I recently read The Three Theban Plays by Sophocles. In some of my previous reading, especially in literature analysis books, these books are brought up often. Thus, I wanted to read them.
I read the plays in the order the book had them: Antigone, Oedipus the King, and Oedipus at Colonus. Each story is intense and have memorable endings. Most everyone knows about the Oedipus complex, so I was prepared for that in Oedipus the King.
It seemed to me that Sophocles is largely getting at corruption of power and hubris. The story made me reflect on my humility and willingness to accept flaws in my arguments and positions. In my reading for classical Christian education, it is mentioned that if you’ve never been proven wrong in class, then something is wrong. Both Oedipus and Creon at different points in each story display the downfalls of overconfidence and an unwillingness to listen, not only to people, but to a prophet of the gods.
I greatly enjoyed these stories. I gave them a 4/5, which might be a little low.
