Antistrophe
First I call on you, Athene, deathless daughter of Zeus,
and Artemis, Earth Upholder,
190 who sits in the midst of the market place in the throne
which men call Fame,
and Phoebus, the Far Shooter, three averters of Fate,
come to us now, if ever before, when ruin rushed upon the
state,
you drove destruction’s flame away out
of our land.
The scene sounds as if Oedipus is dead and has found relief in his death. The ability of the chorus to make people feel the emotions of the characters and create a magnificent and large-scale effect of tragedy is deeply noticeable from the first to the last line of the work. He’s purpose is to create an atmosphere of tension and emphasize the effects of tragedy so that the reader can understand the essence of the play. Oedipus is known for his compassion, sense of justice, quick thinking and acting, and honesty.
