Oedipus Rex MCQs
1. At the beginning of Oedipus Rex, what calamity has befallen the city of Thebes?
A. A famine.
B. A plague.
C. A war.
D. A financial crisis.
2. What is the primary purpose of Oedipus’ suppliants at the start of the play?
A. To offer him gifts.
B. To request his assistance in ending the city’s suffering.
C. Praise his rule.
D. To inform him of Laius’s death.
3. Whom does Oedipus send to Pytho (Delphi) to consult the god Apollo regarding the city’s plight?
A. Tiresias.
B. Jocasta.
C. Creon.
D. The Priest of Zeus.
4. According to Creon, what must the Thebans do to end the plague, as commanded by Phoebus (Apollo)?
A. Sacrifice to the gods.
B. Banish Oedipus.
C. Drive out or punish the killer of Laius.
D. Rebuild the city walls.
5. Who was the king of Thebes immediately before Oedipus?
A. Polybus.
B. Cadmus.
C. Laius.
D. Menoeceus.
6. What monster prevented the Theban citizens from investigating Laius’s murder immediately after his death?
A. A Hydra.
B. A Chimera.
C. The Sphinx.
D. A Minotaur.
7. What is Tiresias’s profession in Thebes?
A. A king’s advisor.
B. A blind prophet.
C. A military general.
D. A shepherd.
8. What does Tiresias accuse Oedipus of when first pressured to reveal the truth?
A. Being a traitor.
B. Being the murderer of Laius.
C. Being an ineffective ruler.
D. Conspiring with Creon.
9. Why does Oedipus become enraged with Tiresias and Creon?
A. He believes they are plotting to overthrow him and steal his throne.
B. He thinks they are withholding a cure for the plague.
C. He discovers they are foreigners.
D. They openly disrespect Jocasta.
10. According to Jocasta, what did an oracle once declare about her son with Laius?
A. He would become a great king.
B. He would die in battle.
C. He would cause Laius’s death.
D. He would marry a foreign princess.
11. What key detail about Laius’s death, mentioned by Jocasta, greatly disturbs Oedipus?
A. That he was killed by a single man.
B. That he died in his sleep.
C. That he was killed where a wagon trail divides.
D. That he was killed by a foreign army.
12. What was Oedipus’s original reason for fleeing Corinth?
A. He wanted to seek adventure.
B. He was bored with his life there.
C. An oracle predicted he would kill his father and marry his mother.
D. He was exiled by King Polybus.
13. What new information does the citizen from Corinth bring to Oedipus?
A. That Thebes is under attack.
B. That Oedipus’s supposed father, Polybus, has died.
C. That the plague has ended.
D. That Jocasta is his true mother.
14. How does the Corinthian citizen reveal that Polybus and Merope were not Oedipus’s biological parents?
A. He says he bought Oedipus as a child.
B. He explains he found Oedipus as an infant on Mount Citheron and gave him to Polybus.
C. He shows Oedipus a birth certificate.
D. He claims Oedipus was an orphan he raised himself.
15. What physical characteristic of Oedipus is mentioned by the Corinthian citizen as evidence of his past?
A. A distinctive scar on his forehead.
B. A limp from a childhood injury.
C. Swollen ankles from being pierced as an infant.
D. A birthmark on his arm.
16. Who was the “Laius’s man” whom the Corinthian shepherd said he received the infant Oedipus from?
A. Laius himself.
B. A random traveler.
C. Laius’s servant born in the household.
D. Jocasta’s brother.
17. What was Jocasta’s fate after the truth of Oedipus’ parentage and actions was revealed?
A. She fled Thebes.
B. She committed suicidé by hanging.
C. Shé went blind.
D. She was exiled.
18. What does Oedipus do to himself after discovering Jocasta’s death and the full truth?
A. He stabs himself with a sword.
B. He cuts off his hair in grief.
C. He tears out his eyes with brooches from Jocasta’s gown.
D. He sets the palace on fire.
19. What does Oedipus request from Creon at the end of the play?
A. To be allowed to rule again.
B. To be killed or buried at sea.
C. To be exiled to Mount Citheron.
D. To be reunited with his sons.
20. Who accompanies Oedipus when he leaves the palace for exile at the play’s conclusion?
A. Creon and the chorus.
B. His two daughters.
C. His two sons.
D. No one, he leaves alone.
