another child and ate it up. Oedipus alone was able to guess
the correct answer to the riddle and, when he did so, the
Sphinx died, breaking its neck in a fit of rage. A triumphant
Oedipus became the most popular man in Thebes, and
having caught the attention of Queen Jocasta, a descendant
of the founding family of the city, he married her.THE TRUTH REVEALED
For some years Oedipus and Jocasta enjoyed a happy
marriage and had four children – daughters Antigone and
Ismene, and sons Eteocles and Polynices. But after this
period of contentment, Oedipus discovered the horrifying
truth about his life when the prophet Tiresias revealed what
had happened. The chariot rider that Oedipus killed at the
crossroads was his true father, Laius, and the queen he had
married in Thebes was his own mother, Jocasta. The queen
killed herself in despair over what had happened, and
Oedipus took a pin from her dress to stab his eyes,
blinding himself. He left Thebes to spend the rest
of his life as a wanderer, comforted only by his
daughter Antigone, the one member of his family
who had not rejected him for his deeds.
After many years of travelling as a blind
beggar, Oedipus reached the city of Colonus,
on the edge of Athens, where the oracle had
said he would die. Here, the King of Athens,
Theseus, welcomed him. However, Oedipus’s
sons wanted him to return to Thebes,
convinced that his return would bring good
fortune to the city. Oedipus ignored their
demands and walked into the sacred grove at
Colonus, disappearing from view and starting
his last journey – to the Underworld.THE MYTH
Soon after he was abandoned on the
mountainside by Laius and Jocasta,
Oedipus was found by a group of
shepherds who took him to the city of
Corinth, where the king and queen,
Polybus and Merope, brought him up as
their own son. One day someone told him
he was a foundling, so he went to the
oracle at Delphi to find out the truth.
But rather than enlightening him about
his true parentage, the oracle told him
he was destined to kill his father and
marry his mother. Thinking the oracle
had meant Polybus and Merope,
Oedipus decided to leave Corinth
and set of on a long journey. On
the way he came to a crossroads
where an old man in a chariot
was travelling in the
opposite direction. The man ordered Oedipus
to get out of his way, ofending him with his
rudeness. The pair quarrelled and fought, and
Oedipus ended up killing the man.ANSWERING THE RIDDLE
Oedipus continued his journey and
eventually arrived in Thebes, where a
monster called the Sphinx was devouring
the city’s children and the king had
mysteriously disappeared. Each day the
Sphinx asked a baing riddle and when
nobody could answer it correctly, it grabbedThe death of Laius
The fatal meeting of Oedipus and
Laius took place at a crossroads not
far from Delphi. There, the words of
the oracle were partly fulfilled.The infant Oedipus
When the shepherds found
Oedipus, they took him to their
king and queen who were
childless and longed for a son.CLASSICAL EUROPELaius and Jocasta, the King and Queen of
the city of Thebes, were told by the oracle
at Delphi that their son would kill his
father and marry his mother.
Terrified by the prophecy,
when their son, Oedipus,
was born, they abandonedthe child on a mountain and left him to die.
So began one of the most tragic tales in all
Classical mythology. By the end of the story,
the entire family was destroyed, victims of
fate and the impossibility of avoiding it.
Oedipus became the archetypal tragic hero,
trying to live well but thwarted by destiny.Oedipus
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