A review by sihaame
The Oedipus Cycle: Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone by Sophocles

5.0

dear friend, only the gods can never age, the gods can never die. All else in the world almighty Time obliterates, crushes all to nothing.

just epic. it’s been a long time since a book left me feeling this way.

fate—the key word —you truly feel its suffocating force crushing down on every character. but what struck me most is how deeply devoted these characters are to the gods, even though the gods are the ones inflicting ruins and calamities upon them. they never question the divine will, never stop to wonder why the gods would curse them with such tragic fates.

this reveals something —if it tells us anything at all. one must either resign to the gods because there’s simply no other choice, or rebel against them but even then, rebellion only leads to death. either way, it’s a loss.

the contrast between the characters’ deeply human struggles and suffering and the gods’ indifferent schemes is astonishing. makes you feel the futility of fighting forces far beyond their control, as though they're just pawns in a cosmic game they can neither understand nor escape.