Oedipus

American  

[ed-uh-puhs, ee-duh-] / ˈɛd ə pəs, ˈi də- /

noun

Greek Legend.

1. a king of Thebes, the son of Laius and Jocasta, and the father by Jocasta of Eteocles, Polynices, Antigone, and Ismeme: as was prophesied at his birth, he unwittingly killed his father and married his mother and, in penance, blinded himself and went into exile.

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Oedipus British  

/ ˈiːdɪpəs /

noun

1. Greek myth the son of Laius and Jocasta, the king and queen of Thebes, who killed his father, being unaware of his identity, and unwittingly married his mother, by whom he had four children. When the truth was revealed, he put out his eyes and Jocasta killed herself

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Oedipus Cultural  

1. In classical mythology, a tragic king who unknowingly killed his father and married his mother. The Delphic oracle predicted that King Laius of Thebes, a city in Greece, would be killed by his own son. To save himself, Laius ordered his newborn son placed on a mountaintop and left to starve. The infant was rescued by a shepherd and raised in a distant city, where he was given the name Oedipus. Years later, King Laius was killed while on a journey by a stranger with whom he quarreled. Oedipus arrived at Thebes shortly thereafter and saved the city from the ravages of the Sphinx. He was proclaimed king in Laius' stead, and he took the dead king's widow, Jocasta, as his own wife. After several years a terrible plague struck Thebes. The Delphic oracle told Oedipus that to end the plague, he must find and punish the murderer of King Laius. In the course of his investigation, Oedipus discovered that he himself was the killer and that Laius had been his real father. He had therefore murdered his father and married his mother, Jocasta. In his despair at this discovery, Oedipus blinded himself.

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The Oedipus complex, identified by the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, takes its name from the story of Oedipus.

The story of Oedipus is the subject of the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles.

Example Sentences

Oedipus’ rectitude and gleaming self-confidence were so palpable that as he grappled with the slow drip of dark revelations about his past—and present—his increasing disorientation and anguish were excruciating to watch.

From The Wall Street Journal

It’s election night in Robert Icke’s “Oedipus,” a modern retelling of Sophocles’ “Oedipus the King” that must be the buzziest, if not the chicest, Broadway offering of the fall season.

From Los Angeles Times

With an impeccable supporting cast and sleek design, Mr. Icke’s “Oedipus” grips the attention firmly across two intermissionless hours, even as it departs from the stylized forms of Greek tragedy.

From The Wall Street Journal

Citing Oedipus, Macbeth and Raskolnikov, he points out that literary epiphanies always come too late.

From The Wall Street Journal

Tragedy and comedy make freaky bedfellows in “Oedipus the King, Mama!”

From Los Angeles Times