Oedipus follows ten of the points of Lord Raglan's Hero Pattern:
His father is a king.
Although Oedipus believes he is the son of the King of Corinth, Oedipus really is the son of the King of Thebes.
He is spirited away from his parents.
His father receives an oracle that his son will kill him. In order to stop this from happening Oedipus' parents give him up.
He is reared by foster-parents in a far city.
He is given to the King and Queen of Corinth and is raised by them as their own.
We are told nothing of his childhood.
On reaching manhood he goes/returns to his future Kingdom.
He goes to Thebes, where he was born and where he gains rule, in order to escape his oracle.
After a victory over the king and/or a giant, dragon, or wild beast
He victors over the king (without knowing it) and over the Sphinx by solving the riddle of mankind.
He becomes King.
By solving the riddle of the Sphinx, the people of Thebes hand the thrown over to Oedipus.
For a time he reigns uneventfully.
Later he loses favor with his subjects.
When the city of Thebes learns it was Oedipus who murdered their former King and is ultimately the one causing the plague, they disown him as their ruler.
Is driven from the thrown and the city.
Oedipus is exiled from Thebes in order to stop the plague.
This page written and designed by Yvonne Sample for CLAS230 Classical Mythology at Monmouth College, Monmouth, Illinois. 2005
