Q 01/05

What did Oedipus Rex, now ranked among the great tragedies, win at its first Athenian performance?

A) First prize

B) Second prize

C) Third prize

D) No prize at all

Answer · why

B) Second prize

Second prize was all it took: first went to Philocles, a rival now best known for having beaten the most famous Greek tragedy of all.

Q 02/05

The Rex in the title Oedipus Rex means king in which ancient language?

A) Latin

B) Greek

C) Persian

D) Etruscan

Answer · why

A) Latin

Latin gives the play its familiar title, an anachronism: Sophocles' Athenian audience knew it simply as Oedipus.

Q 03/05

In Oedipus Rex, what does Oedipus do with the gold pins he pulls from his dead wife's dress?

A) Pierces his own heart

B) Cuts his throat

C) Puts out his eyes

D) Scars his face

Answer · why

C) Puts out his eyes

Oedipus puts out his eyes inside the palace, so the audience only hears of it from a servant who comes out to describe the scene.

Q 04/05

Which monster did Oedipus outwit, rather than fight, to win the throne of Thebes?

A) The Minotaur

B) The Hydra

C) The Chimera

D) The Sphinx

Answer · why

D) The Sphinx

The Sphinx had been devouring Thebans who failed her riddle; once Oedipus solved it, the grateful city made him king.

Q 05/05

What did the oracle foretell for Oedipus, driving him from home?

A) Kill his father, wed his mother

B) Kill his twin, marry his sister

C) Burn his city, drown his sons

D) Rob a temple, curse the gods

Answer · why

A) Kill his father, wed his mother

Kill his father, wed his mother: the oracle said it when Oedipus had only come to ask who his real parents were.