How does Oedipus save Thebes?

How does Oedipus save Thebes?

In Greek mythology, Oedipus first saved the city of Thebes from a plague placed upon it by the Sphinx. He did not defeat the Sphinx through brute force but through intellect when he correctly answered the monster’s riddle. He was pronounced King of Thebes but unknowingly married his mother, Jocasta.

How did Oedipus save Thebes before becoming the king?

How does Oedipus save Thebes before becoming its king? Sphinx placed a great plague on Thebes and if someone answered wrong it ate him alive. Oedipus answered the riddle of sphinx and sphinx suicide. This way Oedipus save Thebes.

When he first arrives in town Oedipus saved Thebes?

The priest replies that the city of Thebes is in the grip of a plague; because Oedipus saved the city from the Sphinx before, and is especially favored by the gods, they are asking him for help (1-57).

Did Oedipus save Thebes?

By leaving his home in Corinth, Oedipus thinks he has escaped a terrible prophecy that says that he will kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus has defeated the riddling Sphinx, saved the seven-gated city of Thebes, and married the queen Jocasta. (Her first husband, Laius, had been killed.)

Why does Oedipus save Thebes?

When Thebes has been struck by a plague, they gather around his palace so that Oedipus may save them from the calamity. He went to the Oracle at Delphi to seek Apollo’s advice in saving Thebes from plague. He wanted to know the cause and remedy of the plague from Apollo.

How did Oedipus become king of Thebes?

A pitiless, profound and influential Greek myth. Oedipus, King of Thebes, is supported by his daughter (and half-sister) Antigone, as they walk though the plague-ravaged city. Oedipus became ruler after defeating the Sphinx, a creature with the head of a woman, the body of a lioness and the wings of an eagle.

How does Oedipus save the city of Thebes from the female monster Sphinx?

Traveling toward Thebes, he encountered Laius, who provoked a quarrel in which Oedipus killed him. Continuing on his way, Oedipus found Thebes plagued by the Sphinx, who put a riddle to all passersby and destroyed those who could not answer. Oedipus solved the riddle, and the Sphinx killed herself.

Who does Oedipus send to find an answer to save Thebes and what answer does he return with?

Oedipus, therefore, knows what he needs to do: find the murderer and drive him out. Therefore, he is passionate about finding the murderer to save Thebes. When the problem proves to be intractable, Oedipus sends for the blind prophet, Tiresias. Tiresias is cryptic in his speech, as he knows the truth.

What is the cause of the plague in Thebes in Oedipus Rex?

At the beginning of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, there is sterility and a plague at Thebes. Oedipus doesn’t believe him — since he did not know who Laius was when he killed him — and sends him away. So the tragic truth is that Oedipus, who unwittingly killed his father, the previous king, is the cause of the Theban plague.