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Sophocles · Oedipus at Colonus Οἰδίπους ἐπὶ Κολωνῷ

Sophocles, Oedipus at Colonus 1014–1043: Third episode (cont.): Theseus goes after the girls

Ancient Sources / Sophocles / Oedipus at Colonus / 1014–1043

The Chorus say that the stranger is a good man and worthy of help. Theseus tells Creon to guide him to the place where the girls are being held, and warns that Creon has been captured as he hunted and will not have allies. Creon says that he will not object while he is there, but that at home he will know how to act. Theseus promises Oedipus that he will not cease until he has restored his children, and Oedipus thanks him for his nobility.

Lines 1014–1043 · 307 words · click a number to copy its link
1014–1043
Χορός 1014ὁ ξεῖνος, ὦναξ, χρηστός· αἱ δὲ συμφοραὶ 1015αὐτοῦ πανώλεις, ἄξιαι δʼ ἀμυναθεῖν. Θησεύς ἅλις λόγων, ὡς οἱ μὲν ἐξειργασμένοι σπεύδουσιν, ἡμεῖς δʼ οἱ παθόντες ἕσταμεν. Κρέων τί δῆτʼ ἀμαυρῷ φωτὶ προστάσσεις ποεῖν; Θησεύς ὁδοῦ κατάρχειν τῆς ἐκεῖ, πομπὸν δέ με 1020χωρεῖν, ἵνʼ, εἰ μὲν ἐν τόποισι τοῖσδʼ ἔχεις τὰς παῖδας ἡμῖν αὐτὸς ἐκδείξῃς ἐμοί· εἰ δʼ ἐγκρατεῖς φεύγουσιν, οὐδὲν δεῖ πονεῖν. ἄλλοι γὰρ οἱ σπεύδοντες, οὓς οὐ μή ποτε χώρας φυγόντες τῆσδʼ ἐπεύξωνται θεοῖς. 1025ἀλλʼ ἐξυφηγοῦ· γνῶθι δʼ ὡς ἔχων ἔχει καί σʼ εἷλε θηρῶνθʼ ἡ τύχη· τὰ γὰρ δόλῳ τῷ μὴ δικαίῳ κτήματʼ οὐχὶ σῴζεται. κοὐκ ἄλλον ἕξεις εἰς τάδʼ· ὡς ἔξοιδά σε οὐ ψιλὸν οὐδʼ ἄσκευον ἐς τοσήνδʼ ὕβριν 1030ἥκοντα τόλμης τῆς παρεστώσης τανῦν, ἀλλʼ ἔσθʼ ὅτῳ σὺ πιστὸς ὢν ἔδρας τάδε. ἃ δεῖ μʼ ἀθρῆσαι, μηδὲ τήνδε τὴν πόλιν ἑνὸς ποῆσαι φωτὸς ἀσθενεστέραν. νοεῖς τι τούτων, ἢ μάτην τὰ νῦν τέ σοι 1035δοκεῖ λελέχθαι χὤτε ταῦτʼ ἐμηχανῶ; Κρέων οὐδὲν σὺ μεμπτὸν ἐνθάδʼ ὢν ἐρεῖς ἐμοί· οἴκοι δὲ χἠμεῖς εἰσόμεσθʼ ἃ χρὴ ποεῖν. Θησεύς χωρῶν ἀπείλει νῦν· σὺ δʼ ἡμίν, Οἰδίπους, ἕκηλος αὐτοῦ μίμνε, πιστωθεὶς ὅτι, 1040ἢν μὴ θάνω ʼγὼ πρόσθεν, οὐχὶ παύσομαι πρὶν ἄν σε τῶν σῶν κύριον στήσω τέκνων. Οἰδίπους ὄναιο, Θησεῦ, τοῦ τε γενναίου χάριν καὶ τῆς πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἐνδίκου προμηθίας.

Chorus The stranger is a good man, lord. His fate has been accursed, but it is worthy of our aid.

Theseus Enough of words. The doers of the deed are in flight, while we, the sufferers, stand still.

Creon What order, then, do you have for a powerless man?

Theseus Guide the way on the path to them while I escort you, in order that if you are keeping the maidens whom we seek in these lands, you yourself may reveal them to me. But if your men are fleeing with the spoils in their grasp, we may spare our trouble; the chase is for others, from whom they will never escape out of this land to thank their gods. Come, lead the way! And know that the captor has been captured; fate has seized you as you hunted. Gains unjustly got by guile are soon lost. And you will have no ally in your purpose; for I well know that it is not without accomplice or resource that you have come to such outrage, from the daring mood which has inspired you here. There was someone you were trusting in when you did these deeds. This I must consider, and I must not make this city weaker than one man. Do you take my drift? Or do these words seem as empty as the warnings given when you were laying your plans?

Creon Say what you wish while you are here; I will not object. But at home I too will know how to act.

Theseus Make your threats, then, but go forward. As for you, Oedipus, stay here in peace with my pledge that, unless I die beforehand, I will not cease until I put you in possession of your children.

Oedipus Thanks to you, Theseus, for your nobleness and your righteous care for me!

People and places in this passage

Passages in other works that tell of the same people and places, oldest and closest first.

  1. Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus 1478–1530Exodos (cont.): Oedipus and his daughters; the end
  2. Sophocles, Oedipus Tyrannus 1416–1477Exodos (cont.): Creon takes charge
  3. Euripides, Phoenician Women 1639–1766Exodos: Antigone defies Creon; Oedipus goes into exile
  4. Euripides, Phoenician Women 834–895Fourth episode: Teiresias arrives and hints at a hidden remedy
  5. Pausanias, Description of Greece 1.28.1–11Athens: Acropolis offerings, the Areopagus and the courts of justice

English translation by Richard C. Jebb (modernised by Perseus) (1889). Original text: Greek text: Francis Storr (ed. and trans.), Sophocles, Loeb Classical Library, London: William Heinemann, 1912, as digitised by Perseus. English: Richard C. Jebb, Sophocles: The Plays and Fragments, The Oedipus at Colonus, Cambridge University Press, 1889 (Perseus's modernised version of Jebb's prose translation).

Greek text and translation from the Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Perseus Digital Library); translation public domain. Introductions, summaries and notes © GreekMythology.com.