“riddle me this, riddle me that…”. who: laius, king of thebes and his wife, jocasta what: a...
TRANSCRIPT
“Riddle me this, riddle me that…”
Who: Laius, King of Thebes and his wife, Jocasta
What: A prophecyWhere: Greece, in the city of ThebesWhen: A very long time agoWhy: A curse? The gods? Fate?
Meet Queen Jocasta and King LauisTheir life: +/-
They rule Thebes +
There is a famine and plague in Thebes
-
They are ready to start a family
+
They are having trouble conceiving a child
-
THEY FINALLY GET PREGNANT!
EXCEPT….King Laius and Queen Jocasta received a very
disturbing prophecy about their infant son:
Their son would kill his father!
Laius and Jocasta decide to kill their infant son
They pierce his ankles and give him to a shepherd
The shepherd is supposed to leave the baby on Mt. Cithaeron to be exposed (to the wild beasts)
http://www.lib-art.com/artgallery/24191-the-child-oedipus-revived-by-the-shepherd-phorbas-chaudet-antoine-denis.html
The mountainside where the shepherds bring their sheep to graze
Shepherd #1 gives the infant to shepherd #2
Shepherd #2 is from Corinth, the city on the other side of the mountain
S:\Cindy Schumacher\Photos\oedipus pictures\mountainside2.jpg
The shepherd takes pity on the infant and decides that he cannot allow this murder to happen…
http://cybermuse.gallery.ca/cybermuse/search/artwork_e.jsp?mkey=10757
The shepherd gives the infant to Polybus and Merope, who cannot have their own children
Polybus names the infant Oedipus (literally “swollen foot”) because of his deformity.
Polybus and Merope never tell Oedipus one small detail…
http://people.hofstra.edu/terese_p_friedlander/students/resumeak.html
That he is adopted!
The truth will set you free…maybe. One night at
a party a
guest who
has over-
indulged
tells
Oedipus
that Polybus
and Merope
are not his
real
parents…
Picture of Greek dancers from the side of a vasehttp://www.bencourtney.com/ebooks/dance/
Enraged, Oedipus confronts his parents who quickly dispel the rumor that Oedipus is not their real son.
Oedipus, however, is not satisfied, so he goes to consult the oracle (a female prophet who speaks for Apollo).
http://www.as.miami.edu/english/wiki_blythe/index.php?title=Jay's_Project
http://www.wcbufm.com/Greece.html
Instead of a clear answer, the oracle gives Oedipus the following prophecy…
“You will kill your father and beget (have)
children by your mother.”
Just the news Oedipus wanted to hear…
Not wanting to kill dad and sleep with mom, Oedipus decides to flee Corinth
He sets out on the road toward Thebes…Does anyone see a problem with this???
http://plato-dialogues.org/tools/greece.htm
As the audience of this horrible tragedy we know….That Oedipus is not the real son of Polybus and
MeropeThat he is the real son of Laius and JocastaTherefore, going back to Corinth would be the
better ideaGoing to Thebes would be a bad idea…so that is
exactly where Oedipus decides to go….
WHAT IS IT CALLED WHEN THE AUDIENCE KNOWS MORE THAN THE CHARACTERS?
At the triple roads Oedipus meets an old man and his guards
The old man and his entourage refuse to give Oedipus right of way, and Oedipus refuses to give the old man right of way…
So, in the earliest instance of road rage, the two men fight to the death.
Oedipus wins and heads on toward Thebes.
http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/15700/15726/laiusdeath_15726.htm
A plague has beset the people of Thebes in the form of the Sphinx.
The Sphinx asks a riddle, and if you can’t answer it, you die.
If you do answer the riddle correctly, you live!
http://www.oceansbridge.com/oil-paintings/product/69814/oedipusexplainstheriddleofthesphinx
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oedipus_und_die_Sphinx_(Gustave_Moreau).jpg
Oedipus confronts the Sphinx and correctly answers her riddle:
“What goes on four legs in the morning, two legs at
noon, and three legs in the evening?”
The answer: MAN! (he crawls, then walks, then
uses a cane)http://www.dukeart.net/greek-myth/
After correctly answering the riddle and ridding Thebes of the Sphinx, the people wish to reward Oedipus by making him their king (who has mysteriously disappeared).
The play begins in media res (in the middle of things)
Whose fault is it? Laius? Jocasta? Oedipus? Fate?
http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Mythology/AntigoneOedipusCFJalabeat.html
http://www.deathdyinggriefandmourning.com/Death-&-Dying-Images%201-20/8-b-Oedipus-&-Jocasta.jpg
http://www.vroma.org/~araia/lachesis.html