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Oedipus Research Paper

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The Greek myth of Oedipus is a story surrounding Oedipus, the king of Thebes in Ancient Egypt and his relationship with his family members, specifically his mother and father. There are many different versions of the myth written by Homer and other well-known writers from the Ancient world. Although Oedipus tried very hard not to, he ended up fulfilling a dangerous prophecy, that brought disaster to his family and the city. Laius and Jocasta were king and queen of Thebes, a city in Ancient Egypt. After suffering many years of being childless, Laius visited the Oracle of Apollo who prophesized that if he were to have children, the child would kill Laius. When Jocasta finally bore a son, Laius pierced the baby’s ankles and attached them together …show more content…

The oracle told him that he was destined to kill his father and marry his mother. In an attempt to escape that fate, Oedipus traveled to Thebes. On his way, Oedipus encountered a chariot driven by Laius. They began to argue when Laius tried to run Oedipus over, so Oedipus killed Laius. Continuing his journey, Oedipus encountered a Sphinx, who wouldn’t let anyone pass without answering a riddle. Oedipus was the first to ever answer this riddle correctly, and was then found by Creon, the brother of Queen Jocasta. He said that whoever is able to get rid of the Sphinx should become the king of Thebes, so he took his recently widowed mother’s hand in marriage. Although the myth goes on further, this is where the story ends in terms of the Oedipus complex (D’aulaire 158). The Oedipus complex is a theory which states that children have a desire of sexual involvement with the parent of the opposite gender, and continuously feud with the parent of the same gender. This is a crucial and normal stage of development. Sigmund Freud, an Austrian neurologist from the mid-1890s to early-1900s introduced this concept in his book titled Interpretation of Dreams. It’s called the Oedipus complex because Oedipus had a desire for sexual involvement with his mother (he married his mother and had children with her) and had a rivalry with his father (he

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