21. What did Sophocles invent for his dramatization of Oedipus Rex that was not in earlier versions of the story?
A. The Sphinx’s riddle.
B. Oedipus’s self-blinding.
C. A plague at the beginning of the play.
D. Jocasta’s suicidé.
22. To whom does the chorus attribute the plague in Oedipus Rex?
A. Apollo.
B. Zeus.
C. Ares.
D. Hades.
23. When did Sophocles die?
A. 495 BCE.
B. 440 BCE.
C. 406 BCE.
D. After the end of the Peloponnesian War.
24. What does the term “tyrant” mean in its ancient Greek context?
A. An exclusively evil ruler.
B. A legitimate, hereditary monarch.
C. A person ruling a polis with absolute authority, often by coup.
D. A temporary military dictator.
25. What is the most widely known title for Sophocles’ play, according to the text?
A. Oedipus.
B. Oedipus the King.
C. Oedipus Tyrannus.
D. Oedipus Rex.
26. What is “hubris” defined as in the context of the play?
A. Excessive pride in victory.
B. An arrogant disregard for laws and moral constraints.
C. A tragic flaw of ignorance.
D. A strong desire for power.
27. What does Freud cite Jocasta’s comment about dreams for?
A. To show her wisdom.
B. As evidence of divine intervention.
C. As evidence of the Oedipus complex.
D. To prove the power of fate.
28. According to Freud, why does Oedipus Rex have particular appeal compared to other tragedies about fate?
A. Its historical accuracy.
B. Its complex character development.
C. The protagonist succumbs to a fate we all share (love for mother, hate for father).
D. It perfectly depicts free will.
29. What was the most prestigious site for divinely inspired replies to questions in ancient Greece?
A. Olympia.
B. Abae.
C. The temple of Apollo at Delphi.
D. Thebes.
30. What was the role of the Pythia at Delphi?
A. To interpret incoherent babbling.
B. To collect ancient utterances.
C. A priestess of Apollo who responded to questions.
D. To offer sacrifices on behalf of city-states.
31. Who was Protagoras, and what was his famous motto?
A. A playwright; Know thyself.
B. A philosopher; The unexamined life is not worth living.
C. A sophist; Man is the measure of all things.
D. A historian; History repeats itself.
32. What does the Greek philosopher Heraclitus’s saying “character is his fate” imply?
A. Destiny is determined by supernatural beings.
B. Our fates are determined by chance.
C. Our destinies are determined by our own choices, reflecting our inborn characters.
D. We have no free will.
33. In Aristotle’s Poetics, what does hamartia signify in a tragic hero like Oedipus?
A. A blameworthy action.
B. A lack of free will.
C. An error or mistake.
D. A moral failing.
34. What is one school of thought’s interpretation of hamartia in Oedipus’s case?
A. It refers to his excessive anger.
B. It means his intentional patricide.
C. An innocent mistake based on ignorance.
D. His arrogance and pride.
35. According to Oedipus’s own description, how did members of Laius’s party try to remove him from the road?
A. By politely asking him.
B. By using force.
C. By offering him money.
D. By leading a violent attack.
36. According to E.R. Dodds, why did Oedipus suffer misfortune?
A. Because of his tragic flaw.
B. Because he killed his father and married his mother.
C. Because he had uncovered his own past.
D. Because of divine punishment for his hubris.
37. What is Oedipus’s initial stated motive for seeking Laius’s killer?
A. To establish his own innocence.
B. To avenge Laius for the gods.
C. Lest he himself become the next victim.
D. To prove Tiresias wrong.
38. What does the Priest of Zeus tell Oedipus about the current state of Thebes?
A. It is prospering.
B. The city is drowning now, failing fast.
C. It is recovering from a previous war.
D. The gods are pleased with it.
39. How do the Thebans perceive Oedipus at the beginning of the play?
A. As a new, untested ruler.
B. As an evil tyrant.
C. As the foremost man in life’s mishaps and reconciling those above, their savior.
D. As the cause of their plague.
40. What action did Oedipus take to address the plague before Creon’s return?
A. He consulted Tiresias.
B. He ordered sacrifices.
