The exile of oedipus

Plot Overview Antigone Antigone and Ismene, the daughters of Oedipus, discuss the disaster that has just befallen them. Their brothers Polynices and Eteocles have killed one another in a battle for control over Thebes. Creon now rules the city, and he has ordered that Polynices, who brought a foreign army against Thebes, not be allowed proper burial rites. Creon threatens to kill anyone who tries to bury Polynices and stations sentries over his body.

See Article History Oedipus, in Greek mythologythe king of Thebes who unwittingly killed his father and married his mother. Oedipus and the SphinxOedipus and the Sphinx, interior of an Attic red-figured kylix cup or drinking vesselc.

Accordingly, when his wife, Jocasta Iocaste ; in Homer, Epicastebore a son, he had the baby exposed a form of infanticide on Cithaeron.

Oedipus the King, lines 1311–1684

A shepherd took pity on the infant, who was adopted by King Polybus of Corinth and his wife and was brought up as their son. In early manhood Oedipus visited Delphi and upon learning that he was fated to kill his father and marry his mother, he resolved never to return to Corinth.

The blind Oedipus asks Creon to banish him from Thebes. Traveling toward Thebes, he encountered Laius, who provoked a quarrel in which Oedipus killed him.

Oedipus - Greek Mythology Link

Continuing on his way, Oedipus found Thebes plagued by the Sphinxwho put a riddle to all passersby and destroyed those who could not answer. 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, Antigoneand Ismene. Later, when the truth became known, Jocasta committed suicide, and Oedipus according to another versionafter blinding himself, went into exile, accompanied by Antigone and Ismene, leaving his brother-in-law Creon as regent.

ADDITIONAL MEDIA

Oedipus died at Colonus near Athenswhere he was swallowed into the earth and became a guardian hero of the land. Oedipus appears in the folk traditions of AlbaniaFinlandCyprusand Greece. The ancient story has intense dramatic appeal; through Seneca the theme was transmitted to a long succession of playwrights, including Pierre CorneilleJohn Drydenand Voltaire.

Learn More in these related Britannica articles:Creon agrees to exile Oedipus from the city, but tells him that he will only do so if every detail is approved by the gods.

Oedipus embraces the hope of exile, since he believes that, for some reason, the gods want to keep him alive. Oedipus in exile. Oedipus took refuge at Colonus in Attica, where he prayed in the precinct of the EUMENIDES. There he was hospitably received by King Theseus of Athens.

It was while he still was in Colonus that dissension grew between his sons in Thebes. Oedipus (UK: / ˈ iː d ɪ p ə s /, US: / ˈ iː d ə p ə s, ˈ ɛ d ə-/; Greek: Οἰδίπους Oidípous meaning "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes.

A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus accidentally fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby bringing disaster to his city and family.

The blind king then goes into exile with only his daughter, Antigone, to guide him, and eventually dies in the town of Colonus.

Detailed Summary Laius and Jocasta, the king and queen of Thebes, are having no luck conceiving a child.

In Oedipus at Colonus, the loss of home through exile is a metaphor for the breakdown of Theban society. Oedipus’ exile extends beyond his life, affecting even where he can be buried.

The Exile of Oedipus Essays: Over , The Exile of Oedipus Essays, The Exile of Oedipus Term Papers, The Exile of Oedipus Research Paper, Book Reports. ESSAYS, term and research papers available for UNLIMITED access.