Scene 4 Summary

Jocasta enters and says that the people seem surprised to see her. She explains that she is on her way to visit the shrines, since Oedipus is so distressed that she could not comfort him. She prays to Apollo for help.

A messenger from Corinth enters and asks where Oedipus's palace is, and the chorus reveals that they are in front of the castle and that Oedipus is inside. The chorus explains that Jocasta is the queen, and the messenger greets her with blessings. Jocasta asks the messenger why he is there, and the messenger tells her that the Isthmians have decided to make Oedipus their king. When Jocasta inquires, she learns that Polybus, Oedipus's father and the former king, is dead.

Jocasta believes that this news proves that oracles, who predicted that Oedipus would kill his father, are false. She sends a...