C. He sent Creon to Pytho (Delphi).
D. He gathered all the citizens.
41. What is Creon’s initial news from the god Apollo?
A. Thebes must rebuild its temples.
B. The plague will end naturally.
C. To purge an evil growing in Thebes.
D. To exile Oedipus.
42. How must the evil be purged, according to Apollo’s command?
A. By performing purification rituals.
B. By exiling the citizens.
C. Through driving a killer out or paying for death with death.
D. By offering many sacrifices.
43. Who was the former ruler of Thebes whom Apollo’s oracle concerned?
A. Polybus.
B. Cadmus.
C. Laius.
D. Perseus.
44. What prevented the Thebans from investigating Laius’s death immediately?
A. A lack of leadership.
B. A civil war.
C. The Sphinx’s presence.
D. An oracle forbidding it.
45. What does Oedipus claim he stands to benefit from by finding Laius’s murderer?
A. Wealth and power.
B. Revenge for Laius.
C. Preventing the murderer from attacking him as well.
D. Gaining divine favor.
46. What does Oedipus explicitly forbid concerning Laius’s murderer?
A. Speaking his name.
B. Killing him immediately.
C. Greeting him, speaking to him, offering prayers with him, or washing hands with him.
D. Allowing him to leave Thebes.
47. What relationship does Oedipus claim he will fight for Laius, due to their shared circumstances?
A. As a fellow citizen.
B. As though he were his father.
C. As a former king.
D. As a god’s ally.
48. Who does the Choral Leader suggest Oedipus should interrogate for more information?
A. Creon.
B. Jocasta.
C. Tiresias.
D. The Pythia at Delphi.
49. What does Tiresias initially say when summoned by Oedipus?
A. He is ready to reveal the truth.
B. He fears Oedipus’s anger.
C. How dreadful wisdom is when wisdom brings no gain! and asks to go home.
D. He already knows the killer’s identity.
50. What does Oedipus accuse Tiresias of doing, if he could see?
A. Hiding the truth for Creon.
B. Planning and all but doing the fatal deed (murder).
C. Being an ineffective prophet.
D. Manipulating the gods.
51. What does Tiresias eventually declare about Oedipus concerning the murderer?
A. He knows who the murderer is.
B. He is allied with the murderer.
C. The murderer you’re looking for is you!
D. The murderer is a foreign resident.
52. What does Tiresias say about Oedipus’s sight and knowledge?
A. He has perfect sight and knowledge.
B. He has eyes but does not see his evil state or from whom he came.
C. He sees only what he wants to see.
D. His knowledge will save him.
53. How does Tiresias describe Oedipus’s future fate?
A. He will regain his sight.
B. He will become Thebes’ savior again.
C. He will be blind, a beggar, and wander a foreign land.
D. He will be honored as a king.
54. What is the Chorus’s initial reaction to Tiresias’s accusation against Oedipus?
A. They immediately believe it.
B. They demand proof from Tiresias.
C. They are fearful and uncertain, finding the truth unclear.
D. They side with Oedipus.
55. How does the Chorus describe Oedipus’s past actions related to the Sphinx?
A. He was lucky.
B. He proved a loyal citizen and obviously wise by beating the Sphinx.
C. He was aided by the gods.
D. He acted selfishly.
56. What does Creon primarily argue against Oedipus’s accusation?
A. He claims his innocence by divine right.
B. He was not in Thebes at the time.
C. He has no desire to be a tyrant when he already has equal privilege without the burdens.
D. He has witnesses to his loyalty.
57. How does Oedipus initially say he wants to punish Creon?
A. By banishment.
B. By public shaming.
C. To have him die, not merely flee.
D. By stripping his wealth.
58. Who arrives to intervene in the quarrel between Oedipus and Creon?
A. The Priest of Zeus.
B. A messenger.
C. Jocasta.
D. The Choral Leader.
59. What does Jocasta state about human mantic skill?
A. It is always accurate.
B. It is divinely inspired.
C. No human being possesses mantic skill.
D. It is only for specific individuals.
60. What prophecy did Jocasta say was given to Laius regarding his son?
A. His son would die young.
B. His child would cause Laius’s death.
C. The son would rule Thebes.
D. His son would marry a foreign queen.
