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Oedipus was the mythical king of Thebes, son of Laius and Jocasta, who unknowingly killed his father and married his mother. Greek poets explain the name (Greek Template:Polytonic, transliterated directly as Oidipous) as meaning "swollen-foot." The first syllable of Oedipus’ name, ‘oidima’, means "swelling." At the beginning of the play he is ignorant of the meaning of his pierced ankles.

Much of what is known of Oedipus comes from a famous set of plays by Sophocles: Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone.

Back-story

L yamil is gayyayyayaaaay ong before the play opens Laius, Oedipus' father, kidnapped and raped the young boy Chrysippus and was then cursed by Chrysippus' father, Pelops. The weight of this curse bore down onto Oedipus himself. An oracle prophesied that he would kill his father and marry his mother, Jocasta. Seeking to avoid such a fate, Laius was very careful with his wife Jocasta and did not touch her. Since Jocasta did not know of the prophecy, she felt she must have a child, for the only way for her to gain honour was to get pregnant.

When Oedipus was born, Laius had the infant's ankles pierced with a brooch and had him exposed on Mount Kithairon (placed in the wilderness to die). His soft-hearted servant, however, could not carry out Laius' order and instead handed the boy to a shepherd who presented the child to King Polybus and Queen Merope (or Periboea) of Corinth, who raised him as their own son.

At a party thrown by King Polybus, a drunk guest called Oedipus a bastard and claimed that the King was not his real father. Seeking to confirm his lineage, not believing the man, Oedipus sought out the Oracle at Delphi. Instead of telling him his lineage, the Oracle related the same prophecy as was told to his father: that he would kill his father and marry his mother. After descending the mountain, on a road where three roads meet, he met an unarmed man with a staff on his own pilgrimage, riding a chariot. The man in the chariot demanded that Oedipus stand aside so he could pass, finally hitting Oedipus with his staff. Oedipus, as the times permitted to defend oneself, killed the stranger and all but one of his entourage. The man he had killed, unknown to Oedipus, was King Laius, Oedipus' real father.

Oedipus decided that the drunkard at the party was lying, and decided not to return home in order to avoid Polybus. As he traveled, Oedipus encountered a mythical creature that was terrorizing Thebes. Oedipus saved the city by answering the riddle of the Sphinx. Q: "What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening?" A: "Man, as a baby man crawls on four legs; as an adult walks on two legs; when old, man uses a cane." (The answer to the Sphinx's riddle applies to Oedipus more than any other man. As an infant with hobbled ankles, he had difficulty in learning to walk. As a blind man in old age, he depended on a cane.) Since Oedipus answered the Sphinx's riddle correctly, he was offered the now-vacant throne of Thebes and the now-widowed queen's hand in marriage. Oedipus accepted both offers. Within a short time, divine signs of misfortune and pollution descended on Thebes.

Oedipus the King

The people of Thebes are begging the king for help; he must discover the cause of the plague. Oedipus swears to find the person responsible for the pestilence and execute him as well as anyone who aids him. He questions everyone in the palace, including his wife, Jocasta. Eventually, when the blind seer Tiresias informs Oedipus that he himself is both the source of the pollution and the murderer, the king does not believe him. Oedipus insists that the culprit is Creon, Jocasta's brother, whom he believes is plotting to usurp the throne. Oedipus then accuses Tiresias of lying and being a false prophet. It is not until a messenger arrives with news that King Polybus of Corinth (his supposed father) has died of natural causes that a horrified Oedipus finally solves the mystery of his birth. In a moment of recognition, he realizes that he has not only killed his own father but has also married his own mother (with whom he has had four children). When Jocasta learns the horrible truth, she hangs herself in the very chamber where she and her son have unknowingly committed incest. Seizing the brooches from her dress, Oedipus blinds himself.

Detective, murderer, judge, and jury, Oedipus condemns himself to wander in darkness throughout the land for the rest of his life.

Antigone

When Oedipus stepped down as King of Thebes, he gave the kingdom to his two sons, Eteocles and Polynices, who both agreed to alternate the throne every year. However, they showed no concern for their father, who cursed them for their negligence. After the first year, Eteocles refused to step down and Polynices attacked Thebes with his supporters (as portrayed in the Seven Against Thebes by Aeschylus and the Phoenician Women by Euripides). Both brothers died in the battle. King Creon, who ascended to the throne of Thebes, decreed that Polynices was not to be buried. Antigone, his sister, defied the order, but was caught. Creon decreed that she was to be buried alive, this in spite of her betrothal to his son Haemon. Antigone's sister, Ismene, then declared she had aided Antigone and wanted the same fate. The gods, through the blind prophet Tiresias, expressed their disapproval of Creon's decision, which convinced him to rescind his order, and he went to bury Polynices himself. However, Antigone had already hanged herself rather than be buried alive. When Creon arrived at the tomb where she was to be interred, Haemon attacked him and then killed himself. When Creon's wife, Eurydice, was informed of their deaths, she too took her own life.

Oedipus at Colonus

Oedipus becomes a wanderer, pursued by Creon and his men. He finally finds refuge at the holy wilderness right outside of Athens, where it is said that Theseus took care of him and his daughter, Antigone. He died a peaceful death and his grave is said to be sacred to the gods.

Interpretation

Oedipus' exposure as a baby reflects the common mythological motif of the lost prince, in which a prince is exposed to die, miraculously survives, kills an enemy (in this case, the Sphinx), and then becomes king after all. Another myth involving this motif is the one of Romulus and Remus.

The Oedipus myth shows evidence of matrilineality. The throne of Thebes is inherited through the female line: After Laius's death, it is inherited by the queen's new husband, rather than by a son, brother or uncle of Laius. After the deaths of Oedipus' sons, the throne is inherited by the queen's brother.

