Edipo era un rey mítico de Tebas, hijo de Layo y Yocasta que, sin saberlo, mató a su propio padre y desposó a su madre.
Edipo era el hijo del rey de Tebas y al nacer, el Oráculo de Delfos auguró a su padre, Layo, que el niño, una vez adulto, le daría muerte y desposaría a su mujer. Layo, queriendo evitar tal destino, ordenó a un súbdito que matara a Edipo al nacer. Apiadado de él, en vez de matarlo, el súbdito lo abandonó en el monte Citerón, colgado de un árbol por los pies, los cuales perforó. Un pastor halló el bebé y lo entregó al rey Pólibo de Corinto. Peribea o Mérope, la esposa de Pólibo y reina de Corinto, se encargó de la crianza del bebé, llamándolo Edipo, que significa ‘de pies hinchados’ por haber estado colgado. Al llegar a la adolescencia, Edipo, por habladurías de sus compañeros de juegos, sospechó que no era hijo de sus pretendidos padres. Para salir de dudas visitó el Oráculo de Delfos, que le auguró que mataría a su padre y luego desposaría a su madre. Edipo, creyendo que sus padres eran quienes lo habían criado, decidió no regresar nunca a Corinto para huir de su destino. Emprende un viaje y, en el camino hacia Tebas, Edipo encuentra a Layo en una encrucijada, discuten por la preferencia de paso y lo mata sin saber que era el rey de Tebas, y su propio padre. Más tarde Edipo encuentra a la esfinge, un monstruo que daba muerte a todo aquel que no pudiera adivinar sus acertijos, atormentando al reino de Tebas. A la pregunta de «¿cuál es el ser vivo que camina a cuatro patas al alba, con dos al mediodía y con tres al atardecer?», Edipo respondió correctamente que es el hombre, La explicación consiste en esto: La mañana, la tarde y la noche traducen las etapas de la vida. El día o comienzo de la vida muestra al bebe gateando en cuatro pies o patas, la tarde o mitad de la vida es la adultez del ser humano caminando en dos pies y la noche o final de la vida muestra al anciano con un bastón o sea en tres pies. Había también otro acertijo: «Son dos hermanas, una de las cuales engendra a la otra y, a su vez, es engendrada por la primera». Edipo contestó: el día y la noche. Furiosa, la Esfinge se suicida lanzándose al vacío y Edipo es nombrado el salvador de Tebas. Como premio, Edipo es nombrado rey y se casa con la viuda de Layo, Yocasta, su verdadera madre. Tendrá con ella cuatro hijos: Polinices, Eteocles, Ismena y Antígona y los dos hermanos se enfrentarían más tarde entre ellos a muerte por el trono tebano. Al poco, una terrible plaga cae sobre la ciudad (la peste), ya que el asesino de Layo no ha pagado por su crimen y contamina con su presencia a toda la ciudad. Edipo emprende las averiguaciones para descubrir el culpable, y gracias a Tiresias descubre que en realidad es hijo de Yocasta y Layo y que es él mismo el asesino que anda buscando. Al saber Yocasta que Edipo era en realidad su hijo, se da muerte, colgándose en el palacio. Horrorizado, Edipo se quita los ojos con los broches del vestido de Yocasta en señal de la ceguera que siente por no haber visto la realidad antes y ordena a Creonte, que lo expulse de la ciudad. Sólo su hija y hermana Antígona le guía por donde tiene que caminar. La obra concluye con el coro, que advierte a los espectadores: "Que a nadie se le tenga por dichoso hasta que muera...". Oedipus (pronounced /ˈɛdɨpəs/ in American English and /ˈiːdɨpəs/ in British English; Greek: Οἰδίπους Oidípous meaning "swollen-footed") was a mythical Greekking of Thebes. He fulfilled a prophecy that said he would kill his father and marry his mother, and thus brought disaster on his city and family. This legend has been retold in many versions, and was used by Sigmund Freud to name the Oedipus complex. Oedipus was the son of Laius and Jocasta, king and queen of Thebes. After having been married some time without children, his parents consulted the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi about their childlessness. The Oracle prophesied that if Laius should have a son, the son would kill him and marry Jocasta. In an attempt to prevent this prophecy's fulfillment, when Jocasta indeed bore a son, Laius had his ankles pinned together so that he could not crawl, and gave the boy to a servant to abandon ("expose") on the nearby mountain. However, rather than leave the child to die of exposure, as Laius intended, the sympathetic servant passed the baby onto a shepherd from Corinth. Oedipus the infant eventually comes to the house of Polybus, king of Corinth and his queen, Merope, who adopt him as they are without children of their own. Little Oedipus/Oidipous is named after the swelling from the injuries to his feet and ankles. The word edema (American English) or oedema (British English) is from this same Greek word for swelling: οἴδημα, or oedēma. Many years later, Oedipus is told by a drunk that Polybus is not his real father but when he asks his parents, they deny it. Oedipus seeks counsel from the same Delphic Oracle. The Oracle does not tell him the identity of his true parents but instead tells him that he is destined to kill his father and marry his mother. In his attempt to avoid the fate predicted by the Oracle, he decides to not return home to Corinth. Since it is near to Delphi, Oedipus decides to go to Thebes. As Oedipus travels he comes to the place where three roads