Sophocles on stylistic elements, with "Oedipus Rex" coming in Sophocles' middle period. Most of Sophocles' plays show an undercurrent of early fatalism and the beginnings of Socratic logic as a mainstay for the long tradition of Greek tragedy. The Theban plays consist of three plays: "Oedipus Rex" (also called "Oedipus Tyrannus" or "Oedipus the King"), "Oedipus at Colonus" and "Antigone". All three plays concern the fate of Thebes during and after the reign of King Oedipus. They have often been published under a single cover. Sophocles, however, wrote the three plays for separate festival competitions, many years apart. Not only are
Oedipus at Colonus a city in which proper boundaries and identities are not maintained, allowing the playwright to explore themes like incest, murder, and hubris in a safe setting. While the two other plays about Oedipus often bring up the theme of a person's moral responsibility for their destiny, and whether it is possible to rebel against destiny, "Oedipus at Colonus" shows Oedipus's resolution of the problem. In "Oedipus Rex," he was told by Tiresias, "You bear your fate and I will bear mine," a message repeated by the Chorus, but scorned by Oedipus, who like his father has believed he can escape