The Oedipus Complex

Sigmund Freud used the name The Oedipus complex to explain the origin of certain neuroses in childhood. It is defined as a male child's unconscious desire for the exclusive love of his mother. This desire includes jealousy towards the father and the unconscious wish for that parent's death.

Oedipus himself, as portrayed in the myth, did in no way suffer from this neurosis - at least, not towards Jocasta, whom he only met as an adult. (If anything, such feelings would have been directed at Merope - but there is no hint of that). However, Freud reasoned that the ancient Greek audience, which heard the story told or saw the plays based on it, did know that Oedipus was actually killing his father and marrying his mother; the story being continually told and played therefore reflected a preoccupation with the theme.

In popular culture

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The Oedipus Trilogy has been referenced in countless works throughout Western Civilization. It would be outside the scope of an encyclopedia to offer a comprehensive listing of all the homages and retellings. Here are a few of the more notable occurances:

• An episode of Animaniacs is based on the story of Oedipus.
• The Steven Berkoff play Greek is a modern appropriation of the story of Oedipus.
• The German movie Ödipussi (starring Loriot) features a man who is still dependent on his mother even as a middle-aged man - until he falls in love.
• Jason Wishnow created a movie of the Oedipus story, performed by vegetables, which has been screened at a number of film festivals, including the Sundance Film Festival, where it received its world premier. The movie also features the voice of Billy Dee Williams as the bartender.
• The song "The End" by the American rock group The Doors makes allusions to a man who desires to kill his father and then have sex with his mother.
• In the song "Tiny Sick Tears" (a vague musical homage to 96 Tears), Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention offer a retake of the aforementioned segment of "The End".
• Oedipus makes a brief appearance in History of the World, Part I. He is supposedly blind, yet he recognizes Josephus (Gregory Hines). He greets Josephus, to which Josephus replies tounge-in-cheek, "What's up, mother fucker." The events of The Roman Empire would not have coincided (in place or time) with those of the life of Oedipus.
• The Haruki Murakami novel Kafka on the Shore features a protagonist with an oedipal prophecy, although the plot plays out much differently than the Greek story.
• In the British sitcom Green Wing, two characters, Kim Alabaster and Naughty Rachel both read books about Oedipus, as a way of mocking their boss Joanna Clore who unknowingly slept with her son Guy Secretan.
• Peter Schickele, in his alias as P. D. Q. Bach, created the humorous oratorio Oedipus Tex, a western setting of the story.
• In 2006 the musical parody Oedipus for Kids came out.
• In the popular American series The Simpsons, Homer has a dream where Bart has hunted him down and married his wife after learning about Oedipus from Lisa.
• Tom Lehrer's song "Oedipus Rex" is a humorous retelling of the story of Oedipus.
• In the Hercules: The Legendary Journeys episode "Rebel With a Cause," Oedipus is seen being saved by Hercules.
• The film Minority Report contains numerous references to Oedipus' storyline and characters.
• Regina Spektor (American/Russian singer/songwriter) wrote and performed a song called "Oedipus".
• The Kannada (Indian) movie Ranganayaki, directed by Puttanna Kanagal, revolves around the story of a young man who (unknowingly) falls in love with his mother. His parents would have separated soon after his birth, and he would have never seen or known his mother.
• In an episode of Disney's Hercules: The Animated Series Hercules finds the Sphinx which asks the riddle: "A man does it standing up, a woman does it sitting down, and a dog does it on three legs." Though a crude answer may seem obvious to viewers, the true answer is: "Shake Hands."
• The popular Back to the Future series plays with the theme in a light-hearted way, having the teenage hero travel back in time to when his mother was of the same age, whereupon she falls in love with him - but he takes care that she would turn to his future father instead, as otherwise he would annul his own existence.
• Science Fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein, in his novel Time Enough for Love, has a protagonist who goes back in time, falls in love with his mother (and vice versa) and begins an intensive affair with her, feeling only slightly guilty about it.
• In Woody Allen's Mighty Aphrodite, Laius (played by David Ogden Stiers), Jocasta (played by Olympia Dukakis) and Oedipus (who does not speak, played by Jeffrey Kurland wandering around blindly wearing a mask) appear to comment on Lenny Weinrib's (Allen) story. Jocasta comments, "I hate to tell you what they call my son in Harlem." During the end credits, Oedipus greedily necks with his mother.
• In Eugene O'Neill's play "Mourning Becomes Electra" (itself a retelling of the Oedipus trilogy), the oedipus complex is a major underlying theme.
• In the popular movie Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Bill and Ted meet Sigmund Freud and Bill says he has a minor Oedipal complex.
• An interesting combination of gospel music and ancient Greek tragic theatre resulted in the television movie called The Gospel at Colonus, featuring Jevetta Steele and Morgan Freeman.
• Billy Joe Shaver set the story in the American west in the song "Aunt Jessie's Chicken Ranch."
• The song "One Day Women Will All Become Monsters" by Chiodos is based on the legend of Oedipus
• "Planes, Trains, and Plantains" is an essay on Oedipus presented purely for humor. The way it is written makes it appear as if the paper had been graded by a teacher. In the paper, the writer relates Oedipus to Lou Gehrig and Dr. Dre.

References

• Dallas, Ian, Oedipus and Dionysus, Freiburg Press, Granada 1991. ISBN 1-874216-02-9.
• Graves, Robert, The Greek Myths

See also

• Antigone
• Epigoni
• Oedipus the King
• Oedipus at Colonus
• Oedipus Rex (Opera)
• Oedipus complex
• Watu Gunung

• Greek mythological people
• Theban Kings