“As for this marriage with your mother—have no fear. Many a man before you, in his dreams, has shared his mother’s bed. Take such things for shadows, nothing at all— Live, Oedipus, as if there’s no tomorrow!” (From Oedipus the King, by Sophocles)

 Oedipus, the infant, eventually ends up at the house of Polybus and Merope, king and queen of Corinth, who adopt him as they are without children of their own. Little Oedipus is named in Greek after the swelling from the injuries to his feet and ankles.

Many years later, Oedipus is told by a drunk that Polybus is not his real father, but when he asks his parents if this is true, they deny it. Oedipus, unsure, seeks counsel from the same Delphic Oracle. The Oracle does not tell him the identity of his true parents, but instead tells him that he is destined to couple with his mother and kill his father (though not specifying in which order). In his attempt to avoid the fate predicted by the Oracle, he decides to flee from Corinth to Thebes.

 As Oedipus travels he comes to the place where three roads meet, Davlia. Here he encounters a chariot, driven by his (unrecognized) birth-father, King Laius. They fight over who has the right to go first and Oedipus kills Laius in self defense, unwittingly fulfilling part of the prophecy. The only witness to the king’s death was a slave who fled from a caravan of slaves also traveling on the road.

Continuing his journey to Thebes, Oedipus encounters a Sphinx that would stop all those who traveled to Thebes and ask them a riddle. If the travelers were unable to answer correctly, they were eaten by the sphinx; if they were successful, they would be able to continue their journey. The riddle was: “What walks on four feet in the morning, two in the afternoon and three at night?” Oedipus answers: “Man; as an infant, he crawls on all fours, as an adult, he walks on two legs and, in old age, he relies on a walking stick.” Oedipus was the first to answer the riddle correctly. Having heard Oedipus’ answer, the Sphinx is astounded and inexplicably kills itself, freeing Thebes.