Oedipus+essay

When Oedipus fist arrived in Thebes he had found the city was being terrorized by a monster. The monster known as sphinx would stop assaulting Thebes if someone could answer his riddle. The riddle was "What walks on four legs then two legs then three?" Oedipus answered "Man." and was correct. They then made him king of Thebes.

The ways this is significant are as follows. At first when king Laius had his son (Oedipus) he casted him from Thebes to avoid the prophecy of him killing his father and marrying his mother. As a baby Oedipus had to crawl or walk on four legs just like in the riddle.

Oedipus then grew up to be a man. He now walked on two legs just like in the riddle. He walked to Thebes to avoid the prophecy that his daddy gave him away for. He then answered the sphinx's riddle, became king of Thebes,etc. Untill he was accused of killing king Laius.

When Oedipus was accused of killikg King Laius he eventually came to an old shepard of Laius' whom knew something about the murder. Oedipus then questioned him and found out that he himself had killed laius and that Jocasta was his mommy/wife. Jocasta then hanged herself & Oedipus gouged his eyes out. He was now blind and needed to walk on a cane creating a third leg completeing the riddle.

Thoes were the ways that Oedipus' life are like the sphinx's riddle. It was a tragic, but a good play nonetheless. This story is a perfect example of irony when he left to not kill his father and marry his mother ,but he did on accident any way.