Laius and Jocasta have a son and are told that he will one day murder his Father and sleep with his mother. They abandon the baby on a mountain side, but he is rescued by a shepherd who brings him to the king of Corinth. He is raised by this family as their own, they name him Oedipus. Oedipus as a young man was told by a Delphic oracle that he would murder his father and marry his mother. Thinking that his adopted parents were his birth parents he flees Corinth. He murders Laius, not knowing he is his father or that he is the king of Thebes. He then married Jocasta. A series of events unfold that reveal the true story. (Oedipus)
The Delphic oracle mentioned in Oedipus is a common happening in Greek legends. A Delphic oracle was the preeminent shrine of Apollo. It was housed in a great temple that was built for Apollo. It is located near the foot of the south slope of Mt. Parnassos. People who needed the help of the oracle would bring large gifts to the shrine. The messages from the oracle were spoken by a priestess who was seated on a golden tripod. They spoke in a crazed trance. Trance was said by the ancient Greeks to be induced by vapors from beneath the temple's floor. The messages were then interpreted to the questioner by a priest. The priest normally spoke in verse. (Delphi)
The Oracle At Delphi
From the Sixth Century BCE it has been the most popular of the Greek Oracles. Most Hellenes said that before Apollo took control Ge (Earth) and her daughter Themis spoke the oracles. Many historians have accepted this as fact, but there is no evidence to support this except for the myth. (Fontenrose 1)
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© 2000–2007 Pearson Education, publishing as Infoplease.
28 Oct. 2010 <http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0815092.html>.
© 1994, 2000-2006, on Infoplease.
© 2000–2007 Pearson Education, publishing as Infoplease.
28 Oct. 2010 <http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0815092.html>.
Fontenrose, Joseph. The Delphic Oracle. 1st. Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA:
University of California Press, 1978. 1-10. Print.
University of California Press, 1978. 1-10. Print.
"Thebes, city of ancient Greece." The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia.
© 1994, 2000-2006, on Infoplease.
© 2000–2007 Pearson Education, publishing as Infoplease.
27 Oct. 2010 http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0848374.html.
© 1994, 2000-2006, on Infoplease.
© 2000–2007 Pearson Education, publishing as Infoplease.
27 Oct. 2010 http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0848374.html.
"The Oracle at Delphi." Delphi Myths Encylopedia. Web. 28 Oct 2010. <http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Cr-Dr/Delphi.html>.
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