The story begins with a dialogue between Oedipus, the king of Thebes, and the priest, as they discuss the bad situation that has befallen their land; pests in their crop and grazing herds. Oedipus informs the priest that he has sent his consort brother, Menoeceus’ son Creon, to ask the Pythian Phoebus at his sanctuary at Delphi how the state might be saved.
Soon after, Creon arrives bringing news from the gods. He says that what they demand is the punishment, either by death or banishment, of the murderer of the previous king, Laius, son of Ladacus. Oedipus, who is new to the land and is eager to expose this criminal who is the cause of his evil, asks him for the details of the murder.
In another scene, Oedipus places a curse on the murderer, forbidding all Thebans to associate with him and encouraging those who know him to announce it.
The chorus/Oedipus elders to summon Tiresias, the blind seer, to advise his opinion on the matter. But Oedipus had already sent Creon, long before, to bring him to the palace.
Finally, Tiresias, the renowned seer, arrives at the palace. He is very unwilling to talk about Laius and his murder, the problem he was summoned for; in fact, he asks to be allowed to say goodbye. However, Oedipus accuses him of being the murderer. Hearing this, Tiresias made a counter-accusation by daring to say that Oedipus himself was the man who killed Laius. After the exchange of invective, Oedipus claims that Tiresias must have conspired with Creon to sully and overthrow him. After hearing this, Tiresias prophesies that Oedipus will be exiled from Thebes and will have no more eyes after he discovers his true lineage.
Creon comes out to deny the king’s accusations, asking what he will gain by offering to overthrow him. He would prefer not to inherit the position at such a difficult time, because everything he wants, fame and fortune, are already his; the crown is just a burden. However, Oedipus threatens him with death, after he, Creon, suggests banishment.
Jocasta enters and begs her husband, Oedipus, to believe Creon for the sake of his oath, for her sake, and for the sake of the elders (chorus). She stepped forward to inquire as to the cause of the crack. After hearing the seer’s statement, she told him that it couldn’t be true, as her son was formally predicted to kill Laius at a place where three paths meet. But obviously, he was killed by highway robbers, according to the survivor of the attack. Oedipus was surprised to hear this fact, so he asked where exactly the incident occurred. Jocasta said Phocis, where the roads of Daulis and Delphi meet. He asks more, trembling that perhaps the seer can prove him right, what was Laius’s build and how many servants did he have with him.
Oedipus immediately demands that the Servant, who survived, be brought before him for questioning. He then narrates the cause of his fear of Jocasta, how a drunken man once told him that he is not the true son of his seer (Polybus; and Merope, his mother), how he visited Delphi and Apollo told him a prophecy that he he would kill his father and sleep with his mother, how he ran away and killed some men when he got to the three-legged highway. But there is hope that he is not the murderer if the Servant confirms that it was in fact an army of robbers who killed Laius and not a lone traveler.
Shortly after, a messenger arrives from Corinth bringing news of the death of Polybus (Oedipus’s guardian) and the search for a new king. This makes Oedipus happy because it seems that the prophecies were false after all, since his father did not die by his hands. However, he mentions his fear of returning to Corinth because Merope, his mother, is still alive and does not want the second part of the prophecy to materialize.
The messenger offers to rid him of this fear by revealing that Polybus and Merope are not his real parents, adding that he was the one who gave him to Polybus, after another shepherd who is from Laius’s palace gave him to him. This other shepherd turns out to be the same as the witness to Laius’s death.
Oedipus, against Jocasta’s will, wants to get to the bottom of the matter. He wants to discover the true lineage of him. Therefore, he asks, most emphatically, that the pastor be brought in for questioning.
Before long, the long-awaited shepherd finally arrives who is expected to shed more light on the enigma. He was very reluctant to give direct answers to Oedipus’ questions, he even rebuked the Corinthian messenger for saying that Oedipus is the cursed child he gave him years ago. However, he soon admitted it, after Oedipus threatened to kill him. He also admitted that Jocasta, his mother, gave it to him to get rid of.
Oedipus was so devastated that, after cursing himself, he immediately left the scene. Not long after his departure, a second messenger arrived with the terrible news of Jocasta’s death. It is said that he committed suicide by hanging himself. And then Oedipus himself inflicted damage on himself, used the gold clasps on Jocasta’s robe to hit his eyeballs, thus blinding himself.
Oedipus came out, a wretched scene it was. He asked Creon to exile him from the land to the desert so that no eye would see him and Thebes could be freed from his curse. But Creon refused, first deciding to consult the gods and then instructing Oedipus to go by himself, if necessary.
Such was the fate of Oedipus of Thebes, the son of Laius. And such was the misnamed and crafty wish of the gods. Kill his father, sleep with his mother, and spend the rest of his miserable life groping in darkness and humiliation.