Oedipus, the king of Thebes, is told by his priest that a plague has come to their city. Taking action, Oedipus sends Creon, his brother-in-law, to Delphi to ask Apollo for help. Creon comes back with a message: the murderer of Laius must be caught and brought to justice to cure the plague.
Oedipus ordered Tiresias to come to Thebes to ask him about the murder. He protested against telling Oedipus what he knew, and Oedipus started calling him names and insulting him. Then he accuses Tiresias and Creon of conspiring against his life, because Tiresias accused Oedipus of being the murderer. Before Tiresias left, he said one last riddle: the murderer of Laius will turn out to be both father and brother to his own children, and the son of his own …show more content…
Oedipus realizes that he might be the one who murdered Laius. When Oedipus was coming to Thebes, he killed a group of travelers in self-defense at the same place and same time period that Laius was said to be killed.
Oedipus sent for a shepherd, who survived the attack, in the hope he would not be the murder. Jocasta tells Oedipus that a messenger said that Polybus, Oedipus’ father, had died. Oedipus is relieved that the first part of the prophecy was false, but he worried about the part that said he would marry his mother.
The messenger told Oedipus that Polybus and his wife, Merope, were not his biological parents. One day long ago, he was tending his sheep when another shepherd approached him carrying a baby, its ankles pinned together. The messenger took the baby to the royal family of Corinth, and they raised him as their own. That baby was Oedipus. Oedipus asks who the other shepherd was, and the messenger answers that he was a servant of Laius. He then asks the shepherd who had brought him to them as a baby. At that moment Jocasta ran into the palace knowing what the answer was. The shepherd told Oedipus that the baby in fact was the decedent of Laius, and Jocasta had given him the baby ordering him to kill it. He felt pity for the child and decided to give him to the shepherd in
Oedipus ordered Tiresias to come to Thebes to ask him about the murder. He protested against telling Oedipus what he knew, and Oedipus started calling him names and insulting him. Then he accuses Tiresias and Creon of conspiring against his life, because Tiresias accused Oedipus of being the murderer. Before Tiresias left, he said one last riddle: the murderer of Laius will turn out to be both father and brother to his own children, and the son of his own …show more content…
Oedipus realizes that he might be the one who murdered Laius. When Oedipus was coming to Thebes, he killed a group of travelers in self-defense at the same place and same time period that Laius was said to be killed.
Oedipus sent for a shepherd, who survived the attack, in the hope he would not be the murder. Jocasta tells Oedipus that a messenger said that Polybus, Oedipus’ father, had died. Oedipus is relieved that the first part of the prophecy was false, but he worried about the part that said he would marry his mother.
The messenger told Oedipus that Polybus and his wife, Merope, were not his biological parents. One day long ago, he was tending his sheep when another shepherd approached him carrying a baby, its ankles pinned together. The messenger took the baby to the royal family of Corinth, and they raised him as their own. That baby was Oedipus. Oedipus asks who the other shepherd was, and the messenger answers that he was a servant of Laius. He then asks the shepherd who had brought him to them as a baby. At that moment Jocasta ran into the palace knowing what the answer was. The shepherd told Oedipus that the baby in fact was the decedent of Laius, and Jocasta had given him the baby ordering him to kill it. He felt pity for the child and decided to give him to the shepherd in