The 1st Stasimon in Sophocles’ Play, Oedipus the King :: Oedipus the King Oedipus Rex

The 1st Stasimon in Sophocles’ Play, Oedipus the King The 1st Stasimon in Sophocles’ play ‘Oedipus the King’ is mainly showing the Chorus’ confusion in regards to Tiresias’ accusations made towards Oedipus. The Chorus seem terrified and powerless, and, like Oedipus, do not want to believe the accusations. They feel that the gods know the truth, yet will not reveal it, thus feeling as though the gods are of no real help. There are many issues and techniques to be discussed in regards to the 1st Stasimon, one of these being the significance of the section. The real significance of the 1st Stasimon is that it shows the reader how much of a respected role model Oedipus is to the community of Thebes; they will not accuse him until true proof has been revealed about the incident. This can be shown from the third quote in the 1st Stasimon handout. It reads: â€Å"No, not till I see these charges proved will I side with his accusers.† This shows that the Chorus considers Oedipus to be a true leader, and hence will follow him regardless. Another factor of significance in the first stasimon is that it shows the audience how the Chorus believes that Oedipus was brought to Thebes for a reason; this being to bring joy back into the city. The fourth quote in the handout is a good example of this: â€Å"We saw him then†¦with our own eyes his skill, his brilliant triumph – there was the test – he was the joy of Thebes!† Through this quote we can see admiration shown towards Oedipus due to his defeat against the Sphin x, and ridding the city from the curse. This brought joy back into the city, and turned Oedipus into a hero. Another issue raised in the 1st Stasimon was gender representation. Gender representation played a minor role in the First Stasimon. In this section, all well respected people or gods were men; the only woman mentioned in the text was the Sphinx, whom was rather referred to as the ‘she-hawk’. This can be seen in quote 7 in the 1st Stasimon handout. Hawks are considered to be evil birds, and are often in some texts considered to be possessed by the Devil, which shows that the Sphinx was not respected whatsoever, and was considered evil. Also, when the Chorus was trying to solve the question of who killed Laius, they basically ruled out the thought that the killer could be a woman.