THE STORY OF OEDIPUS IS THE MOST TRAGIC OF ALL GREEK MYTHS

 

 

The story of Oedipus is the most tragic story of ancient Greece. He was the King of Thebes and lived under the shadow of a curse that he could not avoid at the end of his days.

 

Oedipus was the son of Laius and Iocasta, the King and Queen of Thebes.  The misfortunes of his line were the result of a curse inflicted by his father.  When his son was born, Laius consulted the Oracle of Delphi to find out his fate.  To his horror, the Oracle revealed that “he was condemned to die at the hands of his own son”.

 

The parents ordered a servant to kill their son, but he could not do so and gave him to a shepherd.  The shepherd called the boy Oedipus or “swollen feet” since Laius had tied his feet tightly.  

 

The child was taken to Corinth and was given to King Polubas, who had no children and who raised him as his own.

 

When he was an adult, he heard rumours that he was not the son of Polubas and his wife Merope.  Driven by doubt he went to the Oracle of Delphi and asked if the son of the Corinthian Monarchs, but instead of answering that he had a dark destiny: “Mating with his own mother and killing his own father.”

 

Desperate to avoid the Oracle’s profession, Oedipus who thought that Polubas and Merope were his parents, left for Thebes.

 

On the way to Thebes, Oedipus met Laius, the two argued over which chariot had the right of way.  The Theban King moved to strike the insolent young man, but Oedipus unaware that Laius was his father, killed him.

 

Thus, Laius was killed by his own son and half the prophecy was fulfilled.   Before reaching Thebes, Oedipus met the Sphinx, a legendary beast with the head and breasts of a woman, the body of a lion and the wings of an eagle. 

 

The Sphinx would strangle any traveler on his way to Thebes except if they could solve a riddle and Oedipus managed to solve it.

 

A bonus for solving the riddle was to marry the dowager Queen Iocasta so the whole of the prophecy was fulfilled.    

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