Oedipus Rex and that deal with the story of Oedipus, "Oedipus Rex" was the second to be written. However, in terms of the chronology of events that the plays describe, it comes first, followed by "Oedipus at Colonus" and then "Antigone". Prior to the start of "Oedipus Rex", Oedipus has become the king of Thebes while unwittingly fulfilling a prophecy that he would kill his father, Laius (the previous king), and marry his mother, Jocasta (whom Oedipus took as his queen after solving the riddle of the Sphinx). The action of Sophocles' play concerns Oedipus' search for the murderer of Laius in
The Infernal Machine (play) of the Ghost of King Laius, when the Officer arrives. The Officer questions the two about the ghost sighting and leaves them to their duties. Tiresias and Jocasta enter and question the soldiers about the ghost sighting as well. As Jocasta begins to believe more and more, the ghost of King Laius appears. Despite his calls for his wife, he cannot be seen or heard by anyone else. After the cock crows in the dawn, Tiresias and Jocasta exit. After the two leave stage, the ghost of King Laius becomes audible and visible to the two soldiers. Laius struggles, apparently