# Messenger — Oedipus Rex character guide

> Messenger in Oedipus Rex by Sophocles.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Messenger One, Second Messenger, Messenger Friend

**First appearance:** 0002-oedipus-rex

## Snapshot

A traveler from Corinth who arrives with news of a king's death, only to unearth the buried facts of Oedipus's origins and the terrible road that led him to Thebes.

## Who they are

He comes as a stranger bearing what sounds like simple tidings: Polybus, king of Corinth, is dead, and the Corinthians want Oedipus to rule them. But he carries a second, older story — that he himself once received an infant on a mountainside and passed it to another shepherd. That memory turns an ordinary embassy into the hinge on which Oedipus's whole identity swings, and it is his patient, almost cheerful testimony that forces the king to keep asking the questions no one wants answered.

## Relationships

### [Herdsman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oedipus_rex_se/characters/herdsman)

_professional_

The Herdsman and Messenger are former colleagues who share critical information about Oedipus's past, leading to the revelation of his true identity.

### [Oedipus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oedipus_rex_se/characters/oedipus)

_professional_

The Messenger brings news of Polybus's death and inadvertently reveals the truth about Oedipus's adoption, acting as a catalyst for the tragedy.

### [Polybus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oedipus_rex_se/characters/polybus)

_professional_

The Messenger was a servant of Polybus, and he delivers news of Polybus's death and the secret of Oedipus's adoption.

### [Herdsman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oedipus_rex_se/characters/herdsman)

_professional_

The Herdsman and Messenger are former colleagues who share critical information about Oedipus's past, leading to the revelation of his true identity.

### [Oedipus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oedipus_rex_se/characters/oedipus)

_professional_

The Messenger brings news of Polybus's death and inadvertently reveals the truth about Oedipus's adoption, acting as a catalyst for the tragedy.

## In the story

### [Dramatis Personae](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oedipus_rex_se/chapters/dramatis-personae)

Listed as a character in the dramatis personae, along with a Second Messenger.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oedipus_rex_se/characters/messenger
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oedipus_rex_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/oedipus_rex_se/characters