Oedipus and the Sphinx by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
Abode
Thebes
Personal information
Parents
Laius and Jocasta (biological) Polybus and Merope (adoptive)
Siblings
Alcinoe (adoptive)
Consort
Jocasta Euryganeia Astymedusa
Offspring
Antigone Ismene Eteocles Polynices
Oedipus (UK: /ˈiːdɪpəs/, also US: /ˈɛdə-/; Greek: Οἰδίπους "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby bringing disaster to his city and family.
The story of Oedipus is the subject of Sophocles' tragedy Oedipus Rex, which is followed in the narrative sequence by Oedipus at Colonus and then Antigone. Together, these plays make up Sophocles' three Theban plays. Oedipus represents two enduring themes of Greek myth and drama: the flawed nature of humanity and an individual's role in the course of destiny in a harsh universe.
In the best-known version of the myth, Oedipus was born to King Laius and Queen Jocasta of Thebes. Laius wished to thwart the prophecy, so he sent a shepherd-servant to leave Oedipus to die on a mountainside. However, the shepherd took pity on the baby and passed him to another shepherd who gave Oedipus to King Polybus and Queen Merope to raise as their own. Oedipus learned from the oracle at Delphi of the prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother but, unaware of his true parentage, believed he was fated to murder Polybus and marry Merope, and so he left for Thebes. On his way, he met an older man and killed him in a quarrel. Continuing on to Thebes, he found that the king of the city (Laius) had recently been killed and that the city was at the mercy of the Sphinx. Oedipus answered the monster's riddle correctly, defeating it and winning the throne of the dead king – and the hand in marriage of the king's widow, who was also (unbeknownst to him) his mother Jocasta.
Detail of ancient fresco in which Oedipus solves the riddle of the Sphinx. Egyptian Museum, 2nd c. CE
Years later, to end a plague on Thebes, Oedipus searched to find who had killed Laius and discovered that he himself was responsible. Jocasta, upon realizing that she had married her own son, hanged herself. Oedipus then seized two pins from her dress and blinded himself with them.
The legend of Oedipus has been retold in many versions and was used by Sigmund Freud to name and give mythic precedent to the Oedipus complex.
Oedipus (UK: /ˈiːdɪpəs/, also US: /ˈɛdə-/; Greek: Οἰδίπους "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus...
Oedipus Rex, also known by its Greek title, Oedipus Tyrannus (Ancient Greek: Οἰδίπους Τύραννος, pronounced [oidípuːs týrannos]), or Oedipus the King,...
In classical psychoanalytic theory, the Oedipus complex (also spelled Œdipus complex) refers to a son's sexual attitude towards his mother and concomitant...
a complete form: Ajax, Antigone, Women of Trachis, Oedipus Rex, Electra, Philoctetes, and Oedipus at Colonus. For almost fifty years, Sophocles was the...
Oedipus at Colonus (also Oedipus Coloneus; Ancient Greek: Οἰδίπους ἐπὶ Κολωνῷ, Oidipous epi Kolōnōi) is the second-last of the three Theban plays of the...
Oedipus and the Sphinx is an 1864 oil on canvas painting by Gustave Moreau that was first exhibited at the French Salon of 1864 where it was an immediate...
Oedipus Wrecks may refer to: Oedipus Wrecks (Lois & Clark), an episode in the 3rd season of the television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman...
Oedipus Mayor (Spanish: Edipo alcalde) is a 1996 Colombian tragedy film, produced by Tomás Zapata and Jorge Sánchez, directed by Jorge Alí Triana. Set...
Hamlet and Oedipus is a study of William Shakespeare's Hamlet in which the title character's inexplicable behaviours are subjected to investigation along...
Oedipus Hex may refer to: Oedipus Hex (Bewitched), 1966 Oedipus Hex (CSI: NY), 2006 Oedipus Rex (disambiguation) Oedipus Tex, oratorio by P. D. Q. Bach...
a character in several ancient Greek tragedies. She is the daughter of Oedipus, king of Thebes. Her mother is Jocasta. In another variation of the myth...
My Oedipus Complex may refer to: "My Oedipus Complex", a short story written by Frank O'Connor "My Oedipus Complex", one of a number of singles in the...
romanized: Ismḗnē) is a Theban princess. She is the daughter and half-sister of Oedipus, king of Thebes, daughter and granddaughter of Jocasta, and sister of Antigone...
Oedipus Tex is a satirical Western-themed oratorio by P. D. Q. Bach that follows the adventures of Oedipus Tex ("you may have heard of my brother Rex")...
Oedipus Aegyptiacus is Athanasius Kircher's supreme work of Egyptology. The three full folio tomes of ornate illustrations and diagrams were published...
riddle. This deadly version of a sphinx appears in the myth and drama of Oedipus. In Egyptian mythology, in contrast, the sphinx is typically depicted as...
Oedipus Orca is a 1977 Italian sexploitation-thriller directed by Eriprando Visconti. It is a sequel to La Orca, filmed the same/next year. Michele Placido:...
mythologic character Oedipus, who unwittingly killed his father and sexually possessed his mother. Initially, Freud applied the Oedipus complex to the development...
one attended by Peripeteia, like that which goes with the Discovery in Oedipus...". Aristotle says that peripeteia is the most powerful part of a plot...
consort of Thebes. She was the wife of first Laius, then of their son Oedipus, and both mother and grandmother of Antigone, Eteocles, Polynices and Ismene...
Oedipus Schmoedipus is an album by the English musician Barry Adamson, released in 1996. Like Adamson's previous albums, Oedipus Schmoedipus was conceived...
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