Oedipus King is a character in Greek mythology and also a tragedy written around 427 BC by the playwright Sophocles (496-406 BC).
It is one of the most emblematic Greek tragedies in the history of theater in Greece. It is based on the Oedipus myth and cited by the Greek philosopher Aristotle in his work “ Poética ”.
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In Greek legend, Oedipus, son of Laio and Jocasta, was the king of Thebes, the city that had been plagued by a plague. Upon consulting the Delphic oracle, Oedipus discovered something tragic about his life: he was cursed by the gods.
He was destined to marry his mother, with whom he had two sons and two daughters, and to kill his father, the king who ruled the city before Oedipus.
After learning the truth, his mother-woman hanged herself and Oedipus, ashamed of his actions, pierced his own eyes.
It all started when his father had a son with Jocasta. One of the oracles had already warned him of his tragic fate: being killed by his own son.
After the child’s birth, Laio regrets it. He asks one of his servants to abandon the baby at Monte Citerão (between Thebes and Corinth) with his feet tied to a tree.
However, he was found by a pastor and ended up surviving, being adopted by the king of Corinth Polibus, who considered him his own son.
As an adult, Oedipus decides to leave Corinth and go to Thebes to consult the oracle that reveals him about his curse: killing his father and marrying his mother.
Disconsolate with the revelation, he heads towards the city and in the middle of his journey, ends up killing his father for an argument they had at a crossroads.
In addition, he finds the Sphinx at the door of Thebes, a mythological half-lion and half-woman.
The Sphinx terrified a large part of the Theban people with its enigmas, since whoever did not guess was devoured by it.
However, Oedipus gets her question right, and in the end, she ends up killing herself. This fact that made him a hero and thus, he was elected the new King of Thebes.
The enigma proposed by the sphinx was: ” Which animal has four feet in the morning, two at noon and three in the afternoon? “
Without hesitation, Oedipus replies that this figure is the man. This is because in childhood he crawls, in adulthood he walks upright with both feet, and in old age he needs a cane (the third foot) to support himself.
Characters of Tragedy
The tragic action takes place in Thebes (Cadméia) and the characters that compose it are:
- Oedipus : King of Thebes and main character of the plot.
- Priest : spokesman for the population and priest of Zeus.
- Creon : brother of Queen Jocasta, brother-in-law of Oedipus.
- Tiresias : blind elder and prophet.
- Jocasta : Oedipus’ mother and wife.
- Messenger : who reveals that Oedipus has adoptive parents.
- Servant : ex-pastor who tries to kill Oedipus.
- Choir : formed by elders of Thebes. It represents the thinking of Greek society.
Psychoanalysis
In psychology, the “ Oedipus Complex ” is a concept created by Sigmund Freud inspired by the Greek tragedy of Sophocles.
It is a specific disorder during a phase of life when the boy is attracted to his mother.
The opposite, that is, when the girl is attracted to her father, it is called “Electra Complex”.