How long does it take to read Oedipus the King?
Oedipus the King by Sophocles takes about 2 hours 1 minute to read at 250 words a minute.
About 2 hours 1 minute
An evening's read
First published 1715. 110 pages, about 30,250 words.
5 days at 30 minutes a day
Estimate based on 275 words per page.
At other speeds
| Slow, 150 words a minute | 3 hours 22 minutes |
| Average, 250 words a minute | 2 hours 1 minute |
| Fast, 400 words a minute | 1 hour 16 minutes |
The page count is the median across 188 editions, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.
About the book
Oedipus Rex chronicles the story of Oedipus, a man that becomes the king of Thebes and was always destined from birth to murder his father Laius and marry his mother Jocasta. The play is an example of a classic tragedy, noticeably containing an emphasis on how Oedipus's own faults contribute to the tragic hero's downfall, as opposed to having fate be the sole cause. Over the centuries, Oedipus Rex has come to be regarded by many as the Greek tragedy par excellence.
Subjects: fate, Oedipus (Greek mythology), Free will, Drama, tragedy, Sophocles
