1. Sophocles and the great age of Athenian tragedy
1a. What we know of Sophocles' life
1b. How to avoid turning Sophocles into the wrong kind of classic
2. The conditions of tragic performance in the fifth century BC
3. The divine dimension: on not misunderstanding Sophocles' Oedipus the King
3a. The role of Apollo in what happens before the play opens
3b. Apollo at work within the play
3c. Some general considerations in favour of an active Apollo
3d. How much pure coincidence is there in Oedipus the King?
3e. What was Apollo's reason for ruining Oedipus?
3f. Justifying the ways of God to man
4. A further source of confusion: Sophocles' manipulation of the plot
5. The ending
5a. The scene with the daughters
5b. Why is Oedipus made to re-enter the palace?
6. The translation: its aims and methods
7. A note on the Greek text: departures from Lloyd-Jones and Wilson, Sophoclis Fabulae (second impression, Oxford 1992).