# The Theban Plays

Canonical: https://www.bookquiver.com/sophocles/the-theban-plays

![The Theban Plays](https://quivercdn.com/covers/penguin-classics/sophocles/the-theban-plays_978-01-4044-003-4.jpg?v=2026-04-23%2004%3A22%3A14)

- Authors: [Sophocles](https://www.bookquiver.com/sophocles)
- Language: en_GB
- Published: 1973-04-26

## Description

The legends surrounding the royal house of Thebes inspired Sophocles to create a powerful trilogy of mankind's struggle aginst fate. KING OEDIPUS tells of a man who brings pestilence to Thebes for crimes he doesn't realise he has committed, and then inflicts a brutal punishment on himself. It is a devastating portrayl of a ruler brought down by his own oath. OEDIPUS AT COLONUS provides a fitting conclusion to the life of the aged and blinded king, while ANTIGONE depicts the fall of the next generation through the conflict between a young woman ruled by her conscience and a king too confident in his own authority.

## Editions

### The Theban Plays

- Publisher: penguin_classics
- ISBN: 978-01-4044-003-4
- Pages: 176
- Published: 2003-06-26
- Language: en_GB

### The Theban Plays

- Publisher: everyman_s_library
- ISBN: 978-06-7943-132-9
- Pages: 280
- Published: 1994-10-18
- Language: en_US

### The Theban Plays

- Publisher: Penguin
- Medium: ebook
- ISBN: 978-01-4190-564-8
- Published: 1973-04-26
- Language: en_GB