For god’s sake, man! Don’t scorn me because I
look like a tramp. I need to know something.
STRANGER
Then say what you need. I won’t hold back.
OEDIPUS
This place we’ve entered—what do they call it? 60
STRANGER
I’ll say only what I know personally.
This entire grove is holy and belongs
to grim Poseidon. Prometheus the firegod
also has a shrine here. That rock ledge
you’re on is our country’s brass-footed threshold.
It anchors Athens. The horseman over there—
—STRANGER gestures toward an equestrian statue—
is Kolonos, who settled the farmland
hereabouts. We’ve all taken his name. That’s
the story, stranger. Kolonos isn’t
so much a legend as a presence we feel. 70
OEDIPUS
Then people do live around here?
STRANGER
Of course! They’re named after that hero there.
STRANGER nods toward the statue of Kolonos.
OEDIPUS
You have a king? Or do the people rule?
STRANGER
We have a king who governs from Athens.
OEDIPUS
Whose eloquence and strength brought him to power?
STRANGER
Theseus. Old King Aigeus’ son.
OEDIPUS
I wonder . . . could someone from here go find him?
STRANGER
To take a message? Bring him back? What for?
OEDIPUS
So he may be hugely repaid for a small kindness.
STRANGER
Tell me, how can a blind man be of use? 80
OEDIPUS
My words, every one of them, can see.
STRANGER
Look, friend, don’t do anything reckless.
Your bearing tells me you’re from noble stock,
but it’s clear you’re down on your luck.
Stay put, right where I found you, while I go
let the men in town know what’s happened.
Never mind Athens—we will decide
whether you stay here or move on.
Exit STRANGER.
OEDIPUS
Has the stranger left, child?
ANTIGONE
He’s gone, Father. You can speak freely. 90
It’s quiet now. I’m the only one here.
OEDIPUS assumes a posture of prayer.
OEDIPUS
Ladies whose eyes we dread, since your grove
is the first in this land where I’ve come to pray,
don’t be unkind
either to me or to Apollo.
When the god condemned me to such grief,
he assured me my long life would end here—
that I’d find a haven, and be taken in
by vengeful goddesses, to be a source
of strength to those who welcomed me, and a curse 100
to those who drove me out. The god promised
he’d show a sign—an earthquake, some thunder,
or lightning flamed from Zeus’ own hand.
It must have been, Ladies, a trustworthy
omen from you that led me to this place.
Why else would you be the first deities
I’ve met on my travels? I—a sober man—
find my way to you, who spurn wine. What else
could have brought me to this rough stone bench?
Please, Goddesses, do as Apollo bids: 110
grant me a clear path to my life’s end—unless
I seem in some way beneath your concern,
profaned as I am by the worst evils
a man may endure. Respond to me,
delightful daughters of primeval darkness!
And help me Athens, most
honored city in Greece,
homeland of Pallas Athena! Pity
this feeble ghost of the man Oedipus.
My body hasn’t always looked like this. 120
ANTIGONE
Shhh, be quiet now. Some old men—they look
ancient!—have come searching for you.
OEDIPUS
I’ll be quiet. Get me to the trees,
off the road, so I can hear what they say.
What we learn will help us
decide our best course of action.
ANTIGONE guides OEDIPUS up the slope and into the grove. Chorus of OLD MEN enters. Gracefully, they probe along the grove’s edge in a coordinated dancing movement while singing their entry song.
OLD MEN
Look for him,
though we don’t know
who he is, or where
he’s hiding now. 130
He’s bolted for cover,
totally brazen!
Search the whole grove.
Look sharp, look everywhere.
The old fellow’s
a foreigner, an intruder.
No native would invade
prohibited grounds
of virgins so violent,
so uncontrollable— 140
their very names
we fear to say out loud.
We walk in their midst,
eyes lowered, not breathing
a word, though our lips
mouth silent prayers.
LEADER
We’ve heard the report:
Someone with no respect
for the goddesses has arrived.
But looking across the sacred glen 150
I don’t see him or his hiding place.
OEDIPUS steps forward from the foliage.
OEDIPUS
I’m here. The man you’re looking for. I see
with my ears, as people say of the blind.
LEADER
Aggghh! Aggghh!
