Name of Greek king who killed his father and married his own mom?

Question

Hi ,

I forget the name of the greeck ( micenean) king who was fortold his future by oracle that he will kill his father and will marry his own mom so he runs away to theabs or some thing where he killed a king there which he found out later was his own father . In the end poke his own eyes and kill himself . I need to know his name . Can any one help me.

Answer 1

Laius, Oedipus' father, kidnapped and raped the young boy Chrysippus and was then cursed by Chrysippus' father, Pelops. The weight of this curse bore down onto Oedipus himself. At his birth, it was prophesied that he would kill his father and marry his mother. Seeking to avoid such a fate, Laius had the infant's ankles pierced with nails and had him exposed (placed in the wilderness to die). His servant, however, betrayed him, handing the boy instead to a shepherd who presented the child to King Polybus and Queen Merope (or Periboea) of Corinth, who raised him as their own son.

At a party thrown by King Polybus, a drunk guest called Oedipus a bastard. Seeking to confirm his parentage, not believing the man, Oedipus sought out the Oracle. Instead of telling him his parentage, the Oracle related the same prophecy as was told to his father; that he would kill his father and marry his mother. After descending the mountain, he met on the road to the oracle an unarmed man, riding a chariot, on his own pilgrimage. The man in the chariot demanded that Oedipus stand aside so he could pass. They argued, and Oedipus killed the stranger. The man was King Laius, Oedipus' father.

Oedipus decided that the drunkard at the party was lying, and decided not to return to home in order to avoid Polybus. As he traveled, Oedipus encountered a mystical creature that was terrorizing Thebes. Oedipus saved the city by answering the riddle of the Sphinx ("What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening?": Man, as a baby man crawls on four legs; as an adult, two legs; when old, man uses a cane.) and was rewarded with the now-vacant throne of Thebes and the widowed queen Jocasta's hand in marriage. In Sophocles' play, Oedipus Rex, Oedipus has four children with Jocasta, though this may have been a plot device he employed, as incest was not part of the original myth.

Within a short time, divine signs of misfortune and pollution began to appear in Thebes, which caused the king to seek out their cause. Finally, the seer Teiresias revealed to Oedipus that Oedipus himself was the source of the pollution. Oedipus discovered he was really the son of Laius and Jocasta and that the prophecy had indeed come to pass. Jocasta commited suicide and Oedipus blinded himself by forcing her brooch pins into his eyes.

It should be noted that the answer to the Sphinx's riddle applies to Oedipus more than any other man. As an infant with hobbled ankles, it is fair to assume he took much longer to learn to walk than normal. As a blind man in his old age, he required the use of a cane more than normal.

When Oedipus stepped down as King of Thebes, he gave the kingdom to his two sons, Eteocles and Polynices, who both agreed to alternate the throne every year. However, they showed no concern for their father, who cursed them for their negligence. After the first year, Eteocles refused to step down and Polynices attacked Thebes with his supporters (as portrayed in the Seven Against Thebes by Aeschylus and the Phoenician Women by Euripides). Both brothers died in the battle. King Creon, who ascended to the throne of Thebes, decreed that Polynices was not to be buried. Antigone, his sister, defied the order, but was caught. Creon decreed that she was to be buried alive, this in spite of her betrothal to his son Haemon. Antigone's sister, Ismene, then declared she had aided Antigone and wanted the same fate. The gods, through the blind prophet Teiresias, expressed their disapproval of Creon's decision, which convinced him to rescind his order, and he went to bury Polynices himself. However, Antigone had already hanged herself rather than be buried alive. When Creon arrived at the tomb where she was to be interred, Haemon attacked him and then killed himself. When Creon's wife, Eurydice, was informed of their deaths, she too took her own life.

Answer 2

Greek King Names

Answer 3

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Name of Greek king who killed his father and married his own mom?
Hi ,

I forget the name of the greeck ( micenean) king who was fortold his future by oracle that he will kill his father and will marry his own mom so he runs away to theabs or some thing where he killed a king there which he found out later was his own father . In the end poke his own eyes and...

Answer 4

Oedipus......and he is a fictional character in a couple of plays by Sophocles: Oedipus the King (or Oedipus Rex) and Oedipus at Colonus.

It's a pretty sick story. Sigmund Freud even coined a term where a guy is hot for his mom....the Oedipus Complex.

Answer 5

Oedipus Rex

Answer 6

Oedipus was the mythical king of Thebes, son of Laius and Jocasta, who, unknowingly, killed his father and married his mother. Greek poets explain the name (Greek Οἰδίπους, transliterated directly as Oidipous) as meaning "swollen-foot," but this is probably a pun rather than an etymology; historically the name is more likely to have come from two elements meaning "he who knew (oid-) the Sphinx' riddle of the feet (-pous).

Answer 7

Oedipus

Answer 8

Oedipus

Answer 9

Oedipus

Answer 10

Laius the king of Thebes was told that his son was destined to kill him. He stopped making love to his wife Jocasta to avoid having a son. She plied him with wine and seduced him. When she gave birth to a boy, Laius was horrified. He pierced th child's feet and told a servant to leave it in the wilderness for exposure and wild beasts to kill, for killing a relative outright was a grave sin. Shepherds found the child and took it with them. Polybus king of Corinth had no children, so he took this fine baby to rear as his heir when he saw it. When the boy named Oedipus (Swollen Foot) grew up, boys tease him an bout not resembling Polybus. He went to the oracle and was told, "Begone, accursed youth, for your vile presence pollutes this holy place. It is your destiny to kill your father and marry your mother!" Oedipus never returned to Corinth to avoid that fate. On the road, he met an arrogant old man and killed him and some of his servants. Guess who! At Thebes, th Sphinx was terrorizing the city. She l killed everyone who couldn't answer her riddle. Oedipus answered it, and the monster jumped off a cliff to her death. He was warmly welcomed at Thebes. Soon, news came that Laius had been killed while on hsi way to delphi by robbers. Queen Jocasta married the young hero who has saved the city from the Sphinx. They had two sons and two daughters. Then a plague hit. Wise Tereisias said the gods were angry at a man who killed his father and wed his mother. When Oedipus heard about this, he investigated and learned that he was the lost son of Laius and Jocasta. The queen hanged herslf, and Oedipus blinded himself with a pin from her chiton. Eventually, Oedipus' sons warred or the throne. This war was called "7 Against Thebes", for Prince Polynices had 6 allies who were princes helping him attack his brother Eteocles at Thebes.

Answer 11

Oedipus was the mythical king of Thebes, son of Laius and Jocasta, who, unknowingly, killed his father and married his mother.