Oedipus

King Laius was told by a prophet that the child born to him and his wife, Queen Jocasta, would kill him.  When Laius had a child, because of the prophet, he decided to pierce the baby's ankles with a spike and tie them together.  He then told a servant to leave him on Mount Cithaeron to die.

A shepherd from Corinth found the baby and named him Oedipus, which means "swollen foot."   The shepherd took him to Corinth.  There he was raised by King Polybus and his queen, Menape, as their son.

After Oedipus had grown, he heard the prophecy that he would kill his father, and that he would also marry his mother.  Frightened for the security of the people that he believed were his parents, Oedipus decided to leave Corinth.

When Oedipus arrived at a road outside of Delphi, he found Laius and four other men riding in a chariot.  They all started arguing who would go first in the road.  In the fight,  Oedipus killed Laius and three of the others.

Laius had been on his way to find help from the Oracle at Delphi in ridding the city of the Sphinx.  The Sphinx was a monster with a woman's head, eagle's wings, lion's body, and a serpent's tail.  She was at a spot near Thebes, and she asked every traveler who passed by a riddle:  What walks on four feet in the morning, two at noon, and three in the evening?  If a traveler could not answer, she would eat him.

Oedipus, who was already on the road from Delphi, saw the Sphinx.  She asked him about the riddle.  Oedipus answered, "Man, who crawls on all fours in childhood, walks on two feet when grown, and uses a staff when old.  The Sphinx was mortified by his correct answer and killed herself.

When the citizens of Thebes heard the news of the Sphinx, they proclaimed Oedipus their king.  He married the recently widowed queen, Jocasta, who he didn't know was his natural mother.

Many years later, Oedipus learned the truth.  In shame and horror, he put out both of his eyes, and he walked the earth as a beggar for the rest of his life.

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