The sight of you, the sound of your voice, appalls us.
OEDIPUS
Don’t look at me as though I’m some outlaw.
LEADER
Spare us, Zeus! Who is this haughty old man?
OEDIPUS
Not someone whose life you might envy—
you men charged with guarding your country!
Isn’t that obvious? Why else 160
would I walk as I do, dependent
on other people’s eyes, and tethered,
large as I am, to this frail creature?
LEADER
Ah! Then you were born blind?
You must have led a long,
bleak life. Take our advice:
Don’t add one more curse
to your miseries. You’ve gone
too far! Please step back!
Don’t go stumbling 170
through that green glade
where speech is forbidden,
where we pour
clear water from a bowl,
blending it
with honey-sweet libations.
Watch yourself,
stranger with such
horrendous luck—
stand back, walk away! 180
Move further back!
Do you hear me? If you
have something to tell us,
get off that sacred ground!
Speak only
where talk is allowed.
Until then, keep quiet.
OEDIPUS
> Daughter, what should we do?
ANTIGONE
(conferring quietly with OEDIPUS)
Respect their customs, Father.
Do as they ask. Be deferential. 190
OEDIPUS
Give me your hand, then.
ANTIGONE
Here, feel mine.
OEDIPUS, with ANTIGONE supporting him, very cautiously approaches the OLD MEN.
OEDIPUS
I’m going to trust you, strangers. Don’t
betray me when I leave this holy ground.
LEADER
Nobody will force you to leave
this resting place against your will.
OEDIPUS pauses in his progress.
OEDIPUS
Further?
LEADER
Keep going.
OEDIPUS
More?
LEADER
Keep him moving, girl, you can see the path.
ANTIGONE
Come on, Father. 200
Keep stepping
into the dark
as I lead you.
LEADER
You are, old man, a stranger
in a strange land.
Accustom yourself
to hating what our city
despises and revering
what it loves.
OEDIPUS
Guide me, child, to some spot 210
where I can speak and listen
without offending the gods.
Let’s not fight the inevitable.
LEADER
Stop right there. Don’t move
beyond that rock ledge.
OEDIPUS
Stop here?
LEADER
That’s far enough, I’m telling you!
OEDIPUS
May I sit down?
LEADER
Yes. Edge sideways and squat down on that rock.
ANTIGONE holds OEDIPUS and guides his steps.
ANTIGONE
Father, let me do this. Take one 220
easy step after another . . .
OEDIPUS
Oh, my.
ANTIGONE
. . . leaning your tired body
on my loving arm.
OEDIPUS
I’m sorry for my weakness.
ANTIGONE sits him on the rock ledge downstage.
LEADER
Poor fellow, now that you’re at ease,
tell us who you are in the world.
Who would want to be moved about
in such excruciating pain?
Tell us where you live.
OEDIPUS
Strangers, I have no home! But please don’t . . . 230
LEADER
What don’t you want us to ask, old man?
OEDIPUS
Don’t! Just don’t ask who I am.
No questions, no more probing.
LEADER
Is there a reason?
OEDIPUS
The horror I was born to.
LEADER
Go on.
OEDIPUS
(whispering)
Child, what should I tell them?
LEADER
Speak up, stranger: tell us
your bloodlines. Start with your father.
OEDIPUS
What’s going to happen to me, child?
ANTIGONE
You’ve been pushed to the brink. Better tell them.
OEDIPUS
All right, I’ll say it. There’s no way to hide it. 240
LEADER
You both take too much time. Go on, speak.
OEDIPUS
You’ve heard of Laios’ son . . .
OLD MEN
Aaaaah!
OEDIPUS
. . . and the house of Labdakos . . .
OLD MEN
O Zeus!
OEDIPUS
. . . and doomed Oedipus?
LEADER
That’s who you are?
OEDIPUS
Don’t fear my words . . .
OLD MEN
Aaagghhh! Aaagghhh!
As their cries of apprehension overwhelm OEDIPUS’ previous words, the OLD MEN en bloc turn away from him.
OEDIPUS
. . . because I am a broken man.
OLD MEN
Aaagghhh! Aaagghhh!
OEDIPUS
What’s going to happen, child?