61. Where was Laius said to have been killed, according to Jocasta’s story?
A. In Thebes.
B. In Corinth.
C. Where a wagon trail divides (a crossroads).
D. In the royal palace.
62. How many people were in Laius’s entourage when he was killed, according to Jocasta?
A. One (Laius alone).
B. Two (Laius and a herald).
C. Five in all, counting the herald.
D. A large army.
63. What was the reaction of Laius’s sole surviving servant when he returned to Thebes and saw Oedipus had taken charge?
A. He celebrated the new king.
B. He immediately accused Oedipus.
C. He begged to be sent to distant pasturelands.
D. He remained silent.
64. What was the “incident” that led Oedipus to secretly visit Pytho (Delphi)?
A. A threat from Creon.
B. A drunkard calling him illegitimate.
C. The Sphinx’s arrival.
D. A desire for adventure.
65. What prophecies did Phoebus (Apollo) give Oedipus at Pytho?
A. He would save Thebes.
B. He would become a great king.
C. He would couple with his mother and murder his natural father.
D. He would suffer from a tragic flaw.
66. How does Oedipus describe his action against Laius’s party at the crossroads?
A. He acted in self-defense, killing only one.
B. He fled from them.
C. He slaughtered everyone after striking the older man.
D. He negotiated peacefully.
67. What is Oedipus’s “only hope” after hearing Jocasta’s story about Laius’s death?
A. That the oracle is wrong.
B. That Creon will confess.
C. To await the shepherd’s testimony.
D. That Jocasta will confirm his innocence.
68. What specific detail from the shepherd’s story would confirm Oedipus’s innocence regarding Laius’s murder?
A. If he said the victim was not Laius.
B. If he still referred to robbers or many men as the killers.
C. If he said the murder was accidental.
D. If he mentioned a single killer.
69. What does the chorus sing about the laws they revere, the “children of the azure sky”?
A. They were written by man.
B. They were fathered by Olympus alone and never age.
C. They are subject to change.
D. They are for gods, not mortals.
70. How does the chorus connect “hubris” and “tyrant” in their song?
A. Hubris destroys the tyrant.
B. Tyrants are known for hubris.
C. Hubris breeds a tyrant.
D. Tyrants overcome hubris.
71. Where does the chorus say they will avoid if the prophecies about Oedipus are not proven true?
A. The city of Thebes.
B. Mount Citheron.
C. Holy shrines like Olympia and Abae.
D. All public gatherings.
72. What news does the Citizen of Corinth bring to Thebes?
A. A new plague.
B. The Sphinx has returned.
C. Polybus, Oedipus’s father, has died.
D. Corinth has been attacked.
73. How did Polybus die, according to the Citizen of Corinth?
A. From an illness.
B. From treachery.
C. From sickness and simply being alive so long.
D. By Oedipus’s hand.
74. What does Oedipus realize is invalidated by Polybus’s death?
A. The prophecy about his mother.
B. The curse he placed on Laius’s killer.
C. The oracle predicting he would kill his father.
D. His fear of returning to Corinth.
75. What is Jocasta’s advice to Oedipus regarding his mother’s nuptials?
A. To return and confront the oracle.
B. To marry someone else.
C. To forget about them, as chance controls fortunes and many men share mothers’ beds in dreams.
D. To consult a new oracle.
76. What does the Citizen of Corinth reveal about Oedipus’s parentage?
A. He is Polybus’s true son.
B. Polybus and Merope were not his real parents.
C. He was given to Polybus by Laius.
D. He was an orphan.
77. How did Polybus receive Oedipus, according to the Corinthian citizen?
A. He bought him as a slave.
B. He found him in Thebes.
C. He was a gift from the Corinthian.
D. He was his natural son.
78. Where did the Corinthian citizen find Oedipus as an infant?
A. In a basket on a river.
B. In the wooded glades of Citheron.
C. Abandoned at the temple.
D. In a royal crib.
79. What was the condition of Oedipus’s ankles when the Corinthian found him?
A. They were swollen.
B. They were broken.
C. They were pierced.
D. They were normal.
80. What does Oedipus’s name (Oedipus) mean, according to the Corinthian citizen?
A. Great king.
