Act II Summary Creon arrives to dispute Oedipus’ accusations. Oedipus, enraged when he sees Creon, begins leveling more insults, calling Creon a “marauding thief.” Creon eventually calms Oedipus down/Oedipus exhausts himself so that Creon is finally allowed to speak. When Creon does, he says that he has no interest in the throne because he enjoys all of the perks with none of the stress. This doesn’t faze Oedipus who still wants Creon dead Jocasta arrives on the scene, and she tries to calm both men down—she’s not successful.

Act II Summary Continued… When Oedipus explains to Jocasta that Creon had a hand is Tiresias’ prophecy (or so he thinks), she shares her belief that prophecy is meaningless as “nothing human can penetrate the future.” Jocasta supports her feelings with proof: When a prophet said their son would kill King Laius, they had the child killed. King Laius was killed by a band of thieves, not by their son! Hhhhhhmmmmm… When Oedipus asks Jocasta for more information regarding King Laius’ death, he becomes alarmed when she tells him the place of Laius’ death: a triple crossroad outside of Thebes. Oedipus remembers killing a group of men at this crossroad before he arrived in Thebes. He claims that he was attacked by the men and fought back, but he believes he killed them all.

Act II Summary Continued… Oedipus is alarmed, but takes comfort in the fact that the lone survivor of the attack reported that it was a band of thieves that attacked the King’s party, not one man. Jocasta continues to reassure Oedipus and says the shepherd can’t retract his story now. Also, she continues to reference the prophecy that didn’t come true: Her child didn’t kill his father! At the end of Act II, Oedipus has sent for the shepherd (lone survivor) to hear what he remembers about Laius’ death. The chorus closes Act II with a statement on destiny: The world is ruled by destiny. If anyone defies destiny and triumphs over the gods, then they will no longer trust in the god’s power.