LEADER
Get out of here! Leave our country! 250
OEDIPUS
And the promise you made me?
How do you plan to honor that?
LEADER
When someone who’s been wronged
defends himself by striking back,
Fate doesn’t punish him. And when
deception is used to counter
deceit, it should cause pain, not gratitude.
Stand up! Now! Get off that seat! Leave this land
as fast as you can walk, so you won’t burden
our city with your deadly contagion. 260
ANTIGONE
Strangers, so full of holy sentiments!
You can’t abide my agèd father’s presence,
can you? Because you’ve heard the rumors
about those actions he took in ignorance.
Think how unhappy it makes me
to plead with you on my father’s behalf.
Strangers, I am looking at you with eyes
that aren’t blind, and I beg you to see me
as though I were your family—and to feel
responsible for this afflicted person. 270
Our miserable lives depend on you
as if you all were gods. Give us the help
that we’ve stopped hoping for!
I’m begging you, in the name
of whatever you hold dear—
whether it’s your child or your wife,
your fortune or your god!
However hard
you look, you’ll never find a man who can
escape his own fate-driven actions.
LEADER
We pity both of you, daughter— 280
you and your father, Oedipus.
You’ve led unfortunate lives.
But we fear the gods, we fear their anger,
if we say more than we’ve already said.
OEDIPUS
What good are fame and glory, if they just
trickle away and accomplish nothing?
Men call Athens the most god-fearing city,
a safe haven for persecuted strangers,
their best hope when they need a helping hand.
But how do these virtues benefit me 290
when you force me to climb down these ledges
and depart from your country? Does my name
frighten you? My appearance? Or my past deeds?
I performed every one of those actions,
you should know, but I willed none. You want me
to speak of my relations with my father
and mother—is that the source of your fear?
I have no doubt it is exactly that.
Yet, tell me: how is my nature evil—
if all I did was to return a blow? 300
How could I have been guilty, even if
I’d known where my actions would take me
while I was living them? But those who tried
to murder me—they knew what they were doing.
My friends, the gods inspired you to drive
me off that ledge. So respect these same gods—
and grant me the refuge that you’ve offered.
Don’t act now as though gods don’t exist.
They protect those who fear them,
but they also destroy those who don’t. 310
And no godless mortal ever escapes.
Let the gods show you the way: don’t blacken
Athens’ reputation by taking part
in crimes of irreverence! I am
a suppliant to who
m you promised
safety. Don’t break that promise. And don’t
shun me because of my disfigured face.
I’ve come here a devout and sacred man,
and I’ll prove myself useful to your people.
When the man who holds power arrives, 320
whoever that may be, I will tell him
everything. Until then, do me no harm.
LEADER
We’re impressed by the way you think, old man.
How could we not be? You speak with force.
We don’t take you lightly, but we’d prefer
to have our rulers deal with this problem.
OEDIPUS
Where then, my friends, is this leader of yours?
LEADER
He’s now in Athens, his home city. The same
person who sent us went on to find him.
OEDIPUS
Do you think he’ll have sufficient 330
concern and regard for a blind old man
to travel all the way out here himself?
LEADER
He will come as soon as he hears your name.
OEDIPUS
And how will he hear my name?
LEADER
It’s a long road,
but it’s busy with foot traffic. News spreads
quickly. Don’t worry. He’ll recognize your name,
then come immediately to this place.
Your story’s widely known, old man. Even
if he’s asleep and wakes slowly,
word you’re here will bring him in a hurry. 340
OEDIPUS
His coming will help Athens, and help me.
A good man is always his own best friend.
ANTIGONE looks offstage, brightens, and then calls out loudly.
ANTIGONE
O Zeus! What do I say now, Father? Or even think?
OEDIPUS
What do you see, Antigone?
ANTIGONE
(raising her voice)
A woman riding
a young Sicilian horse. Wearing a hat
from Thessaly to keep sun off her face.
What can I say? Is she, or isn’t she?
Am I hallucinating? Yes? No?
I can’t tell yet. Yes! YES!
There’s no one else it could be. 350
As she comes closer, I can see her
smiling at me. It’s my sister, Ismene!
OEDIPUS
What’s that you’re shouting, girl?