Oedipus

E19960

Oedipus is a tragic hero in Greek mythology best known for unwittingly killing his father and marrying his mother, a fate he was prophesied to fulfill.

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Observed surface forms (3)

Surface form Occurrences
Oedipus and the Sphinx 2
King of Thebes 1
Oedipus the King 1

Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf figure in Greek mythology
king
mythological character
tragic hero
adoptiveFather Polybus
adoptiveMother Merope
appearsIn Aeschylus' lost plays of the Theban trilogy
Euripides' lost plays about Oedipus
Greek mythology
Sophocles' play "Oedipus Rex"
Sophocles' play "Oedipus at Colonus"
Theban cycle
associatedConcept Oedipus complex
became King of Thebes after solving the Sphinx's riddle
birthPlace Thebes
blinded himself
causeOfSelfBlinding discovery of his true parentage and deeds
centralTo Theban myths
children Antigone
Eteocles
Ismene
Polynices
createdBy ancient Greek mythic tradition
culture Greek Antiquity
surface form: Ancient Greece
father Laius
freed Thebes
surface form: Thebes from the Sphinx
genre tragedy
hasRole Oedipus self-linksurface differs
surface form: King of Thebes
influenced Sigmund Freud's theory of the Oedipus complex
killed Laius
knownFor fulfilling a tragic prophecy despite attempts to avoid it
killing his father
marrying his mother
languageOfPrimarySources Ancient Greek
married Jocasta
mother Jocasta
notableWork central figure of the Oedipus myth
raisedIn Corinth
solved the riddle of the Sphinx
spouse Jocasta
subjectOfProphecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother
theme fate versus free will
guilt and innocence
knowledge and ignorance
sight and blindness
timePeriodOfMyth mythic age of Thebes
triedToAvoid the prophecy about killing his father and marrying his mother
unknowinglyKilled his father
unknowinglyMarried his mother

Referenced by (9)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Thersander grandfather Oedipus
Oedipus hasRole Oedipus self-linksurface differs
this entity surface form: King of Thebes
Gustave Moreau notableWork Oedipus
this entity surface form: Oedipus and the Sphinx
this entity surface form: Oedipus and the Sphinx
Sophocles notableWork Oedipus
this entity surface form: Oedipus the King