Gods,Heroes,Myths Greek Mythology Homer's epics,Expeditions

Oedipus was the son of Laius, the king of Thebes, and Jocasta (or Epicaste). After his birth, his parents left the baby exposed on Mount Cithaeron in Boeotia, because the oracle had warned Laius that his offspring would one day kill him. Before abandoning him, they pierced his ankles and bound them.

A shepherd found the baby and took him to the royal couple of Corinth, Polybus and Merope, who had no children. They adopted him and named him Oedipus, meaning "swollen foot." However, someone called him a bastard, and when he grew up, he went to the Oracle of Delphi to learn the truth about his real parents.

The Pythia of the oracle revealed that he would end his father's life and marry his own mother, and that his descendants would bring many woes to mankind. This led Oedipus to avoid returning to Corinth, where he believed his homeland was, and instead head towards Thebes. At a crossroads, he encountered Laius and they quarreled over a trivial matter. As a result, Oedipus killed Laius, unaware that he was his father.

When he arrived in Thebes, Creon, Jocasta's brother, was ruling temporarily. At that time, the city was in a desperate state, as a monster named the Sphinx was ravaging the area, swallowing anyone who could not solve the riddle it posed. The Sphinx asked what animal walks on four legs in the morning, on two legs at noon, and on three legs in the evening. The king announced that whoever could solve the riddle would inherit the throne and marry Jocasta, Laius’s widow. Oedipus, with his cleverness, answered that the animal was man, who crawls on all fours as a baby, walks on two legs as an adult, and uses a third leg, a cane, when old. Upon hearing the correct answer, the Sphinx left the area, and in a different version, it fell into the sea and drowned from the evil it had caused.

Thus, they lived happily for many years and had four children: Eteocles, Polynices, Antigone, and Ismene. These children were, of course, his siblings. While Oedipus was enjoying the peak of his happiness, a plague broke out that devastated the land. Desperately, he sought the advice of the Oracle of Delphi.

The response was that to stop the evil, the murderer of Laius must be identified and punished. The subsequent investigation revealed the horrific truth. As a result, Oedipus blinded himself with his own hands, and Jocasta hanged herself.

Subsequently, the hero was forced to leave Thebes, accompanied by his daughter, Antigone. He settled in Colonus, a suburb of Athens, after being hosted by King Theseus. Towards the end of his life, various versions of his fate exist.