When Oedipus was born to King Laius and Queen Jocasta of Thebes, a prophet foretold that the child would grow up to kill his father and marry his mother. To prevent such an unfortunate outcome, King Laius, in a moment of sorrow, ordered one of his servants to take the baby away to a hilltop. However, the servant was unable to bring himself to kill the innocent child. Instead, he entrusted Oedipus to the care of a shepherd, who led him across the mountains to the king of Corinth. This king assumed responsibility for the boy and raised him as his own….
According to ancient Greek legend, when Oedipus was born, a prophecy foretold that he would kill his father and marry his mother. So his father left the baby Oedipus in the wilderness, thinking he would die and the prophecy would not come true.
Instead, the abandoned baby was found and raised by another family. As an adult, Oedipus learned of the prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother. Unaware that he was adopted, he left his adoptive parents to avoid fulfilling the prophecy, thinking that if he wasn’t around them, it couldn’t come true. Lo and behold, while trying to escape his fate, Oedipus, in a fit of rage, killed a stranger who turned out to be the father he had never met. He then married the dead man’s widow, who was actually his mother, though he didn’t know it.