Oedipus Rex

Sophocles's tragic masterpiece is perhaps the most influential drama ever written. When a plague ravages the city of Thebes, King Oedipus vows to find and punish the murderer of the previous king, Laius, whose death has cursed the land. As Oedipus relentlessly pursues the truth, he uncovers a horrifying prophecy fulfilled—that he has unknowingly killed his own father and married his own mother. A devastating exploration of fate, free will, and the limits of human knowledge, Oedipus Rex gave us the very model of tragic irony and remains as shattering today as it was in ancient Athens. A Raven's Gate Classics edition with ominous new cover art.