Symbols are objects, characters, figures, and colors used to represent abstract ideas and concepts.

 References to sight and the lack of sight are frequent in the play.  To modern thinkers and Ancient Greeks alike, the image of clear vision is used as a metaphor for knowledge and insight (for example: “I see the truth” or “I see the way things are.)  However, the reference to eyesight in Oedipus Rex is ironic.  In the beginning of the play, Oedipus is famed for clear-sightedness and quick comprehension, but he discovers that he has been blind to the truth for many years.  Finally, he blinds himself so he doesn’t have to look on his own children/siblings.

 In Greek, the word oedipus literally means “swollen foot.”  He gets his name from the fact that he was left in the mountains with his ankles pinned together, which left Oedipus with a vivid scar for the rest of his life.  The injury symbolizes the way in which fate has marked him and set him apart from the rest.  It also symbolizes the way his movements have been confined and constrained since birth by Apollo’s prophecy.

 Oedipus kills Laius at a crossroads.  A crossroads symbolizes a crucial moment in life (in and out of this play.)  This is the moment when Oedipus begins to fulfill the prophecy. Oedipus was not aware at the time that he was making a fateful decision.  In the play, the crossroads symbolizes fate and the power of prophecy rather than freedom of choice.