Oedipus play was "Laius", the second was "Oedipus", and the third was "Seven against Thebes". Only the third play survives, in which Oedipus' sons Eteocles and Polynices kill each other warring over the throne. Much like his "Oresteia", this trilogy would have detailed the tribulations of a House over three successive generations. The satyr play that followed the trilogy was called "The Sphinx". As Sophocles' "Oedipus Rex" begins, the people of Thebes are begging the king for help, begging him to discover the cause of the plague. Oedipus stands before them and swears to find the root of their suffering and
Oedipus (Dryden play) wrote the first two acts, Lee the last three. In his introduction to "Oedipus, a Tragedy" of 1808, Walter Scott says that the first and the third acts were wholly written by Dryden, maintaining a decided superiority over the rest of the piece. Since there are "many excellent passages through Lee's scenes" and "the tragedy has the appearance of general consistence and uniformity", Scott supposes that the whole play was corrected by Dryden afterwards. "Oedipus, a Tragedy" was licensed on 3 January 1678 by Roger L'Estrange and published in 1679 by R. Bentley and M. Magnes in Russel Street in