B. Savior of Thebes.
C. Swollen-foot.
D. Child of destiny.
81. Who gave the infant Oedipus to the Corinthian citizen?
A. Laius.
B. Jocasta.
C. Another shepherd, Laius’s man.
D. Polybus.
82. What does Jocasta do immediately after realizing the truth about Oedipus’s birth?
A. She tries to kill Oedipus.
B. She attempts to flee.
C. She leaves the stage, stating, I weep for you, unlucky man.
D. She consults an oracle.
83. What does Oedipus declare himself to be, despite the revelations of his lowly birth?
A. The son of a slave.
B. Fortune’s child.
C. The gods’ enemy.
D. A man without destiny.
84. What was the shepherd’s (Laius’s man) original occupation?
A. A soldier.
B. A farmer.
C. Tended flocks of sheep.
D. A royal messenger.
85. What did Jocasta instruct Laius’s man to do with the baby Oedipus?
A. Raise him in the palace.
B. Take him to Corinth.
C. Do away with him.
D. Give him to the Sphinx.
86. Why did Jocasta give Laius’s man instructions to dispose of the baby?
A. Because the baby was ill.
B. Because of her fear of prophecies.
C. Because Laius commanded it.
D. To prevent a family dispute.
87. Why did Laius’s man give the baby to the Corinthian shepherd instead of disposing of him?
A. He feared Laius.
B. He wanted a reward.
C. Out of pity, assuming the child would be carried to foreign parts.
D. He wanted to save the child for misery.
88. What is Oedipus’s immediate reaction upon realizing the full truth of his origins?
A. He celebrates his identity.
B. He curses the gods.
C. He cries, O light—the last I’ll ever see, I stand exposed, all wrong.
D. He seeks to escape Thebes.
89. According to the servant, what was Jocasta’s final action?
A. She fled the palace.
B. She confronted Oedipus.
C. She hanged herself in her marriage bed.
D. She died of the plague.
90. What did Jocasta curse as she was dying?
A. Oedipus’s name.
B. The oracles.
C. Her bed for bearing children by her child and a husband by her husband.
D. The city of Thebes.
91. What did Oedipus do immediately after finding Jocasta’s body?
A. He grieved silently.
B. He summoned help.
C. He removed brooches from her gown and jabbed out his eyes.
D. He fled the palace.
92. Why did Oedipus blind himself?
A. To avoid seeing his suffering.
B. He cried that his eyes would never look upon the evils he’d experienced or done.
C. As a punishment from the gods.
D. To symbolize his ignorance.
93. What does Oedipus lament about Citheron after blinding himself?
A. Why couldn’t it protect him?
B. Why was he saved there instead of being killed?
C. Why did it shelter him instead of killing him quickly?
D. Why could he not return there?
94. What does Creon ask Oedipus to do immediately after his self-blinding?
A. To leave Thebes at once.
B. To seek medical help.
C. To go inside the palace, respecting Helios.
D. To apologize to the citizens.
95. What does Oedipus ask Creon to do with him after his suffering?
A. To kill him.
B. To make him an outcast, exiled to where he’ll never meet another human being.
C. To let him stay and rule.
D. To consult the god again.
96. What does Oedipus specifically ask Creon to ensure for his daughters?
A. They are married into noble families.
B. They are exiled with him.
C. To take care of them and allow him to touch them.
D. They are allowed to rule Thebes.
97. What is the Sphinx’s riddle according to the earliest extant version?
A. What has an eye but cannot see?
B. What is strong in the morning and weak at night?
C. A creature that is two-footed and four-footed, also three-footed, whose voice is one.
D. What comes first, the chicken or the egg?
98. What was the name given to Oedipus because of the spike’s effects on his ankles?
A. Laius.
B. Polybus.
C. Oedipus (Swollen Foot).
D. Cadmus.
99. What was the name of Laius’s father, making “Labdacid” a patronymic for Laius?
A. Cadmus.
B. Polydorus.
C. Labdacus.
D. Agenor.
100. According to the synopsis, what do Oedipus’s sons, Polynices and Eteocles, do after his exile?
A. They unite to rule Thebes.
B. They bring Oedipus back to Thebes.
C. They fight over the throne and end up killing each other.
D. They become allies of Creon.