Creon did not immediately expel Oedipus from Thebes. For some time he lived in the palace, withdrawing from everyone, surrendering entirely to his grief. But the Thebans were afraid that Oedipus's stay in Thebes would bring the wrath of the gods on the entire country. They demanded the immediate expulsion of blind Oedipus. The sons of Oedipus, Eteocles and Polynices, did not oppose this decision. They themselves wanted to rule in Thebes. The Thebans expelled Oedipus, and his sons shared power with Creon.
Blind, decrepit Oedipus went into exile in a foreign land. Inevitable death would have befallen him, helpless, if his daughter, the noble, strong-willed Antigone, had not decided to devote herself entirely to her father. She followed Oedipus into exile. Led by Antigone, the unfortunate old man moved from country to country. Antigone carefully led him through the mountains and dark forests, sharing with him all the hardships, all the dangers of the difficult path.
After long wanderings, Oedipus finally came to Attica, to the city of Athens. Antigonus did not know where she had brought her father. Not far away one could see the walls and towers of the city, illuminated by the rays of the just risen sun. Next to him was a green laurel grove, all entwined with ivy and grapes. Here and there in the grove olive trees shone with silvery greenery. From the grove came the sweet singing of nightingales. Streams flowed loudly through the green valley, daffodil stars were whitening everywhere and fragrant saffron was turning yellow. In a green grove, under the shadow of a laurel, the long-suffering Oedipus sat down on a stone, and Antigone wanted to go find out what this place was. A villager passed by; he told Oedipus that this is Colonus, a place near Athens, that the grove in which Oedipus sits is dedicated to the Eumenides, and the whole area around is dedicated to Poseidon and the titan Prometheus, and the city that is visible from the grove is Athens, where the great hero Theseus, the son of Aegeus, rules. Hearing this, Oedipus began to ask the villager to send someone to King Theseus, since he wanted to provide him with great help if Theseus agreed to give him shelter for a while. It was difficult for the villager to believe that a weak and, moreover, blind old man could help the mighty king of Athens. Full of doubts, the villager went to Colonus to tell about a blind old man sitting in the sacred grove of the Eumenides and promising great help to Theseus himself.
Oedipus, having learned that he was in the sacred grove of the Eumenides, realized that his last hour, the end of all his suffering, was not far off. Apollo had long ago predicted to him that after long wanderings full of hardships, he would die in the sacred grove of the great goddesses and that whoever gave him shelter would receive a great reward, and those who expelled him would be severely punished by the gods. Oedipus now understood that the great goddesses were the Eumenides, who had pursued him so inexorably all his life. Oedipus believes that now peace will come for him too.
Meanwhile, the citizens of Colonus rush to the grove of the Eumenides to find out who decided to enter it, when the citizens themselves do not even dare to pronounce the name of the formidable goddesses, do not dare to glance at their sanctuary. Oedipus only heard the voices of the Colonians when he asked Antigone to take him into the depths of the grove, but when the Colonians began to call him a desecrator of the grove, he came out and, when asked by the Colonians, identified himself. They were horrified. Oedipus is in front of them! Who in Greece did not know his terrible fate, who did not know those crimes of which the unfortunate son of Laius was the unwitting culprit! No, the Colonians cannot allow Oedipus to remain here, they are afraid of the wrath of the gods. They do not listen to either the requests of Oedipus or the requests of Antigone and demand that the blind old man immediately leave the vicinity of Colon. Will Oedipus really not find refuge in Athens, in those Athens that are famous throughout Greece as a holy city that gives protection to everyone who prays for protection? After all, Oedipus did not come here of his own free will, because his arrival should bring benefit to the citizens. Finally, Oedipus asks the citizens to wait at least until Theseus arrives. Let the king of Athens decide whether Oedipus can stay here or whether he should be expelled from here too.
The citizens agreed to wait for the arrival of Theseus. At this time, a chariot appears in the distance, riding on it is a woman wearing a wide-brimmed Thessalian hat covering her face. Antigone peers, and it seems to her that this woman is her sister Ismene. The chariot is getting closer, Antigone peers even more closely and really recognizes Ismene.
“Father,” says Antigone, “I see your daughter Ismene is coming here, now you will hear her voice.”
Having approached Oedipus, Ismene got off the chariot and threw herself into the arms of her father.
- Father, my unfortunate father! - Ismene exclaimed, - finally I hug you and Antigone again.
Oedipus is glad that Ismene has arrived, now his daughters are with him; his faithful companion and assistant Antigone and Ismene, who never forgot her father and constantly sent him news from Thebes.
