“Riddle me this, riddle me that…”

Who: Laius, King of Thebes and his wife, Jocasta

What: A prophecyWhere: Greece, in the city of ThebesWhen: A very long time agoWhy: A curse? The gods? Fate?

Meet Queen Jocasta and King LauisTheir 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-the-shepherd-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 over-

indulged

tells

Oedipus

that Polybus

and Merope

are not his

real

parents…

Picture of Greek dancers from the side of a vasehttp://www.bencourtney.com/ebooks/dance/

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

MeropeThat he is the real son of Laius and JocastaTherefore, going back to Corinth would be the

better ideaGoing 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://www.oceansbridge.com/oil-paintings/product/69814/oedipusexplainstheriddleofthesphinx

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oedipus_und_die_Sphinx_(Gustave_Moreau).jpg

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)

Whose fault is it? Laius? Jocasta? Oedipus? Fate?

http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Mythology/AntigoneOedipusCFJalabeat.html

http://www.deathdyinggriefandmourning.com/Death-&-Dying-Images%201-20/8-b-Oedipus-&-Jocasta.jpg

http://www.vroma.org/~araia/lachesis.html