by Bonnie L

Created on: May 10, 2007   Last Updated: May 12, 2007

The story of Oedipus' marriage to his own mother is well-known thanks to Freud's interpretation of a son's jealous love for his mother.

However, the story of Oedipus is not about incest, but about prophecy. Briefly, Oedipus' mother and father heard a prophecy at his birth that he would grow up to kill his father (King Laius of Thebes). Oedipus is then left for dead in the woods, but is actually adopted by a shepherd. When he is grown, he also hears a prophecy stating that he is to "mate with his mother and shed with his own hands the blood of his sire (father)". In order to prevent this, he leaves his adopted parents and sets out towards Thebes. On the road, he quarrels with a man and kills him. This man is King Laius, his real father. He also comes across the Sphinx, whose riddle he answers correctly, therefore earning the hand in marriage of Queen Jocasta of Thebes: his real mother. Both prophecies have come true.

In Oedipus Rex, the play by Sophocles, Oedipus is king of Thebes, married to his mother, but is unaware who his real parents are. He swears to hunt down Lauis' murderer and exile him, to save Thebes from a plague sent by the gods in punishment. Tiresias the prophet is called on to help, but warns Oedipus not to follow through with the investigation. Oedipus in turn accuses him of the murder. When Polybus, Oedipus' adopted father, dies, in the resulting discussion Jocasta guesses who Oedipus is and hangs herself. Upon finding her body, Oedipus blinds himself with her brooch pins and commits himself to exile, as he has promised to Thebes.

From both of these stories, it is evident that Oedipus has been the pawn of the gods. If we are to believe the story, then oracles, or prophets, were the messengers of the gods and were taken seriously. The fact the Oedipus' real parents tried to defeat the original prophecy by casting Oedipus out, brought on their punishment. Not only was Laius killed, but a second prophecy, causing Oedipus' incest with his mother, was added and came true. Oedipus himself is then punished for this sin by the plague sent down by the gods, and the turn of events that it causes. Oedipus ends up alone, in exile, and blinded, like the prophet Teresias: an ironic twist.

Even if we choose to believe that the oracles are sensationalists, and prophecy is not real, then the gods have won. In this case, it is the fact that both Oedipus and his parents chose to act on the prophecies that caused them to come true. If Oedipus had never been abandoned as a baby, we don't know what would have happened: he may have grown up safe and never killed his father nor married his mother. However, the fact that his parents believed the gods' message and acted upon it put in motion the chain of events that would eventually lead to the fulfillment of both prophecies: which goes to show that whether you believe in prophecy or not, you cannot beat the gods!

Learn more about this author, Bonnie L.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.