Oedipus

Oedipus was a legendary Greek king of Thebes whose story embodies one of the most tragic tales in Greek mythology. His name (pronounced /ˈiːdɪpəs/ or /ˈɛdəpəs/) derives from Ancient Greek "Οἰδίπους," meaning "swollen foot." Oedipus was born to King Laius and Queen Jocasta of Thebes. Attempting to prevent a prophecy, Laius ordered a servant to abandon the infant on a mountainside. However, the compassionate shepherd passed the baby to another shepherd, who gave him to King Polybus and Queen Merope of Corinth, who raised him as their own son.

As a young man, Oedipus learned from the Delphic oracle that he was destined to kill his father and marry his mother. Believing Polybus and Merope were his true parents, he fled Corinth to avoid this fate. During his journey, he encountered and killed an older man in a dispute—unknowingly slaying his biological father, Laius.

Arriving at Thebes, Oedipus discovered the city plagued by the Sphinx. He defeated the monster by solving its riddle, earning him the vacant throne and the hand of the widowed queen—his biological mother, Jocasta.

Years later, while investigating a plague afflicting Thebes, Oedipus discovered the truth of his parentage and his unwitting crimes. Upon this revelation, Jocasta hanged herself, and Oedipus blinded himself with pins from her dress.

The Oedipus legend has been retold throughout history and was used by Sigmund Freud as the mythological foundation for the Oedipus complex in psychoanalytic theory.