Oedipus

FAMILY: His whole life, Oedipus was surrounded by royal and noble people. In his early years he lived with his adopted parents, the King and Queen of Corinth. After fleeing this city and journeying to Thebes, he met his father, King Laius. Unfortunately, this encounter was the last time the King walked on the Earth, as he was killed by his son. Oedipus went on to marry his mother, Queen Jocasta, who he had four children with.

MYTH: The myth of Oedipus is both disturbing and interesting simultaneously. After his fate was determined, nothing could stop Oedipus. Being left on a mountainside with his legs tied together, his chances of survival were so slim, but somehow he managed to do it. After being found, he was adopted by the King and Queen of Corinth, who never had a child of their own. After hearing the prophecy, Oedipus fled Corinth afraid that his adopted parents were his actual parents. He was incorrect.

          His mission being to go as far as he could from Corinth, Oedipus ended up going to the city of Thebes. Here he is occluded by The Sphinx, a mythical creature with the body of a lion and the head of a man. The creature asks all people entering Thebes a riddle, and if answered incorrectly, death acts upon them. After answering the riddle correctly, The Sphinx flees and allows him into the city. The people of Thebes appreciate what Oedipus has done so much, that they think of him as a hero and immediately crown him.

          He goes onto marry his mother, Jocasta. This would not have

happened if he had not killed his father on his journey to the city however. He was at a three way intersection, and a group of people gave him a hard time. 

Oedipus being quick-to-kill, murders all but one. One lucky man got to escape to return to Thebes.

          A deadly plague has infected many people in Thebes. People are dying, crops are not growing, famine and drought has struck, and women are not getting pregnant. Oedipus, thinking he can stop the plague, sends

 Creon to the Oracle at Delphi for guidance. The returning information was that the killer of King Laius must be exiled or murdered for the plague to perish. Oedipus then goes on to curse the killer, ironically being him.

POWERS: Oedipus did not have any superhuman powers. He was, however, very knowledgeable. He solved the riddle of the Sphinx with ease, which nobody has ever done before. The riddle was "Which creature walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening?" Oedipus answered “a man”, which was correct. Another attribute of Oedipus was that he kept his word. He told the people of Thebes that he was going to find out the murderer of King Laius, and although he did not want to admit to it, he knew in the end that it was him.

INTERESTING FACTS: 

·      “Oedipus the King” was written in 430 BC

·         Oedipus means swollen foot

·         Oedipus and Jocasta had four children- two boys and two girls

·         The girls names were Antigone and Ismeme

Works Cited

                          "Ancient Greece." Ancient Greece. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2013. 

                          "Oedipus." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 04 Nov. 2013. Web. 11 Apr. 2013. 

                    "Oedipus the King." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Apr. 2013. Web. 12 Apr. 2013.

           Sophocles, Stephen Berg, and Diskin Clay. Oedipus the King. New York: Oxford UP, 1978. Print. 

                          "Sphinx." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 04 Nov. 2013. Web. 11 Apr. 2013. 

                          "SPHINX." SPHINX : Woman-headed Lion, Labor Oedipus ; Greek Mythology ;

                                        Pictures : PHIX. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2013.

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