The first drama in the Oedipus Trilogy, "Oedipus Rex," is the tragic tale of Oedipus who has accidentally killed his father and married his mother. One of the most widely read of all Greek tragedies, "Oedipus Rex," stands as one of not only the greatest dramas from classical antiquity but as one of the greatest dramas of all time. Its influence on literature and theatre cannot be overstated and it is as compelling today as when it was first performed.

Antigone defending her integrity and ideals to the death, Oedipus questing for his identity and achieving immortality - these heroic figures have moved playgoers and readers since the fifth century BC. Towering over the rest of Greek tragedy, these three plays are among the most enduring and timeless dramas ever written. Robert Fagles' translation conveys all of Sophocles' lucidity and power: the cut and thrust of his dialogue, his ironic edge, the surge and majesty of his choruses and, above all, the agonies and triumphs of his characters.

"These authoritative translations consign all other complete collections to the wastebasket."—Robert Brustein, The New Republic "This is it. No qualifications. Go out and buy it everybody."—Kenneth Rexroth, The Nation "The translations deliberately avoid the highly wrought and affectedly poetic; their idiom is contemporary....They have life and speed and suppleness of phrase."—Times Education Supplement "These translations belong to our time. A keen poetic sensibility repeatedly quickens them; and without this inner fire the most academically flawless rendering is dead."—Warren D. Anderson, American Oxonian "The critical commentaries and the versions themselves...are fresh, unpretentious, above all, functional."—Commonweal "Grene is one of the great translators."—Conor Cruise O'Brien, London Sunday Times "Richmond Lattimore is that rara avis in our age, the classical scholar who is at the same time an accomplished poet."—Dudley Fitts, New York Times Book Review