What is Oedipus Rex About?

Oedipus (also known as Oedipus The King) is a play written by the Greek playwright Sophocles in 429 BC. It tells the story of Oedipus’ journey from ignorance to self-awareness and his journey from blindness to sight. It was performed at the Festival of Dionysus, which was held annually in Athens.
Oedipus is the king of Thebes, a city in Greece. He is told by an oracle that he will kill his father and marry his mother. In order to avoid this fate, Oedipus leaves Thebes in search of his biological parents. Along the way, he accidentally kills an old man and then marries a young woman who turns out to be his mother. He has four children with her before learning that all of these events were predicted by an oracle. Oedipus returns to Thebes and blinds himself, but not before two of his sons kill each other over the throne. His wife/mother hangs herself when she learns that she has married her own son for what seems like forever (which isn’t actually forever because time doesn’t exist).