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Taken from a paraphrase in Favorite Greek Myths,Ed. by Bob Blaisdell.Dover Books.
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When Oedipus was born to the king and queen of Thebes,Laius and Jocasta, a prophet announced that the baby would grow up to killhis father and marry his mother.Toavoid such a shocking outcome, King Laius sorrowfully ordered one of hisservants to kill the baby.
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The servant took the baby away, onto a hilltop, buthe could not kill the innocent child.Heleft Oedipus instead with a shepherd, who brought him across the mountainsto the king of Corinth.This kingclaimed the boy and raised him as his own.
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When Oedipus grew to manhood, a prophet warned himthat he would kill his father and marry his mother.Notknowing that he had been adopted, and that his real parents were Jocastaand Laius, Oedipus left the country to avoid committing such crimes.Whilecrossing over the mountain, he fought a caravan of men who tried to forcehim off the road.He killed themall.
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From there, Oedipus came to the outskirts of Thebes,which he did not know was his original country.Thebeswas being menaced then by the Sphinx, who would ask its visitors a riddle.Whenthey could not answer correctly, the Sphinx would kill them.Theriddle was this: What has four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon,and three legs at night?Oedipuswas good at solving riddles and went to the Sphinx, who asked him its question.Oedipusthought for a moment and then answered, A Man!Asa baby he crawls on his hands and knees, as an adult he walks on his twolegs, and as an old man he walks with a cane!TheSphinx, shocked by this mortals correct answer, fell over dead.Asa reward from the Theban people, Oedipus was named King, for the formerking had recently been killed.Hisbride was the queen, Jocasta.
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Several years later, after they had four children,plagues began to destroy the people of Thebes.Oedipusstrove to discover the reason.Aprophecy gave him a hint, that the murderer of the former king, Laius,was living unpunished in Thebes.Untilthis murderer was punished, plagues would sweep the country.
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Oedipus questioned everyone: old servants, his wife,his brother-in-law, and the famous seer Teiresias.Ashe questioned them about the former kings death, he slowly put togetherthe facts, the terrible facts that seemed to point to himself!
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At last, the entire mystery revealed itself to him.Heunderstood who his true parents were Jocasta and Laius.Oneof those men he had killed while crossing over the mountain had been hisfather!He himself had killed Laius!Cursinghis fate that had doomed him to do what he had meant not to do, he blindedhimself, as he could not bear to see the children he had fathered withJocasta, his wife and mother.Jocastafor her part hanged herself.
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Oedipus, in disgrace, left his country, and, as ablind beggar, wandered in the countryside.Oedipuswas the unhappiest man who ever was.Helived in suffering to an old age, accompanied by his daughter Antigone,until the gods, pitying his pain, whisked him off the face of the earthat a sacred place near Athens.
