Introduction

The Oedipus Cycle, famous Greek works by Sophocles, is well worth anyone's time. Don't get scared off by the fact that it is Greek literature, or think that being written around 600 B.C. makes the tragedies too old to be relevant to our lives- these three tales and the themes they convey reverberate into our own time. This particular combination of works, a Harvest Book published by Harcourt Brace, has been translated into an English version by Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald, two gifted poets and Hellenists. And, they did it in such a way that the storylines keep their integrity while being direct, simple, and rich in the way Sophocles intended. It is both readable and actable, and their version has received considerable notice in both the U.S. and Great Britain.

The Tragedies

The Oedipus Cycle is made up of three separate and distinct tragedies: Oedipus Rex, which relates the downfall of Oedipus, king of Thebes, and his struggle to come to terms with his childhood and amazingly skewed reign, Oedipus at Colonus, which recounts the death of Oedipus in his exile, and Antigone, which focuses on the actions of Oedipus' daughter carried out after his death. The three together not only make an amazing read, but flow so well that it may become hard to realize that they are in fact three separate entities. The plots are tragedies well enough- our hero Oedipus must face up to his hamartia and eventually his downfall. The plots of these three plays are incredible, with twists that at times can seem almost satirical. Oedipus' struggles are earnest, human, and all too familiar to all of us in some way, and through his actions we not only are able to see our flaws, but also the presence of many universal truths, regardless of some of them being centered around ancient Greece. This is just simply an amazing set of works.

Cons

There are very, very few cons I can see here, and even the ones I do find are so miniscule that only a tiny percentage of the human population will be affected. First of all, this is Greek literature, set in ancient Greece, so of course the religious aspect is centered around what we call Greek mythology- the worship of multiple gods and their principles- Dionysus, Apollo, Athena, Zeus, etc. The only way this could become a problem is if you were so devoutly religious (and ignorant) that you refuse (or aren't permitted to) read literature involving the presence or worship of other gods, then this probably won't be for you. I can't imagine anyone really being like that, but I suppose it could (and probably does) happen. Otherwise these tragedies are not only great stories and plays, but also chock full of history from the point of view of Sophocles, who knew a lot about it because he lived in that time. What better way to get a dosage of good old ancient Greece? The only other setback there might be (and again it seems ridiculous, I just feel obligated to make a "cons" section) is the age group these tragedies are geared towards. I would definitely say mid high school level and above, unless you have a particularly intelligent freshman, sophomore, or middle-schooler. Plays are usually hard to follow for younger readers, who haven't been exposed to this type of literature before. Also, even though the language is a lot more simplistic than Sophocles' original versions, I could imagine a lack of understanding of a few vocabulary terms. If you had a younger child you wanted to have read this, though, go ahead. It will be good experience, because you can really torture them by making them look up references to all the allusions to classic Greek gods and cities, and all the words they can't define off the top of their head. Or not... What I'm really trying to say (after failing to be funny- give me credit, it's almost midnight and I'm making fluent sentences) is that readers who have trouble with unfamiliar words such as "regicide", "descant", and "lustration", struggle with riddles, allusions, ambiguity or reference to ancient Greece may not find it worth the time to take it slowly through these works. I can't imagine many being so overwhelmed that they wouldn't, though, which just leaves me saying "read it, 'cause it's really good."

Overall

I'd say this text is a must have for anyone. All literature buffs should read it at least once in their lifetime.

Recommended: Yes