Historical context
Sophocles’ OC is one of the few plays where Athenian citizens themselves are represented on the tragic stage. The Chorus consisted of citizens from the ancient deme of Colonus to the northwest of Athens. Relevant given the play was written in the wake of Athens’ military defeat to Sparta - the play sheds positive light on democracy, with King Theseus showing mercy on Oedipus as stranger and outsider, in weary exile from his own home state.
Interestingly, Sophocles wrote Oedipus at Colonus (OC) at 90-years-old, shortly before his own death. The setting of the play seems to render special significance as Colonus was the playwright’s birthplace. It was posthumously performed by his grandson at the Great Dionysia.
Analysis of the play
I sketched movements of Oedipus, in the theatre setting and grove of Colonus
I discovered six distinct spatial patterns:
Stage 1: Outcast
Space #1 – Unknown – Wandering
Space #2 – Sacred – Trespassing
Stage 2: Metamorphosis
Space #3 – Inviolable – Negotiating
Space #4 – Ritual – Cleansing
Space #5 – Burial – Leading
Stage 3: Hero
Space #6: Deme of Colonus – Protecting
3. I found these patterns were actually applicable across extant suppliant tragedies:
