Encyclopedia entry: Oedipus

Oedipus ( Oidipous , ‘swollen-foot’), in Greek myth, the son of Laius , king of Thebes. When Amphion and Zethus gained possession of Thebes (see ANTIOPE ), Laius had taken refuge with Pelops , but had carried off his host's son Chrȳsippus. The god Apollo warned him that, as punishment, if he fathered a son that son would kill him. Laius recovered his kingdom after the death of Amphion and Zethus, and married Jocasta (Epicastē in Homer). Accordingly, when a son was born, he was given to a servant to expose on Mount Cithaeron, his feet having been transfixed by a spike. Instead the servant gave him to a shepherd who brought him to Polybus, king of Corinth, and ...

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