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PAST
5 events that happened before Oedipus became the king -
Laius, The king of Thebes
PAST: Laius was the king of Thebes, who was cursed. The curse was that Laius' first born son would grow older to murder him and then marry his mother. Laius and Jocasta got married even though they could not have sexual relations due to the curse. One day, Laius got drunk and forgot about the curse. -
Ankle piercing
PAST: Jocasta became pregnant and gave birth to Oedipus. Laius pierced Oedipus' ankles so that he knew Oedipus was his son and ended relations with Joscata, hoping that the curse would go away. -
Given to the shepherd
PAST: After piercing baby Oedipus's ankles, Laius gave him to a shepherd on Mt. Cithaeron to become a slave. Instead, the shepherd gave Oedipus to Polybus and Merope, who were the king and queen of Corinth. -
Death of Laius
PAST: Laius went to meet Delphi because he had signs that the old prophecy about his son, was about to come true. On the way, a disagreement broke out when one of Laius' assistants attempted to drive Oedipus from the road. Oedipus killed all of them, including Laius, except for the shepherd. (the same shepherd who gave Oedipus to Polybus and Merope) -
The curse on Thebes
PAST: The city of Thebes was cursed by a Sphinx. Creon offered the throne of Thebes and the hand of his sister, Jocasta, to anyone who could solve the riddle of the Sphinx to get rid of it. Oedipus came to Thebes, solved the riddle, married Jocasta, and had four children with her. -
PRESENT
5 events that happened while Oedipus was king -
How to get rid of the curse
PRESENT: Oedipus was told that Delphi knew a way to lift the curse, so he sent Creon to him. -
Finding the killer of Laius
PRESENT: As Creon came back from Delphi, he found out that Laius had been murdered. Oedipus wanted to know who killed him and why the city has not tried to find the killer. Creon brought in Tiresias, a blind prophet, because he knew who the killer was. Tiresias told Oedipus that that he himself is the curse and told him that he was the murderer of Laius. Oedipus insults Tiresias and blames Creon for what Tiresias said. -
Polybus is dead
PRESENT: A messenger from Corinth went to Thebes to tell Oedipus that Polybus has died of natural causes. Oedipus felt relieved and no longer believed in the prophecy that he will murder his father. Only to be told by the messenger that Polybus and Merope were not his real parents. -
Being told the truth
Oedipus demands to find the person who gave him to Polybus and Merope and ask who his real parents are. An old shepherd (the one who witnessed Oedipus kill Laius) , told him that Laius gave Oedipus to him and that Jocasta gave birth to him. This left Oedipus in shock, screaming and yelling,because the prophecy of killing his father and marrying his mother was true. -
Blind to the world
After finding out that Jocasta was his mother, Oedipus went to kill her out of rage, but when he burst into the room that she locked herself in, he saw her hanging from a noose. Seeing this, he took the gold pins from Jocasta's robe and stabbed out his eyes, crying that he could not bear to see the world now that he had learned the truth. He then gave the throne of Thebes up to Creon.