Ismene was looking for Oedipus to convey to him the saddest news: the sons of Oedipus initially ruled together in Thebes. But the youngest son, Eteocles, seized power alone and expelled his elder brother, Polyneices, from Thebes. Then Polyneices went to Argos and found help there. Now he is marching with an army against Thebes, to either seize power or fall in battle. Ismene also says that the oracle at Delphi predicted victory for the one on whose side Oedipus would be. Ismene is sure that Creon, who rules together with Eteocles, should soon appear here in order to seize the power of Oedipus. Oedipus does not want to be on the side of either son; he is angry at his sons for putting the desire for power higher than the children’s duty to their father. He does not want to help his sons, who did not utter a word against his expulsion from Thebes. No, they will not gain power over Thebes with the help of their father. Oedipus will remain here, he will be the defender of Athens!
The citizens of Colon advise Oedipus to make propitiatory sacrifices to the Eumenides if he decided to stay forever in Athens. Oedipus asks someone to make these sacrifices, since he himself, decrepit and blind, is unable to do this. Ismene volunteers to make sacrifices and goes to the Eumenides grove.
As soon as Ismene left, Theseus came to the grove of the Eumenides with her retinue. He warmly welcomes Oedipus and promises him protection. Theseus knows how difficult the fate of a stranger is, he knows how many hardships befall him. He himself experienced the whole hardship of life in a foreign land and therefore cannot refuse protection to the unfortunate wanderer Oedipus.
Oedipus thanks Theseus and promises him his protection. He says that his grave will always be the true protection of the Athenians.
But Oedipus was not destined to find peace for himself immediately. When Theseus left, Creon arrived from Thebes with a small detachment. He wants to take possession of Oedipus in order to ensure victory for himself and Eteocles over Polyneices and his allies. Creon tries to persuade Oedipus to go with him; he convinces him to go to Thebes and promises him that he will live there calmly in the circle of his relatives, surrounded by their cares. But Oedipus's decision is unshakable. Yes, he doesn’t believe Creon. Oedipus knows what makes Creon persuade him to return to Thebes. No, he will not go with them, he will not give victory into the hands of those who doomed him to so many troubles.
Seeing Oedipus' inflexibility, Creon begins to threaten him that he will force Oedipus to go with him to Thebes. Oedipus is not afraid of violence, because he is under the protection of Theseus and all the Athenians. But Creon gloatingly informs the blind, helpless old man that one of his daughters, Ismene, has already been captured; Creon threatens to take possession of Oedipus’s only support - his selfless daughter Antigone. Creon immediately carries out his threat; he orders Antigone to be captured. In vain she calls the Athenians for help, in vain she stretches out her hands to her father - she is taken away. Now Oedipus is helpless, those eyes that looked for him have been taken away from him; he calls the Eumenides as a witness, he curses Creon and wishes him to experience the same fate that he himself experienced, and wishes him to lose his children. Creon, having already used violence, decides to continue to use violence. He grabs Oedipus and wants to take him away. The inhabitants of Colon stand up for Oedipus, but there are few of them, and they are not strong enough to fight Creon’s detachment. The Kolonians loudly call for help. Theseus and his retinue rush to their cry.
Theseus is outraged by Creon's violence. How dare he seize Oedipus and his daughters here, at the grove of the Eumenides, does he really think that there are few people in Athens, does he really not consider Theseus at all if he dares to take away by force those who stand under the protection of Athens? Did Thebes really teach him to act so illegally? No! Theseus knows that lawlessness will not be tolerated in Thebes. Creon himself disgraces his city and his homeland; Although he is an old man in years, he acts like a crazy youth. Theseus demands that the daughters of Oedipus be returned immediately. Creon tries to justify his action to Theseus by the fact that, according to him, he was sure that Athens would not give shelter to a parricide and to one who married his own mother. However, Theseus stands firm in his decision; he demands that Creon return his daughters to Oedipus, and says that he will not leave until his daughters are with Oedipus again. Creon obeyed Theseus’ demand, and soon Elder Oedipus was hugging his daughters and thanking the magnanimous king of Athens, calling upon him the blessing of the gods.
Theseus says to Oedipus:
- Listen to me, Oedipus; here, at the altar of Poseidon, where I made a sacrifice before the arrival of Creon, a young man sits, he wants to talk to you.
- But who is this young man? - asks Oedipus.
- Don't know. The young man came from Argos. Think about whether you have anyone close to you in Argos,” Theseus replies.
Hearing this, Oedipus exclaimed:
“Oh, don’t ask, Theseus, that I speak to this young man!” From your words I understood that this is my hated son, Polyneices. His words will only cause me suffering.
“But he came as a suppliant,” says Theseus, “you cannot refuse him without angering the gods.”
Hearing that Polyneices is here, Antigone also asks her father to listen to him, although he has seriously offended his father. Oedipus agrees to listen to his son, and Theseus leaves after him.
