A plague wastes the city of Thebes, and its king vows to find the cause. Oedipus, celebrated for solving the riddle of the Sphinx, promises to track down the murderer of the old king Laius, never suspecting where the trail will lead. In one of the most gripping dramas ever written, Sophocles turns a detective story into a meditation on fate, truth, and the terrible cost of seeing clearly. This edition presents the complete, unabridged text of Gilbert Murray's classic 1911 rhyming-verse translation, together with his explanatory notes, exactly as first published. A new introduction orients modern readers to the play's mythological background, its staging in the Athenian theatre, and its enduring influence, while reader's notes illuminate unfamiliar names and customs. Whether you are encountering Oedipus for the first time or returning to an old companion, this volume offers the full original work in a form made for reading, study, and reflection. Part of The Founding Texts Library.