As a backgrounder, Laius, the King of Thebes, was informed by a prophet that a child born to him and his wife, Jocasta, will murder him. Fearing that that the prophecy may come true, Laius took his child, pierced his ankle and ordered a servant to leave the child in a mountain. A shepherd found the boy, took pity on him and took him to Corinth. This boy, named Oedipus, meaning swollen feet, was raised by the King and Queen of Corinth as if their son. When the boy grew up, a drunken man revealed that he was not the true son of Polybus, the King of Corinth. Eager to find out the truth about himself, he consulted the Delphic Oracle who told him that he would murder his father and marry his mother. For fear that the oracle may come true, Oedipus left Corinth. Upon arriving at a fork, Oedipus met Laius and four other people. A quarrel followed, Oedipus eventually killed all the men. While he was in Thebes, Oedipus encountered a Sphinx which had a woman’s head, eagle’s wings, lion’s body and serpent’s tail. The sphinx had asked everybody a riddle. Anybody who failed to answer the riddle or gave an incorrect answer to the riddle was immediately eaten. Bold and self-confident, Oedipus faced the Sphinx and answered the riddle. As a result, the Sphinx killed itself. The grateful people of Thebes proclaimed him as heir hero and king. He married the king’s widow, Jocasta. They begot two sons and two daughters. Several years after, a plague struck in Thebes. In his desire to put a stop to the plague, Oedipus consulted a prophet who revealed that the plague would not end until the people of Thebes drive out the murderer of Laius who was within the city. The prophet also made an allusion that Oedipus was Thebes’ pollution which angered him. Oedipus thought that this was a scheme of Creon, his brother-in-law whom he thought desired to replace him as King. At this point, Jocasta told Oedipus that the oracle once prophesied that Laius will be killed by his son. She told him that the prophecy was not true as an eyewitness said that Laius was killed by highway robbers in a location where three different roads meet. Oedipus suddenly remembered an incident in his past where he fled from Corinth and killed a man along the way because of quarrel as to who had the right of way. He thought that the same man could be Laius. As a result he asked that people to look for the herdsman who witnessed the killing of Laius. Later on a messenger brought news that the King Polybus was dead. Laius was asked to return to Corinth to rule the kingdom. Overjoyed that the oracle’s prediction did not come true, he relayed the news to Jocasta. The messenger told Oedipus not to worry about the prophecy since Polybus was not his real father and that the messenger took the baby from the shepherd who found Polybus. The shepherd then revealed that Jocasta once handed to him a baby boy for him to leave on the mountain to die. He however took pity and gave the boy to a messenger. At that point, Oedipus realized that he was indeed Laius child who killed his own father and married his own mother. Jocasta committed suicide after the revelation. Oedipus on the other hand, realizing his mistakes, took his eyes out and pierced it with a knife making him blind. He then left Thebes after asking Creon to take care of his daughters.