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Theban Plays: King Oedipus; Oedipus at Colonus; Antigone
Theban Plays: King Oedipus; Oedipus at Colonus; Antigone | Sophocles
'O Light! May I never look on you again, Revealed as I am, sinful in my begetting, Sinful in marriage, sinful in shedding of blood!' The legends surrounding the royal house of Thebes inspired Sophocles (496-406 BC) to create a powerful trilogy of mankind's struggle against fate. King Oedipus tells of a man who brings pestilence to Thebes for crimes he does not realise he has committed, and then inflicts a brutal punishment upon himself. With profound insights into the human condition, it is a devastating portrayal of a ruler brought down by his own oath. Oedipus at Colonus provides a fitting conclusion to the life of the aged and blinded king, while Antigone depicts the fall of the next generation, through the conflict between a young woman ruled by her conscience and a king too confident in his own authority.E. F. Watling's masterful translation is accompanied by an introduction, which examines the central themes of the plays, the role of the Chorus, and the traditions and staging of Greek tragedy. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
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Super_Jane
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Pickpick

3.75/5 🌕🌕🌕🌖🌑 #greekmythology #plays #theban

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Andrea313
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This week I pulled out the original recording of The Gospel at Colonus, one of my favorite pieces of theatre- a setting of "Oedipus at Colonus" as a modern parable within the frame of a Black Pentecostal church service. The music is incredible, and a gospel choir serves as our Greek chorus. It inspired me to re-visit the original, as well as Antigone- both still absolute bangers. And yes, that is a CD because the dream of the 90s is ALIVE, y'all!

25 likes1 comment
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Bookwomble
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Mini #BookHaul 📚
Sophocles' Theban Plays is in a matching Penguin edition to the Satyr Plays I bought earlier in the year. It's long annoyed me that Penguin nearly always print the original published date, not the publication date of the volume in hand. This one says 1947, but I think it may be a little later than that.
I wasn't aware that Graves had written a time travel fantasy. It has mixed reviews!
A text book for work to add to the other ⬇️

Bookwomble ... 50-odd text books I haven't read yet!
Donny! is a jokey present for a friend who adores Mr O. Written in 1973, it reads a bit creepily from the bits I've scanned. I'm sure she'll love it, though!
Ringworld Engineers is also a gift, this one for my daughter. Being stranded without a book, she picked up Ringworld from a 2nd hand shop as she recognised it as one I'd gone on about since she was a child, and she enjoyed it! Score one for dads! 😁
2y
LeahBergen Oh my God, that Donny Osmond book! 🤣 2y
Aimeesue Graves? Time travel? The mind boggles 2y
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batsy So jealous about that edition of the Theban Plays! 😍 2y
Bookwomble @Aimeesue I was intrigued to see Graves in the sci fi section and had to check it wasn't some other Robert Graves! It seems to sharply divide reviewers! The time travel element seems to be a mechanism for establishing a utopian/dystopian society that Graves can then wax philosophical about. 2y
Bookwomble @batsy It's nice, isn't it? 😃 When I checked the Satyr Plays, the cover design is slightly different, and the price is 2/6, rather than the one shilling of the Theban Plays, so it may actually be closer to the original publication date than I initially thought. I do wish 🐧 had properly dated their books, though! 2y
30 likes6 comments
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Becker
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Nice days are now few and far between where I live and I‘m spending this one outside reading Sophocles which I am loving. I‘m all things Ancient Greece these days. 🏛

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Morr_Books
The Theban Plays | Sophocles
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Pickpick

Completed book #2 for the 24-hour readathon. Another good one, but definitely just as tragic as I remember from high school when I read it the last time. @DeweysReadathon #readathon #reread

Nute Lovely photo! 4y
43 likes1 comment
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monica_laurette
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Mehso-so

I love Greek Mythology. I think one of the main thing I didn‘t like about it was that I‘d rather watch a play than read it. And Oedipus at Colonus was a bit confusing at the beginning.

Review on blog:
https://monicalaurette.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-oedipus-cycle-by-sophocles.html

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alisiakae
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Catching up on #screamathonphotochallenge pics from the last few days as I enjoy this rainy morning! Taking it easy since my stomach has been out of sorts the past 2 days...most likely from eating too much gluten on Monday.

