I think that’s a misreading of Greek drama.
It’s early April. Let’s go to the theatre at the Akropolis. Let’s see a tragedy.
In this tragedy, lost to history, Zeus kidnaps Europa for some sexy times. Europa’s brother Cadmus goes searching for her. The Oracle of Delphi tells him to stop searching for his sister and instead to follow a cow, and found a city where it sets down. Thus he founds the city of Thebes.
That’s a story, with an ending, right?
Let’s take in another play.
After the founding of Thebes, Cadmus’ men go to get water at a spring, but a dragon sacred to Ares guards the spring. The dragon slays Cadmus’ men, so he slays the dragon. Ares is furious. For killing the serpent, Cadmus spends eight years serving Ares. Afterwards, as a reward, Ares gives his daughter Harmonia (mothered by Aphrodite) to be Cadmus’ bride.
That’s a story, with an ending, right?
And that’s it for this year’s festival.
We return the next year. Let’s catch another play.
In this play, Cadmus’ daughter Semele gives birth to Dionysus, and later sees Zeus in his true form and dies.
It’s a great play, and it has an ending, right?
And another play is about Cadmus’ grandson Pentheus (this is The Bacchae by Euripides). King Penthus tries to ban the spreading cult of Dionysus. Cadmus’ daughter Agave, drunk and in the throes of Dionysus, rips the head off Pentheus, Cadmus’ grandson.
A complete story with an ending, right?
We catch another play, set elsewhere, in Pisa. King Tantalus invites the gods to a feast. He murders his son Pelops and feeds him to the gods. The gods eat Pelops’ shoulder, but, realizing what they’ve done, they resurrect Pelops and condemn Tantalus to Hades, where he is punished forever, surrounded by delicious food while he starves.
Good play! That’s a story, with an ending, right?
But then we watch another play. Pelops — the same whose shoulder was eaten by gods — is king of Pisa now. He holds court, where he receives a refugee named Laius. Laius is the son of Cadmus (seen before). Laius rapes Pelops’ son Chrysippus, and is cursed for it: he will be murdered by his own son.
Complete story?
We go see another play. Laius reclaims the throne of Thebes, marries Jocasta, has a son named Oedipus…
I’m sure you know THAT play.
And maybe you get the point I’m trying to make?
Because OEDIPUS is AN EPISODE of Greek drama.
It is A PLAY.
It is AN UPDATE, like an update of The Headmaster.
OEDIPUS THE KING is part of an endlessly proliferating series of stories that build a thorough, all-encompassing world of mythologies.
In the Theban cycle, Oedipus’s story is followed by Seven Against Thebes, and then Antigone, and then Oedipus at Colonus.
But the Pisan cycle continues too. Pelops has a son, Agamemnon, you’ve probably heard of him too.
And then there are Orestes and Elektra, the son and daughter of Agamemnon.
*****
Everyone who attended the Greek theatre would return each year expecting UPDATES.
The stories CONTINUED.
*****
Edited to try to keep the transliteration of Cadmus consistently romanized, not Kadmus.
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