Jocasta
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| :''When [[Oedipus]] finds out that [[Jocasta]] has hanged herself and discovers her body, Oedipus [[gouge]]s out his [[eye]]s with the golden [[brooch]]es on her [[dress]]. | :''When [[Oedipus]] finds out that [[Jocasta]] has hanged herself and discovers her body, Oedipus [[gouge]]s out his [[eye]]s with the golden [[brooch]]es on her [[dress]]. | ||
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| + | In [[Greek mythology]], '''Jocasta''', also known as '''Jocaste''' ({{lang-el|Iοκαστη}}) or '''Epikastê''' was a daughter of [[Menoeceus]] and Queen consort of [[Thebes, Greece]]. She was the wife of [[Laius]]. Mother and wife of [[Oedipus]] by [[Laius]], and mother of [[Antigone]], [[Eteocles]], [[Polynieces]] and [[Ismene]] by [[Oedipus]]. She was also sister of [[Creon]]. | ||
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| + | The tale goes that one day her husband, King Laius of Thebes, consulted an [[oracle]] when she was pregnant with Oedipus. The oracle told Laius that the child was destined to kill his father and marry his own mother which was Jocasta. So King Laius decided the child must be brought up to the mountain seperating the city of Thebes from Corinth. He got a servant to travel to the top of the mountain and leave it there but the servant saw nothing wrong with the baby and saw no reason to leave this baby to die from exposure to the wild but had to carry out his orders. A shepherd was walking by and said that he and his wife would take the baby and raise it as if it were there own and they did for 19 years. Jocasta was told the baby had died in childbirth. | ||
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| + | Oedipus grew up in Corinth and one day crossed paths with the oracle and the oracle told him that he was the child that would kill his father and marry his mother. Not knowing that his parents were actually Queen Jocasta and King Laius so he ran away from his home to escape the fate of killing his father and marrying his mother. Oedipus then crosses paths with King Laius and he gets very angry because of the news he has just heard and unknowingly kills the King. He goes to Thebes and realized that it was a complete mess (They had just lost there King) and the new king would have to solve the riddle of the sphinx to be king and so he did. So he then married there widowed queen which was Queen Jocasta who was actually his own mother. Jocasta and Oedipus then had four kids together. Antigone-Girl, Eteocles-Boy, Polyneices-Boy (Who would later kill Creon the brother of Queen Jocasta), and Ismene-Girl. King Oedipus then realizes the comparison of the events after reviewing what the oracle had said that day and decided he must know the truth. He finds the servant man and asks him about his true heritage and said that his actual mother was Queen Jocasta and his father was King Laius. King Oedipus then gouges his eyes out and wanders in the wilderness with his daughter Antigone until his death 10 years later. After the news Queen Jocasta hangs herself because she decided she was unclean for having relations with her own son. | ||
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| + | ==See also== | ||
| + | *[[Oedipus the King]] by [[Sophocles]] is an ancient Greek retelling of this legend as a play. | ||
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Revision as of 23:21, 15 November 2008
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- When Oedipus finds out that Jocasta has hanged herself and discovers her body, Oedipus gouges out his eyes with the golden brooches on her dress.
In Greek mythology, Jocasta, also known as Jocaste (Template:Lang-el) or Epikastê was a daughter of Menoeceus and Queen consort of Thebes, Greece. She was the wife of Laius. Mother and wife of Oedipus by Laius, and mother of Antigone, Eteocles, Polynieces and Ismene by Oedipus. She was also sister of Creon.
The tale goes that one day her husband, King Laius of Thebes, consulted an oracle when she was pregnant with Oedipus. The oracle told Laius that the child was destined to kill his father and marry his own mother which was Jocasta. So King Laius decided the child must be brought up to the mountain seperating the city of Thebes from Corinth. He got a servant to travel to the top of the mountain and leave it there but the servant saw nothing wrong with the baby and saw no reason to leave this baby to die from exposure to the wild but had to carry out his orders. A shepherd was walking by and said that he and his wife would take the baby and raise it as if it were there own and they did for 19 years. Jocasta was told the baby had died in childbirth.
Oedipus grew up in Corinth and one day crossed paths with the oracle and the oracle told him that he was the child that would kill his father and marry his mother. Not knowing that his parents were actually Queen Jocasta and King Laius so he ran away from his home to escape the fate of killing his father and marrying his mother. Oedipus then crosses paths with King Laius and he gets very angry because of the news he has just heard and unknowingly kills the King. He goes to Thebes and realized that it was a complete mess (They had just lost there King) and the new king would have to solve the riddle of the sphinx to be king and so he did. So he then married there widowed queen which was Queen Jocasta who was actually his own mother. Jocasta and Oedipus then had four kids together. Antigone-Girl, Eteocles-Boy, Polyneices-Boy (Who would later kill Creon the brother of Queen Jocasta), and Ismene-Girl. King Oedipus then realizes the comparison of the events after reviewing what the oracle had said that day and decided he must know the truth. He finds the servant man and asks him about his true heritage and said that his actual mother was Queen Jocasta and his father was King Laius. King Oedipus then gouges his eyes out and wanders in the wilderness with his daughter Antigone until his death 10 years later. After the news Queen Jocasta hangs herself because she decided she was unclean for having relations with her own son.
See also
- Oedipus the King by Sophocles is an ancient Greek retelling of this legend as a play.
