In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus is new and rules Thebes and this is evident in the accounts of the murder of Laius. Oedipus arrived shortly after the news of Laius' murder. However, the people of Thebes had bigger “trouble on [their] feet” in dealing with the enigmatic Sphinx. (Creon I. 160). With these problems, the people of Thebes did not worry, nor did they have time to track down the murderer of their past king. Thus bringing the wrath of the angry Gods, because they did not put in the effort to find the murder. The wrath of the gods was unleashed: “a plague is on the fruitful plants of the earth. A plague is for the cattle in the fields, a plague is for our women that their children are not born” (“Oedipus Rex” II. 26-29). Along with these punishments, the men, women, and children of Thebes were now cursed by the deadly plague that struck their city. When Oedipus sees the individuals of Thebes struggling and begging him to help them, he is quick to act. Demanding that if anyone knows anything about Laius' murder to come forward. This shows that Oedipus really knows nothing about the murder and needs people's help to help them, even though he knows more than him.