Written by Sophocles and first performed around 429 BC, Oedipus Rex, also known by its Greek title, Oedipus Tyrannus, or Oedipus the King, is an Athenian tragedy. Originally, to the ancient Greeks, the title was simply Oedipus, as it is referred to by Aristotle in Poetics. Of the three Theban plays, Oedipus Rex is the first in order of the events depicted in the plays, but was the second to be written. The reading order of the Theban plays is: Oedipus Rex, followed by Oedipus at Colonus and ending with Antigone.

Written by Sophocles and first performed around 429 BC, Oedipus Rex, also known by its Greek title, Oedipus Tyrannus, or Oedipus the King, is an Athenian tragedy. Originally, to the ancient Greeks, the title was simply Oedipus, as it is referred to by Aristotle in Poetics. Of the three Theban plays, Oedipus Rex is the first in order of the events depicted in the plays, but was the second to be written. The reading order of the Theban plays is: Oedipus Rex, followed by Oedipus at Colonus and ending with Antigone.