RIDDLE OF THE SPHINX

No sooner had he disposed of these bad people, Oedipus came face to face with the Sphinx, sitting on her rock at the crossroad. This creature, a winged lion with the head of a woman, had taken up residence outside of the city of Thebes and was terrorizing the populace.

Anybody who passed by the monster was asked this riddle by her:

"Who in the morning walks on four legs, at midday on two, and in the evening on three?"

Her rock and lair was surrounded with a pile of human bones, for the Sphinx ate those who could not answer the riddle. Yet Oedipus was wise and not about to be devoured by a foul-smelling monster. He replied that the answer is Man: Crawling on all fours as a baby; walking on two legs as an adult; and as an old man, leaning on a cane.

The riddle was solved and the Sphinx had to throw herself down from the cliff to her doom. The road to Thebes was now free of terror.

(Myth Man's note: I've often wondered why the good people of Thebes didn't just shoot the Sphinx with their arrows, killing her, but I guess that would have ruined a good story...Also, why on earth did she not fly away, rather than dropping like a stone to the bottom of the cliff? Oh, well, I suppose the Sphinx had some serious issues...:)

Having rid the city of Thebes from this monster with her ridiculous riddle, brave Oedipus was welcomed as a hero by the people (Still, you have to wonder at their intelligence, not being able to figure out the riddle long before Oedipus did...Duh!).

The citizens informed him that their king, Laius, just recently was killed in a highway robbery on his way to Delphi, where he had traveled to ask the oracle how best to get rid of the Sphinx.

With the death of Laius the Theban throne was left conveniently empty, and the widowed queen Jocasta was still very attractive. The young stranger seemed to be of noble birth, was obviously quite intelligent and probably would make a good king, thought the people of Thebes. The grateful citizens offered Oedipus the throne together with the queen Jocasta, who was not reluctant to marry this young handsome hero.

For years Oedipus and Jocasta ruled wisely and lived happily, and their marriage produced four children: the twin brothers, Eteocles & Polyneices, and two girls, Antigone and Ismene.

OEDIPUS REX - OEDIPUS THE KING

All was well, till, many years later, a horrific plague suddenly struck the city of Thebes, decimating the populace. Plants, animals, and people were all dying. A huge crowd of people came to the king's palace to beg Oedipus do something and help Thebes, just as he had when he slew the Sphinx. After all, this was why he had been chosen as their king, to save them in times of crisis.

Oedipus was a decent ruler who cared deeply for his people. Unsure of what to do, he sent Creon, brother of Jocosta, to ask the oracle of Delphi as to the cause of the plague, and how to eliminate it. Oedipus told the crowd that Creon was late returning, but as soon as he got back, Oedipus promised to do whatever the oracle said.

Just then, Creon arrived. Since he bore good news, he was wearing laurel leaves with berries around his head. Announcing "All's well that ends well", Creon said that Apollo's oracle claimed that the killer of Laius must be found and banished, and then the plague of Thebes would end. Apollo himself had promised that a diligent investigation would reveal the murderer.

Oedipus was quite shocked at such negligence, not yet realizing that it was he who unwittingly had slain king Laius, his own father.

"How it is possible no investigation of the circumstances of Laius' death was ever carried out?" he asked.

"Well," the people explained, "it was a hard time for us all; this monster Sphinx had us terrified, you know...everything happened so suddenly, the king was murdered, and then you appeared in our city and we were busy with your coronation...

"There really was no clue as to the perpetrator; just one survivor remained from the massacre and he was out of his wits from fear. Now he is a very old man, you know...When you came to the city, he abruptly left for his hut in the mountains and has never since returned."

"Send for him at once!" said Oedipus.

Oedipus proceeded to put a formal curse on the murderer of the old king, whoever he was. No citizen anywhere was allowed to give him shelter, food or hospitality. Ironically, Oedipus assured the people that he would do everything within his powers to avenge the death of the old king, just as if the late king were his own father.

Further, whoever came forward with information about the murder of Laius would be richly rewarded, and if the killer himself confessed, he would not be punished beyond having to leave the city permanently. On the other hand, if anyone concealed the killer, Oedipus said that he would be cursed and punished.

Next, Oedipus decided to consult the famous blind prophet, Teiresias, in hope to find out the divine truth. This respected seer advised Oedipus to forget this matter, to never even try to discover the murderer.

"For your own good, don't ask me of anything!" Teiresias beseeched the king. At this, Oedipus became angry and accused Teiresias of being a false prophet, or, worse yet, a conspirator with murderers.

It was the old prophet's turn to get angry. Informing Oedipus that he is far too young to speak to him in that fashion, Teiresias told the king that "before the sun is down, you will find out yourself a husband and a son and brother of your children."

Hearing the men's shouts, queen Jocasta came out from the palace to find Oedipus bewildered and perplexed. He proceeded to tell his wife about the crazy blind prophet. Jocasta begged her husband to ignore the seer's words, for they were filled with lies.

Jocasta then told Oedipus how, in her youth, an oracle had told her and Laius that he would be killed by his own son. She told how the baby son had been left to die in the mountains, and how Laius had been killed by robbers at a crossroad...so much for the oracles, said Jocasta, witness how wrong they could be...

Rather than comforting Oedipus, her words began to worry him and to plant some seeds of doubt in his mind. He began asking all sorts of questions from his wife: Where did the murder occur? Which crossroad? How long before he had arrived to Thebes? What did Laius look like?

"Tall, a little gray in his hair, and you know something, he looked a lot like you, but older," she replied.

With each answer, his mood grew darker. The queen's description evoked the memory of his encounter with the old man in the chariot, whom he had left dead on the crossroad. Could this be Laius? The course of what the ancient poets called peripeteia (turn of events) triggered the mechanisms of anagnorisis (realization).

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THE GREEK TRAGEDY ENDS

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