I have a wealth of #orangeandblack 📚 thanks to Penguin Classics and the 🐧 orange collection! 🧡🖤

#screamathon

Chrissyreadit I love your sign! 5y
ephemeralwaltz Nice photo😍 5y
Nute Very nice! 5y
veritysalter Fabulous choice of books ♥️ (Have you tried charcoal tablets, my niece who‘s coeliac finds it helps if she‘s accidentally ingested gluten) 5y
75 likes5 comments
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alisonrose
Pickpick

Man, life was rough as shit back in ancient times. And then you gotta have a chorus around to poetically narrate everything. I really enjoyed all three plays, Oedipus the King the most, probably. I appreciate that these are shorter plays, although I think Antigone could have been longer and more......in-depth? But I‘m not going to act like I can do drama better than an ancient Greek, LOL. 4/5 ⭐️

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alisonrose
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[Me, to like 99% of dudes.]

akckitty pretty much lol 5y
32 likes2 comments
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alisonrose
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Dang, they didn‘t mince words, them ancient Greeks.

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alisonrose

You‘re in love with impossibility.

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alisonrose
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Been a long time since I‘ve read any ancient literature......like since JC about 20 years ago, heh. Had this on my shelves for a while (on the recommendation of @JeansThoughts ) and decided to finally give it a go.

Sweettartlaura I love that you‘re reading a play ❤️. I did that a couple weeks ago & it was SUCH a treat 🥰 5y
alisonrose @Sweettartlaura I‘ve also started a project of reading all of Shakespeare‘s plays (or rereading, for a bunch of them). Plays are great because they‘re fast paced and quick reads ☺️ 5y
37 likes2 comments
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Caterina
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Pickpick

I'm counting these three plays as one book for #BookFitnessChallenge (book 5/12). My undergrad major was classics, so I'm definitely biased toward Greco-Roman stuff, but I think everyone should read these tragedies. Their exploration of justice, family, pride, faith, government, guest-host relationships, fate v. free will, and blindness (literal and figurative) is just as relevant today as it was over 2000 years ago. #BFC @wanderinglynn

wanderinglynn Way to go! 🙌🏻 And I‘m loving your cross-stitch. I hope you‘ll take a photo of the finished piece. 👍🏻 6y
Mommamanzi Beautiful stitching! 6y
BookwormAHN Fantastic stitching 🌻 6y
guinsgirlreads Looks great! 6y
Megabooks You‘re doing great! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Glad you‘re continuing to feel better. 😁 6y
50 likes1 stack add5 comments
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Caterina
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Tbh Oedipus at Colonus is super underrated.

#audiostitching with this reread, enjoying the Audible full-cast of these plays. As a classics major for undergrad, I always love spending some time with some Greco-Roman lit, even just in translation. 😊

Might listen to Antigone tonight too, or might save it until tomorrow. Already at 4/12 books total and 3/4 workouts for the week for the #BookFitnessChallenge #bfc #crossstitch @wanderinglynn

guinsgirlreads Awesome totals!! 6y
KathyWheeler It‘s been a long time since I read Oedipus at Colonus but I remember loving it. 6y
BarbaraJean Such a great book total already!! 6y
Caterina @guinsgirlreads @BarbaraJean Thanks! 🎉 @KathyWheeler It's so good!! Glad you've read it and enjoyed it, it often gets overlooked! ❤️ 6y
KathyWheeler @Caterina We read Oedipus Rex in a drama class; I liked it well enough to read the other two on my own. 6y
42 likes5 comments
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Severnmeadows

Antigone: But I shall bury him. And if I have to die for this pure crime,
I am content, for I shall rest beside him;
His love will answer mine. I have to please
The dead far longer than I need to please
The living; with them, I have to dwell forever.

Severnmeadows Rereading Antigone. Tremendous! 6y
20 likes1 comment
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Midnight_bookaholic
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Alas the Cycle of Oedipus is over. And now on to the next classical play: “Medea.” I absolutely loved the “Oedipus Cycle”! Which one of the three was your favorite? I‘d have to say my favorite was “Antigone.”

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Tamra
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Pickpick

I finally clicked “submit” on my final paper today. 8 weeks whirlwind tour of the Ancient World. This stack, plus numerous articles and papers. I certainly know even more about what I don‘t know. The perils of education!

My favorite is Oedipus.

Cathythoughts Well done 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻♥️ 6y
HKGirl 👏🎉👏🎉 6y
LauraJ I love this picture 🖤 6y
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TrishB 🎉👏🏻 6y
Jas16 🙌🏽 6y
Tamra @LauraJ cricket has to supervise anything that happens in this house. 😆 6y
quietlycuriouskate Love this! ❤ 6y
merelybookish Congrats! Some great reads there. I love Gilgamesh! 6y
Velvetfur Aaawww "peekaboo!" ? 6y
JoScho Great picture! 6y
tpixie Congrats 🎈🎉 6y
sprainedbrain Congrats! 6y
kspenmoll Congrats! What a wonderful world to immerse yourself in! Glad it‘s done & you can breathe!!!🎉🎉 6y
erzascarletbookgasm Wow, congrats! 👏 You deserve a break! 6y
zsuzsanna_reads Congratulations! Also: great stack 😉 6y
batsy Well done! This looks like a great stack 😍 6y
116 likes16 comments
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Sophoclessweetheart
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Really enjoyed reading in the garden all day today whilst the babies played outside. Minus one or two bumps it‘s been a great day. I‘m over halfway through The Oedipus Cycle and yes, it‘s just as amazing as I recalled it being. Can‘t wait to get to Antigone.

