Oedipus the King

First episode

Oedipus saw the crowd. As it grew, his mind worked with the speech he would give. There was hope in the message Creon had brought from Delphi. He would convey that hope.

It was time. Oedipus ordered the palace gates to be opened and stepped out to address his people. There were shouts and cheers as he came out. He was Oedipus, who had saved the city from the Sphinx. He raised his arm, and the crowd fell silent.

"We pray." He shouted so the crowd could hear. "Each one of us prays for the plague to end. And if you listen and do as I say, your prayers will be heard. The old king, Laius, was killed before I arrived. I know nothing of the murder. The tracks are cold. Still, we must find his killer for the plague to end." Oedipus made a pause for the point to sink in. "One of you must know. I tell you to step forward and tell me. You will be richly rewarded if you speak. The guilty person will be banned from the state, but I will give him money, and he will be allowed to live."

Oedipus made another pause. He watched the crowd. It was silent.
"But," he shouted. "If you know and do not speak in fear for yourself or a friend, then you will feel my anger." Another pause. Still no-one. "My bidding is then that this man, whoever he is, shall not be welcome where I am king. He shall not eat with us, not pray with us, not be one of us. He shall not speak to us. He shall be cast out of every house. The oracle in Delphi has told us that he is the cause of the plague. This murderer is cursed by Apollo, by the god himself, and cursed by me too. Let him every day suffer evil, as he himself is evil. And if he lives in my own house, let him still be cursed. It is not right that this crime goes unpunished. Our king was killed. Laios was not blessed with children. I followed him on the throne, and the wife that was his is now mine and the mother of my children. I will pursue this crime as if my own father was killed. And I am Oedipus; I will find his murderer. The penalty will be death both for this man and for anyone who hides him. If you stand in the way of justice, let the plague take you. But if you stand by me in my claim for justice, may the goddess of justice and all other gods be with you."

The crowd stood completely still. In the end, one man stepped forward, one of his own advisors. All eyes turned to him. "Your fierce threats force me to speak. I did not murder the king, and I cannot tell you who did. Apollo told us to find him. He should have named the man."

Oedipus nodded. "But no mortal can force an answer from the gods."

"May I then say what I believe is second best?"

"If you have a third best, say that too."

"There is a man, Tiresias. He is a holy man, and his ability to see the truth is second only to that of Apollo himself."

"Creon spoke of Tiresias," Oedipus said. "I have sent for him. Twice. I do not know why he is not already here."

"And there is an old story, almost forgotten. Just a rumor."

"What rumor?"

"Laius was killed by bandits," the advisor said.

"I have heard that rumor, but where is the man who saw it?"

The advisor shook his head. "If the killer knows fear, you will not find him now. Not after that speech, not here in Thebes."

Oedipus smiled. "He is a murderer. Why would words scare him?"
The advisor looked out towards the crowd. It opened up to make a passage for a blind man who was led through it by a boy. "Well, here comes the man who can tell you who did it."

Oedipus watched as the man approached. When he reached the palace stairs, Oedipus walked down, took his hand, and helped him up the steps. "Tiresias," he said, greeting him formally in front of the crowd, "I know you to be a wise man. Your eyes are blind, but your mind is not. You know all earthly wisdom, and you can see what is hidden from the rest of us. You know the plague that ravages our city. In case you have not heard, word came from Delphi that we must find the murderers who killed Laios and ban or punish them. But the crime is old, and the tracks are cold, so we turn to you for help. If you know anything about who did this, please do not hide it. Help us, help the city of Thebes, help yourself get rid of this plague."