Oedipus is the unfortunate main character of “one of the best-known legends” in ancient Greek or any other mythology. Abandoned as a baby to die in the mountains by his father, who had been warned that his son would kill him and marry his wife.
Who was Oedipus?
Oedipus was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero of Greek mythology, Oedipus accidentally fulfilled the prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother, bringing disaster to his city and his family. The story of Oedipus is the subject of Sophocles’ tragedy Oedipus Rex, which was followed by Oedipus at Colonus and then Antigone. Together, these works make up Sophocles’ three Theban plays. Oedipus represents two enduring themes of Greek myth and drama: the flawed nature of humanity and the role of the individual in the course of destiny in a harsh universe.
Family
Oedipus’ parents were King Laius and Queen Jocasta. He did not know this until much later, but he married his mother. Together, they had four children, named Polynices, Eteocles, Antigone, and Ismene.
Appearance
In artistic representations, he is usually shown with dark hair and a beard. He wears a short white tunic. In some depictions, he is able to see. In others, he is shown blind, after gouging out his eyes.
Myths of Oedipus
Oedipus, the Abandoned Prince
As often happens in Greek mythology, and perhaps in life as well, the story of Oedipus begins sometime before his own birth. Laius, the childless king of Thebes, decided to consult the Oracle of Delphi to find out if he and his wife would ever have children. To his utter dismay, he was told that it would be better for him not to: any child born of their union was destined to kill him. Laius tried to stay away from his wife’s bed as much as he could, but all his efforts were thwarted by a night of revelry and sweet-tasting wine. Jocasta became pregnant and, in due course, gave birth to a boy.
To thwart the prophecy, Laius told his servants to pierce the baby’s ankles so that he could not even crawl, let alone cause him any harm; then, to be even more certain, he gave his son to one of the shepherds of Thebes, telling him to leave the baby in the mountains to die. The shepherd, unable to do such a thing, gave the baby to a second shepherd, who happened to be grazing his flocks on the same mountain.
Adoptive parents of Oedipus: Polybus and Merope
As a Corinthian, this second shepherd took pity on the boy and took him to the court of King Polybus and Queen Merope of Corinth. The royal couple, also childless, decided to adopt the poor baby and raise him as their own. They named him after the wounds on his ankle: Oedipus means “swollen foot. “ When Oedipus grew up, a drunkard told him that Polybus and Merope were not his biological parents.
Determined to investigate the matter, he ended up in Delphi, intending to learn the truth from the Oracle. Instead of receiving an answer about where he came from, Oedipus was told that he would kill his father and marry his mother. Upon hearing this, Oedipus instantly decided to leave Corinth and get as far away from it as possible, so he headed north, in the direction of his hometown, Thebes.
Killing Laius
On his way there, at a narrow three-way intersection near Daulis, he encountered a chariot carrying King Laius, his biological father. Oedipus and Laius’ charioteer began to argue over who had the right of way. The dispute ended with Oedipus killing both the charioteer and his father, thus unknowingly fulfilling the first half of his prophecy. Only one of Laius’ servants managed to save his life from Oedipus’ wrath.
The riddle of the sphinx
Shortly thereafter, Oedipus encountered the terrible Sphinx, which had been ravaging the region of Thebes for some time, destroying crops and devouring travelers who had refused to answer her riddle or had answered it incorrectly. The Sphinx asked Oedipus the same question she had asked the unfortunate ones before him: “What walks on four feet in the morning, two in the afternoon, and three in the evening?” No one had ever answered the question correctly before. But he thought carefully and finally solved the riddle: “Man, who crawls on all fours as a baby, then on two legs as an adult, and then with a cane when old.” The Sphinx, unable to bear the fact that her riddle had been answered correctly, threw herself from the rock on which she was sitting and died.
Oedipus the King
At that time, Thebes had an interim ruler, Creon, the brother of the widow Jocasta and the uncle of Oedipus. Even before his arrival, Creon had decreed that whoever managed to kill the Sphinx would be rewarded with the queen’s hand and the throne of Thebes. Therefore, unbeknownst to him or anyone else, Oedipus’ reward for rescuing Thebes from the Sphinx would end up being the most bitter: his father’s crown and marriage to his mother. Without recognizing each other, Oedipus and Jocasta had four children together: Eteocles, Polynices, Antigone, and Ismene.
The Plague
Years later, Thebes is struck by a terrible plague. Oedipus, determined to cure his city, does everything in his power to get to the bottom of the matter; and after Creon returns from consulting the Oracle at Delphi with the news that the plague is divine retribution for never having brought Laius’ murderer to justice, he makes a solemn vow to find him and punish him severely, without having the slightest idea that the murderer was, in fact, himself.
Oedipus questions the prophet Tiresias who, although blind, is able to see more and more deeply than his interlocutor. At one point, forced to tell everything he knows, Tiresias points his finger at the Theban king. However, he refuses to believe that he could have anything to do with the murder of Laius and instead blames Tiresias for conspiring with Creon to depose him.
The truth
Jocasta tries to comfort Oedipus and, in the process, informs him of the events that led to his husband’s death. They sound strikingly similar to his chance encounter with the unknown charioteer of Daulis, and, visibly shaken, he sends for Laius’ servant who managed to survive the scene. However, things go from bad to worse even before the servant is brought before him; a messenger from Corinth enters the court and informs everyone that Polybus has died.
Still believing Polybus to be his real father, Oedipus feels somewhat relieved to hear this; however, fearing that the second part of the prophecy may still come true, he refuses to attend the funeral to avoid meeting his mother. The messenger informs him that he need not worry about that, as he knows full well that Polybus and Merope are not his real parents; he just happens to be the same shepherd who handed the pierced-ankled Oedipus to them when he was still a baby!
Self-blinded
Jocasta needs no further proof than this; she flees the scene in anguish and hangs herself in her room. Still unconvinced, Oedipus waits for the sole witness to Laius’ murder to arrive, only to realize that the worst is true: he did indeed kill his father years ago and then married his mother.
Oedipus tries to find Jocasta, and after locating her lifeless body, he pulls two golden pins from her dress and stabs her in the eyes. As he had promised to do with Laius’ murderer, he banishes himself from the city. Guided by his daughter and sister Antigone, Oedipus arrives at the court of King Theseus of Athens, where they are both warmly welcomed. Years later. After cursing his disobedient children, the blind and weary Oedipus is mysteriously led by the gods to a place known only to his host Theseus.
The aftermath
After Oedipus’ death, his sons Polynices and Eteocles decide to share the throne of Thebes, but when Eteocles refuses to give up the throne once his time is up, Polynices leaves Thebes and returns with an army. The attack of the Seven against Thebes results in both brothers dying on the battlefield; the conditions of their burial become the cause of the famous conflict between Antigone and the Theban king, Creon, once again.
Symbolism
The main symbols of Oedipus and his myth are the eyes, both open and closed. A set of open and capable eyes represent ignorant pride. Blind eyes, although they can no longer see, represent knowledge, symbolizing that there is more to being wise than seeing what surrounds you.
Sources
Sophocles’ “Oedipus Rex” is considered one of the greatest plays ever written, if not the supreme masterpiece of classical Greek drama. Although it is the second to be written, it constitutes the first part of Sophocles’ so-called Theban trilogy, as it is chronologically followed by both “Oedipus at Colonus” and “Antigone.” As always, Apollodorus summarizes the entire story well in his “Library.”
