| Outline of Sophocles' Oedipus the King | 380-461 Oedipus alleges that Creon and Tiresias are conspiring against him. Tiresias tells Oedipus to learn the truth about his parents and then forecasts Oedipus' downfall. | 462-531 Creon, talking with the Chorus, denies the charges of collusion with Tiresias. |
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How does Oedipus find out the truth?
Oedipus finds out from
a messenger that Polybus, king of Corinth
, Oedipus' father, has died of old age. … Oedipus becomes determined to track down the shepherd and learn the truth of his birth. Suddenly terrified, Jocasta begs him to stop, and then runs off to the palace, wild with grief.
Who first told Oedipus the truth?
A boy leads in the blind
prophet Tiresias
. Oedipus begs him to reveal who Laius's murderer is, but Tiresias answers only that he knows the truth but wishes he did not. Puzzled at first, then angry, Oedipus insists that Tiresias tell Thebes what he knows.
Who tells Oedipus the truth about his father?
Oedipus learns that he is not the son of the King of Corinth but a Theban.
The Royal Theban Shepherd
(who gave Oedipus to the Royal Corinthian Shepherd) is summoned and tells Oedipus who his parents really are. (Powell, p. 478).
Why did Oedipus sleep with his mother?
He decided to leave Corinth for Delphi, so he could learn of his parentage at the oracle of Apollo.
There he was given the news that he would kill his father and sleep
with his mother. To prevent the oracle from coming true, Oedipus went to Thebes.
Did Jocasta know Oedipus was her son?
Though named after Sophocles' Jocasta, she did not experience this complex. Though she is in love with Oedipus,
she does not know at the time of their marriage that he is her son
. … It is most likely that Jocasta is just as innocent as Oedipus, and she does not consciously know that he is her son.
Why is Laius cursed?
Laius is cursed in Oedipus Rex
because he defiled the hospitality extended by King Pelops
.
Why did Oedipus curse his sons?
Euripides contended that Oedipus's sons, Eteocles and Polyneices, imprisoned him when they grew to adulthood. They had hoped that their fortunes would remain intact if the crime and scandal were forgotten. … When
his two sons (and brothers) refused to oppose his exile
, the departing Oedipus cursed them.
Why Oedipus killed his father?
Why did Oedipus kill his father? Laius was doomed from the start. Having broken the strict code of Greek hospitality, he had already earned the anger of the gods.
When a prophecy told him that he would be punished for his crime
, he tried to escape punishment rather than repent.
Why does Oedipus choose to blind himself?
Oedipus acknowledges that
his hubris has left him blind to the truth
and is too ashamed of himself to witness the citizens' reactions. Overall, Oedipus chooses stab out his eyes as a way of punishing himself for his hubris and ignorance.
Who found Oedipus as a baby?
When a baby comes along, the king pierces his ankles and leaves him on a mountainside to die.
A shepherd
finds the baby, though, and takes him to King Polybus and Queen Merope of Corinth, who name him Oedipus and raise him as their own.
Is Jocasta Oedipus mother?
Oedipus solved the riddle, and the Sphinx killed herself. In reward, he received the throne of Thebes and the hand of the
widowed queen
, his mother, Jocasta. They had four children: Eteocles, Polyneices, Antigone, and Ismene.
What is it called when a boy is in love with his mother?
In psychoanalytic theory,
the Oedipus complex
refers to the child's desire for sexual involvement with the opposite sex parent, particularly a boy's erotic attention to his mother. … The Oedipal complex occurs in the phallic stage of psychosexual development between the ages of three and five.
What is it called when a mother is in love with her son?
In psychoanalytic theory,
the Jocasta complex
is the incestuous sexual desire of a mother towards her son.
Is the Oedipus complex a real thing?
Freud used the term “Oedipus complex” to describe a child's desire for their opposite-sex parent and feelings of envy, jealousy, resentment, and competition with the same-sex parent. It's important to note that
there's very little evidence that the Oedipus (or Electra) complex is real
.
How did Jocasta find out Oedipus was her son?
Before the messenger's arrival, Jocasta thought that her son – the son prophesied to kill his father – was dead. … The Corinthian messenger tells Oedipus and Jocasta that he found Oedipus as a baby on Mt. Cithaeron while
he was herding sheep
. Because the baby's feet were bound and swollen, he named him Oedipus.