If you‘ve read Sophocles, which is your favourite play? #classicsstudent #ancientgreek #sophocles #bookstamums #classics #classicist #classicalstudies

Mdargusch Wow! Gorgeous photo! 6y
batsy I read Oedipus Rex so long ago and need to revisit but I read Antigone again last year; it's brilliant ❤️ 6y
Sophoclessweetheart @batsy I love Antigone! I devoured Oedipus Rex in a sitting today 😹🖤 6y
64 likes1 stack add4 comments
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Sophoclessweetheart
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I‘ve decided to reread some Sophocles. I haven‘t read Antigone (my favourite Greek play!) since the summer before last so I think I‘m well due a reread. 🙊

I go for new glasses next Tuesday and I‘m excited! I have my eye on adorable Kylie ones with tiny round frames in gold like cute little grandma glasses. The moon is in Aries and it‘s a time to be daring so I‘m trying something new! 🙊🖤✨ #greekplay #ancientgreek #classicist

Caroline2 Ohhh what a beautiful photo!! 😍 6y
Emilymdxn Gorgeous! 6y
Sophoclessweetheart @Caroline2 Thank you dear 🙏 6y
67 likes3 stack adds4 comments
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thevictoriousone
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This is what planning a drama unit looks like. All of this is making me miss my literary criticism class. I desperately want my kids to experience the magic of Oedipus Rex but I‘m not sure I can inflict it on them. I just have a strange feeling that they won‘t quite feel the same about it as I do. But we‘re definitely going to talk about it and maybe even read or watch a piece! Gotta purge that pity and fear!

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ChantelMcCray
The Theban Plays | Sophocles
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When you feel the need to block out the news in order to stay sane, do as Thoreau advised, “read not the Times. Read the eternities.” And what better eternal reading in the Trump era than a Greek tragedy about resistance.

6 likes1 stack add
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bookeudaimonia
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I'm enjoying #Sophocles #ThebenPlays so much! I'm not sure which one is my favorite yet because I'm only halfway through Oedipus At Colonus and I still have Antigone to go. 😁

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RoofBeamReader
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How relevant. #CBAM2017

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RoofBeamReader
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February's pick for the Classic Book-a-Month Club!
#CBAM2017

3 likes1 stack add
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TheBrockUEnglishMajor
Theban Plays | Sophocles, Peter Meineck, Paul Woodruff
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Required Reading Part Five
CLAS 1P91: Ancient Greek Civilization
Including:
Theban Plays, by Sophocles
These Were the Greeks (textbook)

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Cookierooks
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I think I read these to death. #bookstagram

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Saknicole
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It is the dead, not the living, who make the longest demands; We die for ever...

My love for Antigone is never ending. She is one of my favorite heroines! I think it's safe to say that Antigone would be tagging all her tweets with #Imwithher

3 likes1 stack add
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LibrarianJen
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When your supposed to be unpacking and you get distracted by a box of books!

[DELETED] 3323341091 this happened to me on and off for the past three days! 😊 8y
LibrarianJen @fern we've been in our new house a month now. Unpacking is sooo slow when you have kids and work. 8y
halmukhtar That is me whenever I am moving! 🤓 8y
24 likes1 stack add3 comments
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kdwinchester
Theban Plays | Sophocles, Peter Meineck, Paul Woodruff
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Pickpick

Ever since I saw Antigone performed my first year of undergrad, I've adored Greek tragedies. There's just something about knowing things are going to go badly that allows you to focus on HOW things go badly. What a joyous dive into depressing horror. | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

DoodlesDistractions This is such a cool cover to match with the tragedies! 9y
amyrabbitt Interesting way to explain that 👍🏻 9y
Susannah That's a terrific description! I've been working on a Greek drama reading project for over a year now. It is very slow going. I need to do better. 9y
Joe_Jones I wish I would have thought of it that way when I read it in college. I couldn't get into way back then. I wonder how a re-read would be? 9y
Simsian Love that cover art. 9y
57 likes5 stack adds5 comments