Written by famous Greek playwright Sophocles thousands of years ago (yes, thousands!), these three translated plays stand the test of time and remain classic stories. You know that story about the Sphinx who gave that riddle, what walks on four legs in the morning, two in the day, and three in the afternoon, well, these plays are centred around the man who solved that riddle and saved the city of Thebes. Also, these are full of incest. This is both a trilogy and not really a trilogy. They're all connected, with some recurring characters, and reference to each other, but their stories are wholly separate beasts. The three plays include, in order of when they were first written, Antigone, Oedipus the King, and Oedipus at Colonus. However, in the timeline, Antigone is the last in the story. I'll review each of these separately below.
Antigone: a civil war has just ended, and two brothers, on opposing sides, have killed each other. One a king, the other a traitor. The new king of Thebes, their uncle Creon, rules with an iron fist. The brother who fought for Thebes is given a proper burial, while the traitor is simply left on the ground to be eaten by the elements. The brother's sister, Antigone, gives a proper burial to the traitor in secret, despite her uncle's law. When Creon finds out, all goes to crap. So, the first of the plays written, but the last in the timeline, Antigone is the play I have to study for school. Yes, I had to buy this collection for school studies, and only required to read Antigone. However, I liked this enough to read the rest. First of all, this should have been called Creon, for he is kinda the main character, and he's also my favourite character, being the onku one to appear in all three plays. The plotting is tight and full of moral dilemmas and themes. Basically what you'd expect from a couple thousand year old classic.
Oedipus the King: the first in the timeline, and the most famous. Oedipus, having defeated the Sphinx and saved Thebes, had been given the title of king, since the previous king was murdered, and married the old king's widow, Jocasta. Things are well for several years. Until, a plague strikes the city, and a prophet reveals that only the exiling of the old king's murder can end the plague. Oedipus then acts as detective to try and find the old murderer. But, an old prophecy, a horrible prophecy, he heard when he was younger rises up again, and soon everything falls apart. This is the best of the three. The prose is so strong, almost everything Oedipus says hides a darker meaning, or foreshadowing (unknowing to him, who is well meaning). It moves at a breakneck pace. Even though I knew the outcome of the story beforehand, it was still an exhilarating read. Also, a younger Crean is here, being his usual good-evil.
Oedipus at Colonus - yeah, I won't give away any plot details on this one. Gives everything away from Oedipus the King. Not as exciting at the previous one, this is mostly philosophical and thematic. Still good.