meet, Davlia. Here he encounters a chariot, driven by his (unrecognized) birth-father, King Laius. They fight over who has the right to go first and Oedipus kills Laius in self defense, unwittingly fulfilling part of the prophecy. The only witness of the king's death was a slave who fled from a caravan of slaves also travelling on the road. Continuing his journey to Thebes, Oedipus encounters a Sphinx which would stop all those who traveled to Thebes and ask them a riddle. If the travelers were unable to answer correctly, they were eaten by the sphinx; if they were successful, they would be able to continue their journey. The riddle was: "What walks on four feet in the morning, two in the afternoon and three at night?". Oedipus answers: "Man; as an infant, he crawls on all fours, as an adult, he walks on two legs and, in old age, he relies on a walking stick". Oedipus was the first to answer the riddle correctly. Having heard Oedipus' answer, the Sphinx is astounded and inexplicably kills itself, freeing Thebes. Grateful, the people of Thebes appoint Oedipus as their king and give him the recently widowed Queen Jocasta's hand in marriage. (The people of Thebes believed her husband had been killed while on a search for the answer to the Sphinx's riddle. They had no idea who the killer was.) The marriage of Oedipus and Jocasta fulfilled the rest of the prophecy. Oedipus and Jocasta have four children: two sons, Polynices and Eteocles (see Seven Against Thebes), and two daughters, Antigone and Ismene. Many years after the marriage of Oedipus and Jocasta, a plague of infertility strikes the city of Thebes; crops no longer grow to harvest and women do not bear children. Oedipus, in his hubris, asserts that he will end the pestilence. He sends Creon, Jocasta's brother, to the Oracle at Delphi, seeking guidance. When Creon returns, Oedipus hears that the murderer of the former King Laius must be found and either be killed or exiled. In a search for the identity of the killer, Oedipus follows Creon's suggestion and sends for the blind prophet, Tiresias, who warns him not to try to find the killer. In a heated exchange, Tiresias is provoked into exposing Oedipus himself as the killer, and the fact that Oedipus is living in shame because he does not know who his true parents are. Oedipus blames Creon for Tiresias telling Oedipus that he was the killer. Oedipus and Creon begin a heated argument. Jocasta enters and tries to calm Oedipus. She tries to comfort him by telling him about her old husband and his supposed death. Oedipus becomes unnerved as he begins to think that he might have killed Laius and so brought about the plague. Suddenly, a messenger arrives from Corinth with the news that King Polybus has died and that the people of Corinth would have Oedipus as their king. Oedipus is relieved concerning the prophecy, for it could no longer be fulfilled if Polybus, whom he thinks is his father, is now dead. Nonetheless, he is wary while his mother lives and does not wish to go. To ease the stress of the matter, the messenger then reveals that Oedipus was, in fact, adopted. Jocasta, finally realizing Oedipus' true identity, begs him to abandon his search for Laius' murderer. Oedipus misunderstands the motivation of her pleas, thinking that she was ashamed of him because he might have been the son of a slave. She then goes into the palace where she hangs herself. Oedipus seeks verification of the messenger's story from the very same herdsman who was supposed to have left Oedipus to die as a baby. From the herdsman, Oedipus learns that the infant raised as the adopted son of Polybus and Merope was the son of Laius and Jocasta. Thus, Oedipus finally realizes in great agony that so many years ago, at the place where three roads meet, he had killed his own father, King Laius, and as consequence, married his mother, Jocasta. Oedipus goes in search of Jocasta and finds she has killed herself. Taking two pins from her dress, Oedipus gouges his eyes out. Oedipus asks Creon to look after his daughters, for his sons are old and mature enough to look after themselves, and to be allowed to touch them one last time before he is exiled. His daughter Antigone acts as his guide as he wanders blindly through the country, ultimately dying at Colonus after being placed under the protection of Athens by King Theseus. His two sons, Eteocles and Polynices, arrange to share the kingdom, each taking an alternating one-year reign. However, Eteocles refuses to cede his throne after his year as king. Polynices brings in an army to oust Eteocles from his position, and a battle ensues. At the end of the battle, the brothers kill each other. Jocasta's brother, Creon, takes the throne. He decides that Polynices was a "traitor," and should not be given burial rites. Defying this edict, Antigone attempts to bury her brother and, for this trespass, Creon has her buried in a rock cavern where she hangs herself. There are many different endings to the legend of Oedipus due to its oral tradition. Significant variations on the legend of Oedipus are mentioned in fragments by several ancient Greek poets includingHomer, Hesiod and Pindar. Most of what is known of Oedipus comes from the set of Theban plays by Sophocles: Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone.
