Oedipus finally reached Thebes, where he was welcomed as a hero by Creon, Queen Jocasta’s brother, who was serving as a temporary king. The monster couldn’t accept that someone had answered his riddle, so he jumped off the rock he was sitting on and killed himself. Man was the right answer, as he crawls on all fours as a baby, walks on two legs as an adult, and uses a walking stick as he ages. He asked Oedipus his favorite riddle what walks on four feet in the morning, two in the afternoon, and three at night? No other traveler had ever answered the question right before but Oedipus took his time, thinking carefully, until he finally answered-man. He would kill travelers who were unable to answer his riddles. He continued on his journey and came across a monster named Sphinx, who had plagued Thebes for years. Without realizing it, Oedipus had fulfilled the first half of the prophecy. Oedipus killed the charioteer, which ended up being King Laius. The two ended up quarreling, which quickly escalated to fighting. Instead, he headed to Thebes.Īs he was nearing the town, he came across a charioteer. Oedipus assumed that the prophecy was about King Polybus and Queen Merope, so he didn’t return home. He would kill his father and marry his mother. It was there that he received a prophecy. Oedipus started to investigate and found himself asking the Oracle of Delphi. Oedipus grew and flourished but when he was old enough to understand, someone told him that his parents were not his biological parents. King Polybus and Queen Merope did not have children so they adopted the baby and raised him as their own. Instead, he gave Oedipus to another shepherd, who brought him to King Polybus and Queen Merope of Corinth.
Oedipus was handed to a shepherd, but the man was unable to bring himself to kill the child.
Queen Jocasta then commanded that the baby be brought to the mountains to die. This is how his name was chosen, as Oedipus means “swollen foot”. He commanded his servants pierce holes into his baby’s ankles, preventing him from crawling. King Lauis had difficulty believing the prophecy but when Queen Jocasta finally did get pregnant, he decided to take fate into his own hands.
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