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Oedipus
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Widely known as "that-dude-who-killed-his-dad-and-slept-with-his-mom," Oedipus is one of the most famous people in all of Greek mythology. (Figures, right? All it takes to be mega-famous is to do something totally messed up.) The thing with Oedipus, though, is that he had no idea that he was doing anything wrong. His parents, King Laius and Queen Jocasta of Thebes, abandoned him at birth. Why? Because it was prophesied that he would do exactly what he eventually did. So when he killed Laius on a highway, he thought he was just defending himself against some random angry dude. And when he married Jocasta and became the King of Thebes, he thought it was just an awesome reward for saving Thebes from the Sphinx by solving her riddle. Talk about tough luck.
Basic Information
Name Oedipus
Nickname That-dude-who-killed-his-dad-and-slept-with-his-mom
Sex Male
Current city Elysium
Work & Education
Occupation Hero
Riddle Solver
Sphinx Slayer
King of ThebesEducation Athena's Academy of Puzzles
The Fates' School of Hard KnocksBeliefs
Political views Ugh, why did I ever get involved?
Family & Friends (& Enemies)
Parents Laius (my dad, who I unknowingly killed… oops)
Jocasta (my mom, who I unknowingly married and had babies with… extra oops)Siblings None (I'm not even sure why my parents had me, considering that whole prophecy thing.)
Children Antigone
Ismene
Eteocles
PolyneicesFriends I freak everybody out. Only my daughter Antigone ever stuck by me.
Enemies The Sphinx
Myself (I caused all my own problems)
The Fates (who got seriously twisted when they decided on mine)Relationships
Relationship status Was married to Jocasta. Yes, my mom. I get it.
Interested in I just don't risk it anymore.
Favorites
TV Shows Sherlock
House (Kind of my hero.)
Breaking BadQuotations "Truth, like light, blinds. Falsehood, on the contrary, is a beautiful twilight that enhances every object."
– Albert Camus
"We cross our bridges when we come to them and burn them behind us, with nothing to show for our progress except a memory of the smell of smoke, and a presumption that once our eyes watered."
– Tom Stoppard
"Mama, just killed a man..."
– "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen
"Mama, take this badge from me
I can't use it anymore
It's getting dark too dark to see
Feels like I'm knockin' on heaven's door"
– Bob Dylan
"Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better."
– Samuel BeckettBooks All My Sons by Arthur Miller
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (This book always reminds me of fading away in Colonus.)
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee (I know all about it.)
Endgame by Samuel Beckett (I feel like I was always playing an endgame and never knew it.)
The Plague by Albert Camus (Kind of like the one I unknowingly caused in Thebes. Talk about embarrassing.)
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
Oedipus the King by Sophocles
"When I Consider How My Light is Spent (Oh His Blindness)" by John Milton
The Biggest Riddle Book in the World by Joseph Rosenbloom (Good bathroom reading.)Music Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) by Kelly Clarkson
Wide Awake by Katy Perry
Oedipus by Regina Spektor
Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen
Knockin' On Heaven's Door by Guns N' Roses
I See a Darkness by Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
Hurt by Johnny Cash
Sweet Blindness by Frank Sinatra (I mostly like this song for the outfits in the video.)Movies The Dark Knight (Another misunderstood hero.)
Inception (Okay, this movie confused me.)
Scent of a Woman
Citizen Kane (I totally solved the riddle of what "rosebud" means.)
Final Destination
The Ten Commandments
The Miracle Worker
Ted (Hey, everybody needs to not think sometimes.)Activities & Interests
Likes Sunglasses
Braille
Riddle books
Rubik's cubesDislikes Everything that happened to me?
Interests Riddle-ology
EnigmatologyGroups Heroes
Kings of Greece
Riddle Solvers
Spotter's Guide
Oedipus does not take visitors. You can try to get a meeting with him, but you'll probably just get turned away at the gate of his humble house in Elysium, the city of the blessed dead. The former King of Thebes totally avoids people, because all anybody ever wants to talk about is how he unknowingly killed his father and slept with his mother. Also, he's not too pretty look at, since he gouged out his own eyes when he found out the truth. If you do get a chance to talk to him, though, try to cheer him up, huh? After all, he didn't know he did any of that stuff, and he did save Thebes from the Sphinx by solving her riddle. Poor guy.
Sex: Male
Age: Lived to be pretty old (and miserable)
Build: Fit, then haggard and scrawny by the end
Complexion: Leathery
Hair Color: Brown, until it went bone-white
Facial Hair: Beard, which got long and tangled before he died
Scars/marks/tattoos: Gouged out eyes (pretty gross)
Jewelry and accessories: Had a crown, but gave it away
Clothing: Regal robes, but just rags later in life
Armor: Nah
Type of Weapon: WitsTypical Companions:
Antigone (His daughter, who stood beside him until he died)
Known Hangouts:
Thebes
The Wilderness
Elysium
Sightings
Dec 20, 2019
Antigone by Sophocles
It might be the last of Sophocles' Oedipus plays chronologically in terms of plot, but it's the first one Sophocles wrote; check out what happens to Antigone after her daddy dies. (Hint: it isn't a happy ending.)
Dec 20, 2019
Oedipus the King by Sophocles
This is the best play ever... according to Aristotle and a whole bunch of other folks. (We have to say, we think it's pretty awesome, too.)
Dec 20, 2019 - Dec 20, 2019
Oedipus by Seneca
The big deal Roman playwright puts his spin on Oedipus' story. (It doesn't get any happier, that's for sure.)
Dec 20, 2019
The Metamorphoses by Ovid
In this famous collection of mythological poems, Ovid tells us all about how Oedipus saved Thebes by solving the riddle of the Sphinx. (Whoa, somebody actually chose to write about the good stuff he did?)
Dec 20, 2019
Oedipus el Rey by Luis Alfaro
This modern Chicano riff on the Oedipus story is set in an L.A. barrio.
Dec 20, 2019
These Seven Sicknesses by Sean Graney
Oedipus kicks off this modernized marathon of all of Sophocles' extant plays.