Polynices arrives. There are tears in his eyes. He cries when he sees his father - blind, dressed as a beggar, with gray hair flying in the wind, with signs of constant hunger and deprivation on his face. Now Polynices only realized how cruelly he had treated his own father. Stretching out his hands to his father, he says:
- Father, tell me just one word, don’t turn away from me! Answer me, don't leave me without an answer! Sisters! At least convince my father not to let me go without telling me a word.
Antigone asks her brother to tell his father why he came; she is sure that Oedipus will not leave her son without an answer.
Polyneices tells how he was expelled from Thebes by his younger brother, how he went to Argos, married the daughter of Adrastus there and found help for himself in order to take away from his brother the power that belongs to him by right, as the eldest.
- Oh, father! - this is how Polyneices continued, - all of us who are going against Thebes, we conjure you with your life, with your children, to go with us; we pray, forget your anger and help us take revenge on Eteocles, who expelled me and took my homeland from me. After all, if only the oracles speak the truth, then victory will accompany those with whom you are. Oh, listen to me favorably! I conjure you by the gods - come with me. I will return you to your home, but here, in a foreign land, you are a beggar, just as beggarly as I am.
Oedipus does not listen to his son. Requests don't move him. Now his son Polyneices needs him in order to take possession of Thebes. Wasn’t it he who expelled him from Thebes before? Was it not he who made him a wanderer? Is it not thanks to him that Oedipus wears this rags? Both sons forgot their duty to their father, only the daughters remained faithful to him and always took care of him and honored him.
“No, I won’t help you throw Thebes into the dust.” Before you take Thebes, you yourself will fall covered in blood, and your brother Eteocles will fall with you! - exclaims Oedipus. “Again I call a curse on your head, so that you remember how you should honor your own father.” Run away from here, rejected, no longer having a father! Carry my curses with you! Die in a duel with your brother. Kill the one who banished you! I call upon the Eumenides and the god Ares, who have aroused fratricidal strife between you, to punish you! Go and tell all your companions what gifts Oedipus divided equally among his sons.
- Oh, woe is me! Oh, I'm miserable! - Polyneices exclaims, - how can I convey my father’s answer to my companions! No, I must silently go towards my destiny!
Polyneices left without begging forgiveness and protection from his father, he left without listening to Antigone’s requests to return to Argos and not start a war that threatened the death of him, his brother and Thebes.
The last hour of Oedipus was already close. Thunder rolled across the clear sky and lightning flashed. All those who were at the Eumenides grove stood amazed by this formidable sign of Zeus. Here's another clap of thunder. Again, bright lightning flashed like fire. Everyone shuddered with fear.
Oedipus called his daughters to him and said to them:
- Oh, children! Summon Theseus quickly! These thunders of Zeus foretell to me that I will soon descend into the kingdom of gloomy Hades. Don't hesitate! Send quickly for Theseus! My end is near!
As soon as Oedipus said this, as if confirming his words, peals of thunder were heard again. Theseus hastily came to the grove of the Eumenides. Hearing his voice, Oedipus said:
- Ruler of Athens! My end has come, the thunder and lightning of Zeus foreshadow my death, and I want to die, having fulfilled what I promised you. I myself will take you to the place where I will die, but do not reveal to anyone where my grave is, it will protect your city better than many shields and spears. You will hear for yourself what I cannot say here. Keep this secret and reveal it to your eldest son at your death, and let him pass it on to his heir. Let's go, Theseus, let's go, children. Now I, a blind man, will be your guide, and Hermes and Persephone will lead me.
Theseus, Antigone and Ismene followed Oedipus, and he led them as if he were seeing. He came to the place where there was a descent into the darkness-filled kingdom of the shadows of the dead, and sat down there on a stone. Preparing for death, Oedipus embraced his daughters and said to them:
- Children, from this day on you will no longer have a father. The god of death, Tanat, has already taken possession of me. You will no longer bear the heavy duty of caring for me.
With loud crying, Antigonus and Ismene hugged their father. Suddenly a mysterious voice was heard from the depths: “Hurry, hurry, Oedipus! Why are you delaying going? You have been delaying too long!” Oedipus, hearing a mysterious voice, called Theseus, placed the hands of his daughters in his hand and begged Theseus to be their protector. Theseus vowed to fulfill Oedipus' request. Oedipus ordered his daughters to leave; they should not have seen what would happen, and should not have heard the secret that Oedipus wanted to tell Theseus. Antigone and Ismene left. Having gone far, they turned around to look at their father for the last time, but he was no longer there, only Theseus stood, covering his eyes with his hands, as if a terrible vision had appeared to him. Then Antigonus and Ismene saw Theseus kneel down and begin to pray. This is how Oedipus ended his long-suffering life, and none of the mortals knew how he died and where his grave was located. Without a groan, without pain, he went to the kingdom of Hades, he went into it in a way that no other person goes.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru