Oedipus

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Topics in Greek mythology
Gods Primordial gods and Titans Zeus and the Olympians Pan and the nymphs Apollo and Dionysus Sea-gods and Earth-gods
Heroes Heracles and his Labors Achilles and the Trojan War Odysseus and the Odyssey Jason and the Argonauts Perseus and the Gorgon Oedipus and Thebes Theseus and the Minotaur Triptolemus and the Eleusinian Mysteries
Related Satyrs, centaurs and dragons Ancient Greek religion

Oedipus was the mythical king of Thebes, the "richest city in the world."^[1] Greek poets explain the name (Greek Οἰδίπους, transliterated directly as Oidipous) as meaning "swollen-foot." The first syllable of Oedipus’ name, ‘oidima’, means "swelling."

The Oedipus was the son of Laius and Jocasta and became king of Thebes after killing his father, solving the riddle of the Sphinx and unknowingly marrying his mother. After Oedipus is king, his sons fight over the throne and kill each other.

Variations on the Oedipus legend are mentioned in fragments by several ancient Greek poets including Homer, Hesiod and Pindar. Most of what is known of Oedipus comes from a set of plays by Sophocles: Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone.

Contents 1 The Birth of the Oedipus Legend 1.1 Homer's Oedipus 1.2 Hesiod's Sphinx 1.3 Cinaethon's Merger 1.4 Curse of Warring Sons 2 5th Century BCE Oedipus 2.1 Pindar's Second Olympian Ode 2.2 Sophocles' Oedipus the King 2.3 Sophocles' Antigone 2.4 Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus 2.5 Aeschylus' Seven Against Thebes 2.6 Euripedes' Phoenissae and Chrysippus 3 Later Additions 4 Interpretation 5 The Oedipus Complex 6 In popular culture 7 References 8 Notes 9 See also

[edit] The Birth of the Oedipus Legend

Oedipus was almost certainly a story of oral tradition before being written down. It was a growing an changing story that merged several tales from several sources. The first written references to Oedipus appear in the 8th-7th century B.C.E.

[edit] Homer's Oedipus

Homer makes a passing reference to Oedipus in both the Odyssey and the Illiad, but makes no reference to the Sphinx or any riddle. Oedipus becomes king after killing his father and unwittingly marrying his mother. He rules on after the discovery of this fact and dies in battle.

I also saw fair Epicaste mother of king Oedipodes whose awful lot it was to marry her own son without suspecting it. He married her after having killed his father, but the gods proclaimed the whole story to the world; whereon he remained king of Thebes, in great grief for the spite the gods had borne him; but Epicaste went to the house of the mighty jailor Hades, having hanged herself for grief, and the avenging spirits haunted him as for an outraged mother- to his ruing bitterly thereafter.^[2]

Macisteus went once to Thebes after the fall of Oedipus, to attend his funeral, and he beat all the people of Cadmus.^[3]

[edit] Hesiod's Sphinx

The poet Hesiod wrote on the Sphinx in Thebes, but with no reference to Oedipus.

Echidna was subject in love to Orthus and brought forth the deadly Sphinx which destroyed the Cadmeans^[4]

Unrelated to the Sphinx, Hesiod is the first to poetically call an old man "three-legged", which then becomes part of the Sphinx's riddle.^[5]

[edit] Cinaethon's Merger

The poet Cinaethon of Sparta wrote an epic called the The Story of Oedipus (also called Oedipodea). Though it did not survive, a few scattered commentaries on the epic did. The story seems to tell of a merged Oedipus and Sphinx story, but details are unclear.

The authors of the "Story of Oedipus" (say) of the Sphinx: But furthermore (she killed) noble Haemon, the dear son of blameless Creon, the comeliest and loveliest of boys.^[6]

Judging by Homer, I do not believe that Oedipus had children by Iocasta: his sons were born of Euryganeia as the writer of the Epic called the "Story of Oedipus" clearly shows.^[7]

[edit] Curse of Warring Sons

An unknown author also wrote the Theibaid, of which only fragments exist. It first tells of a curse on Oedipus' sons and how they will kill each other.

Then the heaven-born hero, golden-haired Polyneices, first set beside Oedipus a rich table of silver which once belonged to Cadmus the divinely wise: next he filled a fine golden cup with sweet wine. But when Oedipus perceived these treasures of his father, great misery fell on his heart, and he straight-way called down bitter curses there in the presence of both his sons. And the avenging Fury of the gods failed not to hear him as he prayed that they might never divide their father's goods in loving brotherhood, but that war and fighting might be ever the portion of them both.^[8]

And when Oedipus noticed the haunch he threw it on the ground and said: "Oh! Oh! my sons have sent this mocking me ..." So he prayed to Zeus the king and the other deathless gods that each might fall by his brother's hand and go down into the house of Hades.^[9]

[edit] 5th Century BCE Oedipus

Most writing on Oedipus comes from the 5th century BCE, though the stories deal mostly with Oedipus' downfall. Various details appeared on how Oedipus rose to power.

Laius hears a prophecy that his son will kill him.^[10] Fearing Laius pierces Oedipus' feet and leaves him out to die, but a herdsman finds him and takes him away from Thebes.^[11] Oedipus, not knowing he was adopted, left home in fear of a phophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother.^[12] Laius, meanwhile, had ventured out to find a solution to the Sphinx's riddle.^[13] As prophesized, Oedipus crossed paths with Laius and this led to a fight where Oedipus slays Laius.^[14] Oedipus then defeats the Sphinx by solving a mysterious riddle to become king.^[15] He marries the widow queen Jocasta not knowing it is his mother. A plague falls on the people of Thebes. Upon discovery of the truth, Jocasta hangs herself.^[16] After Oedipus is no longer king, Oedipus' sons kill each other.

Some differences with older stories emerge. The curse of the Oedipus' sons is expanded backward to include Oedipus and his father, Laius. Oedipus now steps down from the throne instead of dying in battle. Additionally, rather than his children being by a second wife, Oedipus' children are now by Jocasta.

[edit] Pindar's Second Olympian Ode

Pindar wrote: Laios' tragic son, crossing his father's path, killed him and fulfilled the oracle spoken of old at Pytho. And sharp-eyed Erinys saw and slew his warlike children at each other's hands. Yet Thersandros survived fallen Polyneikes and won honor in youthful contests and the brunt of war, a scion of aid to the house of Adrastos..^[17]

[edit] Sophocles' Oedipus the King

The people of Thebes are begging the king for help; he must discover the cause of the plague. Oedipus swears to find the person responsible for the pestilence and execute him as well as anyone who aids him. He questions everyone in the palace, including his wife, Jocasta. Eventually, when the blind seer Tiresias informs Oedipus that he himself is both the source of the pollution and the murderer, the king does not believe him. Oedipus insists that the culprit is Creon, Jocasta's brother, whom he believes is plotting to usurp the throne. Oedipus then accuses Tiresias of lying and being a false prophet. It is not until a messenger arrives with news that King Polybus of Corinth (his supposed father) has died of natural causes that a horrified Oedipus finally solves the mystery of his birth. In a moment of recognition, he realizes that he has not only killed his own father but has also married his own mother (with whom he has had four children). When Jocasta learns the horrible truth, she hangs herself in the very chamber where she and her son have unknowingly committed incest. Seizing the brooches from her dress, Oedipus blinds himself.

Detective, murderer, judge, and jury, Oedipus condemns himself to wander in darkness throughout the land for the rest of his life.

[edit] Sophocles' Antigone

When Oedipus stepped down as King of Thebes, he gave the kingdom to his two sons, Eteocles and Polynices, who both agreed to alternate the throne every year. However, they showed no concern for their father, who cursed them for their negligence. After the first year, Eteocles refused to step down and Polynices attacked Thebes with his supporters (as portrayed in the Seven Against Thebes by Aeschylus and the Phoenician Women by Euripides). Both brothers died in the battle. King Creon, who ascended to the throne of Thebes, decreed that Polynices was not to be buried. Antigone, his sister, defied the order, but was caught. Creon decreed that she was to be buried alive, this in spite of her betrothal to his son Haemon. Antigone's sister, Ismene, then declared she had aided Antigone and wanted the same fate. The gods, through the blind prophet Tiresias, expressed their disapproval of Creon's decision, which convinced him to rescind his order, and he went to bury Polynices himself. However, Antigone had already hanged herself rather than be buried alive. When Creon arrived at the tomb where she was to be interred, Haemon attacked him and then killed himself. When Creon's wife, Eurydice, was informed of their deaths, she too took her own life.

[edit] Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus

Oedipus becomes a wanderer, pursued by Creon and his men. He finally finds refuge at the holy wilderness right outside of Athens, where it is said that Theseus took care of him and his daughter, Antigone. He died a peaceful death and his grave is said to be sacred to the gods.

[edit] Aeschylus' Seven Against Thebes

Seven Against Thebes follows a similar plot to Antigone. When Oedipus stepped down as King of Thebes, he gave the kingdom to his two sons, Eteocles and Polynices, who agreed to alternate the throne every year. After the first year, Eteocles refused to step down and Polynices attacked Thebes with his supporters (the eponymous Seven against Thebes). The two brothers killed each other in single combat. Their maternal uncle, King Creon, who had ascended to the throne of Thebes, decreed that Polynices is not to be buried.

Due to the popularity of Sophocles's Antigone, the ending of Seven Against Thebes was rewritten about fifty years after Aeschylus's death. Where the play (and the trilogy of which it is the last volume) was meant to end with somber mourning for the dead brothers, it instead contains the ending where Antigone, their sister, defied the order and buries her brother. Antigone is ordered to be buried alive so she hangs herself rather than be buried alive.

[edit] Euripedes' Phoenissae and Chrysippus

In the beginning of Euripedes' Phoenissae, Jocasta recalls the story of Oedipus. Generally, the play weaves together the plots of the Seven Against Thebes and Antigone. The play differs from other tales two major respects. First, it describes in detail why Laius and Oedipus had a feud. Laius ordered Oedipus out of the road so his chariot could pass, but proud Oedipus refused to move. Second, in the play Jocasta does not kill herself.

In Chrysippus, Euripedes develops backstory on the curse. He writes that Laius kidnapped and raped Chrysippus and was being punished.

[edit] Later Additions

In the 2nd cenruty B.C.E., Apollodorus writes down an actual riddle for the Sphinx while borrowing the poetry of Hesiod:

What is that which has one voice and yet becomes four-footed and two-footed and three-footed?^[18]

Written on the Sphinx in Egypt were its three names "Kheperi", "Re, and "Atum". Each name was for a different time of day- morning, noon and night.

This may have contributed to the modern memory of the riddle.

[edit] Interpretation

Oedipus' exposure as a baby reflects the common mythological motif of the lost prince, in which a prince is exposed to die, miraculously survives, kills an enemy (in this case, the Sphinx), and then becomes king after all. Another myth involving this motif is the one of Romulus and Remus.

The Oedipus myth shows evidence of matrilineality. The throne of Thebes is inherited through the female line: After Laius's death, it is inherited by the queen's new husband, rather than by a son, brother or uncle of Laius. After the deaths of Oedipus' sons, the throne is inherited by the queen's brother.

[edit] The Oedipus Complex

Main article: Oedipus complex

Sigmund Freud used the name The Oedipus complex to explain the origin of certain neuroses in childhood. It is defined as a male child's unconscious desire for the exclusive love of his mother. This desire includes jealousy towards the father and the unconscious wish for that parent's death.

Oedipus himself, as portrayed in the myth, did in no way suffer from this neurosis - at least, not towards Jocasta, whom he only met as an adult. (If anything, such feelings would have been directed at Merope - but there is no hint of that). However, Freud reasoned that the ancient Greek audience, which heard the story told or saw the plays based on it, did know that Oedipus was actually killing his father and marrying his mother; the story being continually told and played therefore reflected a preoccupation with the theme.

[edit] In popular culture

The Oedipus Trilogy has been referenced in countless works throughout Western Civilization. It would be outside the scope of an encyclopedia to offer a comprehensive listing of all the homages and retellings. Here are a few of the more notable occurances:

• An episode of Animaniacs is based on the story of Oedipus.
• The Steven Berkoff play Greek is a modern appropriation of the story of Oedipus.
• The German movie Ödipussi (starring Loriot) features a man who is still dependent on his mother even as a middle-aged man - until he falls in love.
• Jason Wishnow created a movie of the Oedipus story,[1] performed by vegetables, which has been screened at a number of film festivals, including the Sundance Film Festival, where it received its world premier. The movie also features the voice of Billy Dee Williams as the bartender.
• The song "The End" by the American rock group The Doors makes allusions to a man who desires to kill his father and then have sex with his mother.
• In the song "Tiny Sick Tears" (a vague musical homage to 96 Tears), Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention offer a retake of the aforementioned segment of "The End".
• Oedipus makes a brief appearance in History of the World, Part I. He is supposedly blind, yet he recognizes Josephus (Gregory Hines). He greets Josephus, to which Josephus replies tounge-in-cheek, "What's up, mother fucker." The events of The Roman Empire would not have coincided (in place or time) with those of the life of Oedipus.
• The Haruki Murakami novel Kafka on the Shore features a protagonist with an oedipal prophecy, although the plot plays out much differently than the Greek story.
• In the British sitcom Green Wing, two characters, Kim Alabaster and Naughty Rachel both read books about Oedipus, as a way of mocking their boss Joanna Clore who unknowingly slept with her son Guy Secretan.
• Peter Schickele, in his alias as P. D. Q. Bach, created the humorous oratorio Oedipus Tex, a western setting of the story.
• In 2006 the musical parody Oedipus for Kids came out.
• In the popular American series The Simpsons, Homer has a dream where Bart has hunted him down and married his wife after learning about Oedipus from Lisa.
• Tom Lehrer's song "Oedipus Rex" is a humorous retelling of the story of Oedipus.
• In the Hercules: The Legendary Journeys episode "Rebel With a Cause," Oedipus is seen being saved by Hercules.
• The film Minority Report contains numerous references to Oedipus' storyline and characters.
• Regina Spektor (American/Russian singer/songwriter) wrote and performed a song called "Oedipus".
• The Kannada (Indian) movie Ranganayaki, directed by Puttanna Kanagal, revolves around the story of a young man who (unknowingly) falls in love with his mother. His parents would have separated soon after his birth, and he would have never seen or known his mother.
• In an episode of Disney's Hercules: The Animated Series Hercules finds the Sphinx which asks the riddle: "A man does it standing up, a woman does it sitting down, and a dog does it on three legs." Though a crude answer may seem obvious to viewers, the true answer is: "Shake Hands."
• The popular Back to the Future series plays with the theme in a light-hearted way, having the teenage hero travel back in time to when his mother was of the same age, whereupon she falls in love with him - but he takes care that she would turn to his future father instead, as otherwise he would annul his own existence.
• Science Fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein, in his novel Time Enough for Love, has a protagonist who goes back in time, falls in love with his mother (and vice versa) and begins an intensive affair with her, feeling only slightly guilty about it.
• In Woody Allen's Mighty Aphrodite, Laius (played by David Ogden Stiers), Jocasta (played by Olympia Dukakis) and Oedipus (who does not speak, played by Jeffrey Kurland wandering around blindly wearing a mask) appear to comment on Lenny Weinrib's (Allen) story. Jocasta comments, "I hate to tell you what they call my son in Harlem." During the end credits, Oedipus greedily necks with his mother.
• In Eugene O'Neill's play "Mourning Becomes Electra" (itself a retelling of the Oedipus trilogy), the oedipus complex is a major underlying theme.
• In the popular movie Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Bill and Ted meet Sigmund Freud and Bill says he has a minor Oedipal complex.
• An interesting combination of gospel music and ancient Greek tragic theatre resulted in the television movie called The Gospel at Colonus, featuring Jevetta Steele and Morgan Freeman.
• Billy Joe Shaver set the story in the American west in the song "Aunt Jessie's Chicken Ranch."
• The song "One Day Women Will All Become Monsters" by Chiodos is based on the legend of Oedipus
• "Planes, Trains, and Plantains" is an essay on Oedipus presented purely for humor. The way it is written makes it appear as if the paper had been graded by a teacher. In the paper, the writer relates Oedipus to Lou Gehrig and Dr. Dre.

[edit] References

• Dallas, Ian, Oedipus and Dionysus, Freiburg Press, Granada 1991. ISBN 1-874216-02-9.
• Graves, Robert, The Greek Myths

[edit] Notes

[edit] See also

• Antigone
• Epigoni
• Oedipus the King
• Oedipus at Colonus
• Oedipus rex (Opera)
• Oedipus complex
• Watu Gunung