1. Oedipus Prequel
Students will take notes on the background story of Oedipus in order to determine the Greek’s beliefs about destiny and prophecy.

2. Laius and Jocasta, the king and queen of Thebes, are unable to get pregnant, so Laius decides to consult the Oracle at Delphi.

3. The Oracle tells Laius that his son will grow up to kill him and marry Jocasta. Laius decides right then and there that his sexual relationship with Jocasta will end because he does not want to die. However, Laius gets drunk one night (Jocasta’s doing, perhaps?) and nine months later, a son is born to the not-so-proud parents.

4. Messenger from Corinth
Laius takes the infant, drives a stake through his ankles, and gives the baby to a shepherd with the instructions to expose the infant (leave the baby alone, subject to the elements of nature, to die) on the mountains. The shepherd pities the child so when he meets up with another shepherd from the town of Corinth on the mountainside of Cithaeron, he gives the child to him.
Messenger from Thebes
Messenger from Corinth

5. This Corinthian shepherd takes the baby to his childless king and queen (Polybus and Merope) who happily adopt the infant as their own. They remove the stake from his ankles and give him the name Oedipus which means “swollen foot.” He will forever walk with a limp and a cane due to this childhood injury.
Oedipus means “Swollen foot/ankle”
From Prince of Thebes to Prince of Corinth

6. You’re a bastard, Oedipus!
Years pass blissfully until one night when Oedipus is about 18. A drunken party guest calls Oedipus a “bastard” and accuses him of not being a true prince of Corinth. Oedipus questions Polybus and Merope about this accusation, but they tell him to ignore such slanderous words. This does not satisfy Oedipus’s curiosity, so he goes to the Oracle at Delphi (sound familiar?).
You’re a bastard, Oedipus!

7. The Oracle refuses to answer his question about his parentage but does inform him that he is destined to kill his father and sleep with his mother! Horrified by this news, Oedipus decides NEVER to return to Corinth. On his way from the Oracle, at the place where three roads meet (the roads leading from Corinth, Delphi, and Thebes), he encounters an entourage of men who try to drive him off of the road.

8. Laius, who is on the way to the Oracle himself, is traveling incognito with only a few men and no royal flag. Oedipus refuses to give way to this entourage since he is a prince! So he kills all of them (the first episode of road rage?) Or so he thinks…

9. Meanwhile, back in Thebes, the evil Sphinx, a winged female monster, takes the town hostage. During its control, the Sphinx lands on the walls of Thebes and asks young men riddles. If the men answer incorrectly, the Sphinx kills them. The people of Thebes become desperate to end the Sphinx’s reign of terror.

10. The people of Thebes become desperate to end the Sphinx’s reign of terror. So Creon, Jocasta’s brother and regent of Thebes, makes a desperate proclamation: Whoever can solve the riddle of the Sphinx will get the throne of Thebes and the hand of Jocasta. (There had been news of Laius’ death from the one man who escaped the quarrel with Oedipus.)

11. So what was this riddle which no one could answer
So what was this riddle which no one could answer? “What goes on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three in the evening?” Being uniquely qualified to answer this question due to his childhood injury, Oedipus, who happened to be travelling along the road to Thebes, solved the riddle causing the Sphinx to kill herself.

12. All of Thebes celebrate this “stranger” to the town
All of Thebes celebrate this “stranger” to the town. Oedipus becomes king, and he marries the lovely, yet much older, Jocasta (that oracle from long ago is fulfilled with this union). Everything is wonderful for a while. Oedipus and Jocasta have four children, two boys and two girls. Peace and tranquility reign over the land until a plague hits the city
Queen Jocasta
(Mom)
King Oedipus
(Son)