A king vows to purge the plague from Thebes, not knowing he himself killed his father and wed his mother.
Books that mention Oedipus Rex (10)
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami: “People are drawn deeper into tragedy not by their defects but by their virtues. Sophocles' Oedipus Rex being a great example.”
New Grub Street by George Gissing: “Now, I want to know how you scan this chorus in the "Oedipus Rex."”
Poetics by Aristotle: “The Oedipus of Sophocles is an example.”
Cosmos by Alexander von Humboldt: “We do know that of the 123 plays of Sophocles in the Library, only seven survived. One of those seven is Oedipus Rex.”
Nights of Plague by Orhan Pamuk: “the bearded lead actor of a Greek theater troupe who had come to Arkaz for a production of Oedipus Rex”
On Literature by Umberto Eco: “cited alongside Aquinas's definition of beauty”
The Facts by Philip Roth: “played supporting roles in ambitious student productions of Oedipus Rex, School for Scandal, and Death of a Salesman”
The Red-Haired Woman by Orhan Pamuk: “I was startled to see the title Oedipus the King across its yellow cover... I'd first read Oedipus's story in synopsis.”
Aftermath by Rachel Cusk: “In Oedipus Rex every kind of authority is damaged by precisely this process.”
Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon: ““What about Sophocles?” … “Oedipus Rex?” “Fuck Sophocles!” ; later “It was Oedipus Rex. That was it for me.””