“Riddle me this, riddle me that…”
 Who: Laius, King of Thebes and his wife, Jocasta
 What: A prophecy
 Where: Greece, in the city of Thebes
 When: A very long time ago
 Why: A curse? The gods? Fate?
Meet Queen Jocasta and King Lauis
Their life:
+/-
They rule Thebes
+
There is a famine and plague in
Thebes
-
They are ready to start a family
+
They are having trouble
conceiving a child
-
 THEY FINALLY GET PREGNANT!
EXCEPT….
 King Laius and Queen Jocasta received a very
disturbing prophecy about their infant son:
Their son would kill
his father!
 Laius and Jocasta decide
to kill their infant son
 They pierce his ankles
and give him to a
shepherd
 The shepherd is
supposed to leave the
baby on Mt. Cithaeron to
be exposed (to the wild
beasts)
http://www.lib-art.com/artgallery/24191-the-child-oedipus-revived-by-theshepherd-phorbas-chaudet-antoine-denis.html
 The mountainside where
the shepherds bring their
sheep to graze
 Shepherd #1 gives the
infant to shepherd #2
 Shepherd #2 is from
Corinth, the city on the
other side of the
mountain
S:\Cindy Schumacher\Photos\oedipus pictures\mountainside2.jpg
 The shepherd
takes pity on the
infant and decides
that he cannot
allow this murder
to happen…
http://cybermuse.gallery.ca/cybermuse/search/artwork_e.
jsp?mkey=10757
 The shepherd gives the
infant to Polybus and
Merope, who cannot
have their own children
 Polybus names the infant
Oedipus (literally
“swollen foot”) because
of his deformity.
 Polybus and Merope
never tell Oedipus one
small detail…
http://people.hofstra.edu/terese_p_friedlander/students/resumeak.html
That he is adopted!
The truth will set you free…maybe.
One night at
a party a
guest who
has overindulged tells
Oedipus that
Polybus and
Picture of Greek dancers from the side of a vase
http://www.bencourtney.com/ebooks/dance/
Merope are
not his real
parents…
 Enraged, Oedipus confronts his parents who quickly
dispel the rumor that Oedipus is not their real son.
 Oedipus, however, is not satisfied, so he goes to
consult the oracle (a female prophet who speaks for
Apollo).
http://www.as.miami.edu/english/wiki_blythe/index.php?
title=Jay's_Project
http://www.wcbufm.com/Greece.html
 Instead of a clear answer, the oracle gives Oedipus the
following prophecy…
“You will kill your father
and beget (have) children
by your mother.”
Just the news Oedipus wanted to hear…
 Not wanting to kill dad and sleep
with mom, Oedipus decides to flee
Corinth
 He sets out on the road toward
Thebes…
 Does anyone see a problem with
this???
http://plato-dialogues.org/tools/greece.htm
 As the audience of this horrible tragedy we know….
 That Oedipus is not the real son of Polybus and Merope
 That he is the real son of Laius and Jocasta
 Therefore, going back to Corinth would be the better
idea
 Going to Thebes would be a bad idea…so that is exactly
where Oedipus decides to go….
 WHAT IS IT CALLED WHEN THE AUDIENCE KNOWS
MORE THAN THE CHARACTERS?
 At the triple roads Oedipus meets an old man and his
guards
 The old man and his entourage refuse to give Oedipus
right of way, and Oedipus refuses to give the old man
right of way…
 So, in the earliest instance of road rage, the two men
fight to the death.
 Oedipus wins and heads on toward Thebes.
http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/15700/15726/laiusdeath_15726.htm
 A plague has beset the people of Thebes in the
form of the Sphinx.
 The Sphinx asks a riddle, and if you can’t answer it,
you die.
 If you do answer the riddle correctly, you live!
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oedipus
_und_die_Sphinx_(Gustave_Moreau).jpg
http://www.oceansbridge.com/oilpaintings/product/69814/oedipusexplainstheriddleofthesphinx
 Oedipus confronts the Sphinx and correctly answers
her riddle:
“What goes on four legs in the
morning, two legs at
noon, and three legs in the
evening?”
The answer: MAN! (he crawls,
then walks, then uses a cane)
http://www.dukeart.net/greek-myth/
 After correctly answering the riddle and ridding Thebes of
the Sphinx, the people wish to reward Oedipus by
making him their king (who has mysteriously
disappeared).
 The play begins in media res (in the middle of things)
http://www.vroma.org/~ara
ia/lachesis.html
 Whose fault is it?
Laius?
Jocasta?
Oedipus?
Fate?
http://www.deathdyinggriefandmourning.com/Death-&-DyingImages%201-20/8-b-Oedipus-&-Jocasta.jpg
http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Mythology/AntigoneOedipusCFJalabea
t.html