The Pre-Oedipus Story
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Transcript The Pre-Oedipus Story
“Riddle me this, riddle me that…”
Who: Laius, King of Thebes and his wife, Jocasta
What: A prophecy
Where: Greece, in the city of Thebes
When: A very long time ago
Why: A curse? The gods? Fate?
Meet Queen Jocasta and King Lauis
Their 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-theshepherd-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 overindulged tells
Oedipus that
Polybus and
Picture of Greek dancers from the side of a vase
http://www.bencourtney.com/ebooks/dance/
Merope are
not his real
parents…
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 Merope
That he is the real son of Laius and Jocasta
Therefore, going back to Corinth would be the better
idea
Going 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://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oedipus
_und_die_Sphinx_(Gustave_Moreau).jpg
http://www.oceansbridge.com/oilpaintings/product/69814/oedipusexplainstheriddleofthesphinx
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)
http://www.vroma.org/~ara
ia/lachesis.html
Whose fault is it?
Laius?
Jocasta?
Oedipus?
Fate?
http://www.deathdyinggriefandmourning.com/Death-&-DyingImages%201-20/8-b-Oedipus-&-Jocasta.jpg
http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Mythology/AntigoneOedipusCFJalabea
t.html