12. Oedipus was born in the city of Thebes to Laius and Jocasta . Son of cowardly, but royal, parents who sent him off with a servant who had orders for him to be left for dead; the servant gave Oedipus to the King and Queen of Corinth to raise.
13. The Oracle foretold that Laius would die by his son’s hand. Laius’s Grave Fast forward after a good childhood in Corinth… Oedipus leaves Corinth after learning that he will kill his father and marry his mother . Again Enter the Oracle…
14. What Happens Next? Oedipus, while walking to Thebes, runs into an old man with a gang blocking the road, whom he kills in self-defense. When he gets to Thebes, he wins the battle of logic against the Sphinx guarding the city, is proclaimed a hero and marries a wife. His wife’s name…. The man he killed….
15. Before Oedipus learns of this… Oedipus and Jocasta have four children, two boys (Polynieces and Eteocles) and two girls (Antigone and Ismene) --- One Big, Happy Family Oedipus becomes King and rules Thebes. And then, a prophet tells Oedipus that his parents in Corinth weren’t his real parents. He decides to find out who his real parents are…
16. Tragedy Strikes the Oedipus Clan Oedipus finds out that his parents were really King and Queen of Thebes… (the man he just killed/woman he married) Jocasta commits suicide (by hanging) after finding that the servant betrayed her wishes so long ago… Oedipus, after finding Jocasta dead, scratches out his eyes out with the pins from her dress… Creon, Jocasta’s brother, takes over rule of Thebes and Oedipus is cast out of Thebes… After years of roaming Greece blind and poor, Oedipus dies, by rule of the gods, in the city of Colonus.
17. Oedipus’s sons come to him before his death to find out who should rightfully rule Thebes. Oedipus curses them both for being greedy and asks the Gods to take his life. Soon, Polynieces and Eteocles return to Thebes and fight over who should rule. Polynieces is sent out, while Eteocles stays to guard the city. Polynieces goes to Argos and raises an army to attack Thebes’s seven gates into the city. Eteocles rushes to one of the gates to defend Thebes, where he unknowingly battles his brother… Tragedy Continues…
