Oedipus at Colonus

“Old blind man’s loving child, Antigone,

what region’s this we’ve entered? Whose domain?

Who shall receive the homeless Oedipus

Today, extending meager charity?”

Tragedies begin with a Prologue that introduces the play’s themes. Oedipus’s first few lines introduce The Significance of Place and Sanctuary since he announces himself as a suppliant: a man exiled from home in need of shelter and protection.

“This spot is clearly sacred, though. It’s full 

of olives, laurel trees, and vines with crows 

of sweetly singing nightingales within.”

Antigone speaks the above passage, noting from the grove’s appearance that they have clearly wandered into a sacred space. Her mention of olives invokes Athena, the city’s patron goddess, and the vines suggest Dionysus, in whose honor Oedipus at Colonus was performed. Laurel is associated with Apollo but also with the winners of contests. The passage is an example of how descriptions in Greek verse often contain coded meanings meant to be understood by their intended audience and obscure to those who are not ‘initiated’ in the sacred rites.

“It’s dread Poseidon’s realm, a sacred place.

The fire-bringing god Prometheus,

the Titan, also dwells within, but where

you’re standing—that’s the Brazen Avenue,

the prop that anchors Athens. Fields nearby

say this equestrian

Colonus first

united them. They’re all together now,

a single entity that bears his name."

In response to Oedipus’s question about where they are, the Stranger explains the sacred nature of the place. Ancient sources confirm a temple to Poseidon was located in this precinct. The immortalization of the hero theme is expressed through the reference to the statue of Colonus, after whom the precinct is named. This is also the spot where