A-Z: General definitions
- Obeah
- Oberon
- Objective correlative
- Objectivity
- Oblate
- Oblation
- Obscene
- Obsolete
- Occult
- Oceanids
- Oceanus
- Octave
- Octet
- Ode
- Odysseus
- Odysseus and Circe
- Odysseus and Scylla and Charybdis
- Odysseus and the Cyclops Polyphemus
- Odysseus and the Sirens
- Odyssey
- Oedipus
- Oedipus complex
- Oedipus Rex
- Oenomaus
- Oenon
- Offensive
- Offering
- Oil
- Old Covenant
- Old English
- Old Lady Day
- Old Latin
- Old Testament
- Oligarchy
- Olive tree
- Oliver Cromwell
- Olympian
- Olympian gods
- Olympus
- Omen
- Omnipotent
- Omnipresence
- Omniscience
- Omniscient Narrator
- One thing is needful
- Onesimus
- Onomatopoeia
- Opera
- Oracle
- Oral Literature
A-Z: General definitions: Oedipus
Definition
The name means 'swollen-foot'; he was so-called as a result of the spike driven through his feet when he was left to die as an infant; he was destined to kill his father Laius and marry his mother Jocasta. On reaching manhood, Oedipus learned of a prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother. To avoid this fate he left his home in Corinth for Thebes. On the way there, he killed a man at a cross-roads following an argument. Arriving in Thebes, he eventually married the widowed Queen Jocasta and became king. Having ruled happily for several years, Oedipus discovered the awful truth: his parents were not the king and queen of Corinth who had brought him up, but Jocasta, now his wife, and her previous husband Laius; they had heard the same prophecy and so had left Oedipus for dead at birth. It also transpired that the man killed at the cross-roads was Laius, Oedipus' father. Horrified at the fulfilment of the prophecy, Jocasta hanged herself. Oedipus blinded himself and went into exile.
