Laius

American  

[ley-uhs, ley-ee-uhs] / ˈleɪ əs, ˈleɪ i əs /

noun

Classical Mythology.

1. a king of Thebes, the husband of Jocasta and father of Oedipus: unwittingly killed by Oedipus.

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Laius British  

/ ˈlaɪəs /

noun

1. Greek myth a king of Thebes, killed by his son Oedipus, who did not know of their relationship

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Example Sentences

Oedipus calls himself Laius’ “successor, the inheritor of his legacy,” and in true Sophoclean fashion he speaks more than he knows.

From Los Angeles Times

And the revisions pertaining to Jocasta’s marriage to Laius, who was killed in a car accident decades before, bring a discomfiting and topical contemporary edge.

From The Wall Street Journal

All he must do is find the murderer of Laius, the former king whom he replaced both on the throne and in Queen Jocasta’s bed.

From Los Angeles Times

Jocasta tries to reassure her husband that oracles don’t always get it right by telling him that one once told Laius that he would die by his son’s end.

From Los Angeles Times

Understandably, his father, Laius — king of Thebes — wasn’t particularly keen on the idea, so he left baby Oedipus on a mountain to die.

From Time