What really happened to Oedipus? - Stephen Esposito

Though Oedipus would dodge death, vanquish the monstrous Sphinx, and whether wrathful plagues, the truth would prove his greatest challenger. When Oedipus’ mother, Queen Jocasta of Thebes, gave birth to him, a grim heir seized the occasion. Her husband, King Laius, had received a prophecy from Apollo’s oracle foretelling that he would die at the hands of his own son.

Determined to escape this fate, Laius had the newborn’s ankles pierced, and Jocasta ordered a shepherd to abandon him on Mount Cithaeron to perish. But divine prophecies can be quite stubborn. The shepherd took pity on the baby and gave him to to another shepherd— this one from Corinth. He decided to bring the baby to the childless Corinthian king and queen,

Polybus and Merope. They called the boy Oedipus, or “swollen-foot,” and raised him as their own, never revealing his true origin. Years passed, till one night, a drunken reveler told Oedipus that he was not Polybus and Merope’s son by birth— an allegation they staunchly denied. But the seeds of doubt burrowed into Oedipus’ mind.

He left to seek counsel from Apollo’s oracle at Delphi, who instead delivered a deeply disturbing prophecy: Oedipus would murder his father and have children with his mother. Horrified, Oedipus determined to stay far from Corinth and the only parents he’d ever known. He ventured towards Thebes— and thus, unwittingly, towards the city where his birth parents reigned.

At a crossroads on the way, a fancy carriage threatened to run Oedipus off the road, and a lethal fight ensued. Little did Oedipus know, one of the casualties was King Laius of Thebes, his own birth father. In killing him, Oedipus had fulfilled the first half of Apollo’s prophecy. When Oedipus reached the gates of Thebes, he was met by the treacherous Sphinx.