 | Even in the late fifth century B.C. lawyers made dramatic use of this horror when prosecuting murderers.
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| 123
own hands
The first of many references to hands, especially hands that shed blood. In Greek law the hands of a person who committed a crime retained the pollution inherent in that crime, regardless of motive or intent. Here Oedipus' avenging hands are paired rhetorically with the hands that murdered Laius. The two pairs of hands will be shown to be only one pair, Oedipus' own.
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| 132
33
journey . . . into god's presence
The Greek word
theoros
is translated by this phrase. A
theoros
was a witness or see-er of a divine rite or event. We know from sources outside the play that Laius was bound for Delphi, where he would cross Oedipus' path. But by not naming Delphi, Sophocles permits Oedipus to postpone facing the possibility that Laius and he met on the road to Delphi.
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| 144
bandit
Though Kreon clearly used the plural, Oedipus speaks of one singular bandit with chilling unconscious accuracy. But because his sentence is a hypothetical question, it is logically proper.
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| 146
fresh trouble
Kreon portrays a rapid sequence of events: Laius' departure; news of his death; attack by the Sphinx; arrival of Oedipus; death of the Sphinx. The elapsed time might have been a few days only, or at most a week or two.
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| 150
blocked
The Greek word so translated,
empodon
, refers to stumbling, tripping, impeding the legs.
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| 153
at our feet
Kreon continues the foot image, which may carry a glancing reference to Oedipus' own swollen feet.
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| 163
exacting vengeance
Oedipus strangely imagines himself the victim of a second crime by Laius' original murderer. That this should be an act of ''vengeance" is hard to explain given the state of Oedipus' knowledge, but it will indeed be an act of vengeance when the same hands that killed Laius blind Oedipus.
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| 167
people of Kadmos
Theban citizens. When they arrive, the Chorus will represent the "people of Kadmos."
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| 176
Voice from Zeus
Though Apollo was the resident deity who issued his prophecies through the Pythonness at Delphi, the Chorus here attributes the commands to Zeus, the ultimate source of knowledge and power.
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| 182
Delos
The island at the center of the Cyclades, sacred birthplace of Apollo, was the navel of the sea, as Delphi was the navel of the earth.
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