Prior to the birth of Oedipus, a prophecy was spoken over Laius and his wife Jocasta. They were told that their son would one day be his father's killer and would then marry his mother. In fear, King Laius and Queen Jocasta sent the baby Oedipus off with a slave to be killed. He was never killed, but rather was given to a childless king and queen which lovingly raised him. Oedipus was never

Since Oedipus had no knowledge of his birth parents, he cannot be accused of knowingly fulfilling the prophecy. He had no understanding of Laius as his birth father upon killing him. One might say that Oedipus is then guilty of murder regardless, but if he had killed in self defense, that cannot be true. Likewise, if Oedipus had no understanding of Jocasta as his birth mother, then he cannot be guilty of incest. Neither can he be guilty of defiling Laius's marriage bed, as he did not know that Jocasta was the wife of the man he had murdered. Oedipus cannot be guilty of lying to the people of the city of Thebes since he did not know he was not speaking the truth.

While still traveling, Oedipus had come to the city of Thebes. There, he saved the city from the

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Approximate Word count = 516
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)