Oedipus at Colonus by Sophocles recap

Blind and exiled, the aged Oedipus reaches the sacred grove at Colonus with Antigone and recognizes the place foretold for his death. He asks Athens for protection, offering the spiritual power of his future grave in return. King Theseus grants sanctuary. Ismene reports that Thebes now wants control of Oedipus's burial place; Creon tries to force him back and abducts his daughters, but Theseus rescues them. Polynices then asks his father to support an attack on Thebes, and Oedipus rejects him, repeating the curse that his sons will kill each other. When thunder announces his end, Oedipus leads Theseus to a secret place, sends his daughters away, and vanishes in a mysterious death witnessed only by the Athenian king. His concealed grave becomes a promised safeguard for Athens. Antigone and Ismene prepare to return toward Thebes.

Years after his fall, the blind, exiled Oedipus arrives at Colonus near Athens with his daughter Antigone. Learning that they have entered a grove sacred to the Eumenides, he recognizes the place named by an oracle as the end of his wandering. He asks the local elders and King Theseus for sanctuary, promising that his grave will protect Athens. Ismene arrives with news that Oedipus's sons are fighting for Thebes and that a prophecy has made possession of their father's burial place valuable. Theseus accepts Oedipus as a protected suppliant. Creon then attempts to compel Oedipus to return and has Antigone and Ismene seized, but Theseus intervenes, recovers the daughters, and drives off the Theban party. Polynices, exiled by his brother and preparing war against Thebes, asks Oedipus for support. Oedipus condemns both sons for neglecting him and foretells that they will kill one another. Thunder signals that Oedipus's appointed death is near. After ritual washing and private farewells, he leads Theseus alone to the place that must remain secret. A messenger reports that Oedipus disappears by a mysterious divine means rather than dying in view of the others. Theseus becomes guardian of the hidden grave and its promised protection. Antigone and Ismene mourn, then ask to return toward Thebes in the hope of stopping their brothers' destruction.

Divine thunder tells Oedipus that his appointed end has arrived. He dismisses his daughters before the final moment and leads Theseus alone to the secret place where he will leave the world. A messenger reports that Oedipus did not die by an ordinary visible process: after ritual preparations and farewells, he vanished in a manner known fully only to Theseus. The Athenian king must keep the location of the grave secret and pass that knowledge only to his successor, preserving the protection Oedipus has promised Athens. Antigone and Ismene mourn their father and ask to see the site, but Theseus honors Oedipus's prohibition. Antigone then asks for help returning to Thebes in the hope of preventing the fatal conflict between her brothers. Theseus agrees, and the sisters depart under his protection while Oedipus's hidden resting place remains a sacred defense for Athens.