Apollonius Rhodius Ἀπολλώνιος Ῥόδιος (born 295 BC), “Argonautica: The Voyage of the Argo”, an ancient Greek mythological travelogue was the topic of an earlier blog post.
Homer ( Ὅμηρος ), “The Odyssey: The Voyage of Odysseus ( Ὀδύσσεια )“, 9th ~ 8th century BC also a Greek epic that was the topic of an earlier blog post.
Here I present: Sophocles Σοφοκλῆς (496~413 BC), “Oedipus (Οἰδίπους) Rex, 430 BC which was a Greek tragedy.
Oedipus was born to King Laius and Queen Jocasta of Thebes, GREECE (see map ABOVE), but when Lais hears a prophecy that he will die at the hands of his son, he orders the child to be killed. The infant is left on a mountain to die, but a shepherd finds him and takes him in, raising him as his own son and naming him Oedipus. When he grows up in Corinth, GREECE, Oedipus learns of prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother. He flees the city in order to ensure such a fate never befalls them – only to run into his biological father, Laius, on his way to Thebes. The two men fight and Laius is killed. Oedipus then arrives in Thebes, he becomes king, marrying the widowed queen Jocasta and having children with her. Later, when Oedipus learns of what he has done he blinds himself. Queen Jocasta, upon learning that she has borne her own grandchildren hangs herself.
Here I presented: Sophocles Σοφοκλῆς (496~413 BC), “Oedipus (Οἰδίπους) Rex, 430 BC which was a Greek tragedy. Oedipus when traveling between the cities met a SPHINX that presented the riddle BELOW.
The riddle was: “What walks on four feet in the morning, two feet in the afternoon, and three at night?”. Oedipus answered: “Man: as an infant, he crawls on all fours; as an adult, he walks on two legs; and, in old age he uses a walking stick.
Sphinx is a mythical creature with a human head, lion body, and falcon wings. For the protagonist Oedipus, Sphinx is the perfect foil-character. The protagonist & foil-character are animalistic reflections of the character of Oedipus in this tragedy.
