answersLogoWhite

0


Best Answer

That Oedipus will kill Laius is what the Oracle prophesizes to the Theban King about the birth of the future Oedipus. In ancient Greece, it's considered far less heinous to kill a child than to kill one's father and one's sovereign. It particularly is considered as an acceptable response if it stops the child from committing a grave offense against the gods and a serious crime among mortals.

User Avatar

Wiki User

14y ago
This answer is:
User Avatar

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: What does the Oracle prophesize to Laius about the birth of Oedipus?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp
Continue Learning about Performing Arts

Is Oedipus guilty of killing his own father?

Yes, he is. In Sophocles's Oedipus Rex Oedipus kills a man, quite irrationally, whilst traveling in a convoy. This man is later revealed to be his father, King Laius of Thebes a man Oedipus didn't know due to his abandonment as a child.One possible mitigating circumstance is that Oedipus' killing of Laius was prophesied by an oracle - this is why Oedipus is abandoned at birth. It may be argued that the prophecy destroys Oedipus's free will, and hat he is therefore culpable, but not guilty. But in the simplest of terms, yes, Oedipus is guilty of his Fathers murder.


What does Oedipus announce to the Theban people in 'Oedipus Rex'?

That he will find out how to end the pestilence and that he will identify and punish the guilty in the murder ofTheban King Laius are the announcements that Oedipus makes to the Theban people in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Theban children are born dead or die soon after birth, crops are failing, and livestock are ailing. Oedipus announces that Creon, his brother-in-law and royal colleague, is consulting with the Apolline oracle as to the pestilence's cause and solution. He then announces that in compliance with that oracle, he will solve the mysterious murder of King Laius, punish the guilty and thereby end the pestilence.


Is it his birth or adoptive father that Oedipus was supposed to kill in the play 'Oedipus Rex'?

It is his birth father that Oedipus is supposed to kill in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, a prophet tells Theban monarchs Laius and Jocasta that their son, Oedipus, will grow up to kill his father. As a young man, Oedipus goes to Delphi to consult the Pythia, ancient Greece's foremost oracle. He gets the disturbing news that he will grow up to kill his father and marry his mother. It therefore appears to be a prophecy about Oedipus' birth not adoptive father.


The location of Oedipus' birth?

He was born in Thebes, the son of Laius, King of Thebes, and Queen Jocasta


Why is Oedipus' family cursed?

Oedipus's fate was fixed before his birth. oedipus' father king Laius abducted Chrysippus son of Pelops. So he cursed Laius to be killed by his own son and the boy would marry his own mother. pelops was the king of Pisa.

Related questions

Is Oedipus guilty of killing his own father?

Yes, he is. In Sophocles's Oedipus Rex Oedipus kills a man, quite irrationally, whilst traveling in a convoy. This man is later revealed to be his father, King Laius of Thebes a man Oedipus didn't know due to his abandonment as a child.One possible mitigating circumstance is that Oedipus' killing of Laius was prophesied by an oracle - this is why Oedipus is abandoned at birth. It may be argued that the prophecy destroys Oedipus's free will, and hat he is therefore culpable, but not guilty. But in the simplest of terms, yes, Oedipus is guilty of his Fathers murder.


What does Oedipus announce to the Theban people in 'Oedipus Rex'?

That he will find out how to end the pestilence and that he will identify and punish the guilty in the murder ofTheban King Laius are the announcements that Oedipus makes to the Theban people in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Theban children are born dead or die soon after birth, crops are failing, and livestock are ailing. Oedipus announces that Creon, his brother-in-law and royal colleague, is consulting with the Apolline oracle as to the pestilence's cause and solution. He then announces that in compliance with that oracle, he will solve the mysterious murder of King Laius, punish the guilty and thereby end the pestilence.


The location of Oedipus' birth?

He was born in Thebes, the son of Laius, King of Thebes, and Queen Jocasta


Is it his birth or adoptive father that Oedipus was supposed to kill in the play 'Oedipus Rex'?

It is his birth father that Oedipus is supposed to kill in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, a prophet tells Theban monarchs Laius and Jocasta that their son, Oedipus, will grow up to kill his father. As a young man, Oedipus goes to Delphi to consult the Pythia, ancient Greece's foremost oracle. He gets the disturbing news that he will grow up to kill his father and marry his mother. It therefore appears to be a prophecy about Oedipus' birth not adoptive father.


Why is Oedipus' family cursed?

Oedipus's fate was fixed before his birth. oedipus' father king Laius abducted Chrysippus son of Pelops. So he cursed Laius to be killed by his own son and the boy would marry his own mother. pelops was the king of Pisa.


Who are the king and queen of Thebes at the time of Oedipus birth in 'Oedipus Rex'?

Laius and Jocasta are king and queen of Thebes at the time of Oedipus' birth in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Jocasta is not a king's daughter. But she becomes queen as a direct descendant of Thebes' founding King Cadmus and through her marriage to her cousin Laius. Laius is king because he too is descended from Cadmus and because he is Theban King Labdacus' son.


How does Oedipus discover that his biological mother is Jocasta in 'Oedipus Rex'?

It is in questioning the Theban shepherd that Oedipus discovers his biological mother to be Jocasta in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Theban King Oedipus is heading a murder investigation into the mysterious death of his royal predecessor, King Laius. The charges of his royal advisor, Teiresias the blind prophet, and details of the crime scene from Laius' widow, Queen Jocasta, make Oedipus a surprise suspect. In the course of interviewing the only eyewitness to Laius' murder, Oedipus must ask questions about his own dubious parentage, which the Theban shepherd confirms as birth in the Theban royal household to Theban monarchs Laius and Jocasta.


How does swollen foot relate to the play Oedipus?

Oedipus comes from that he was left in the mountains with his ankles pinned together. Jocasta explains that Laius abandoned him in this state on a barren mountain shortly after he was born. The injury leaves Oedipus with a scar for the rest of his life. It symbolizes the way his movements have been confined and constrained since birth, by Apollo's prophecy to Laius.


What two truths does Teiresias reveal to Oedipus in 'Oedipus Rex'?

That he is Laius' killer and that the truth of his existence will destoy him are the two truths that Teiresias reveals to Oedipus in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Theban King Oedipus asks for help identifying the guilty in King Laius' murder. But he dislikes what Teiresias the blind prophet tells him. Teiresias charges Oedipus with the crime. He elaborates that before the day is over Oedipus will be destroyed by the truth of his birth, crime and marriage.


Is the King of Thebes killed by Oedipus?

Yes, King Laius of Thebes is killed by Oedipus. It's a heinous offense to kill one's sovereign ... and father regardless of whether the victim's true identity is unknown. Such is the case with Laius and Oedipus. Laius thinks that his son died shortly after birth, and Oedipus thinks that his parents are King Polybus and Queen Merope of Corinth. Neither father nor son seems to see, or be stopped by, the resemblance or the father-son age difference between themselves.


Is Laius of 'Oedipus Rex' an actual person?

It is unknown whether or not Laius from "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.) is an actual, historical figure.Specifically, the characters in the story of Theban King Sophocles tend to be considered as within the realm of the imagination. But the place names are actual so there also is the possibility that Laius and other characters are based on actual people experiencing actual events. Two points in favor of Laius as a real person are Oedipus' family connection to Colonus, the place of Oedipus' death and of ancient Greek playwright Sophocles' birth, and the lack of fantastic happenings.


How does Oedipus find out that he is the king's killer in 'Oedipus Rex'?

The Theban shepherd's identifying him as Laius' murderer is how Oedipus finds out that he is his father's killer in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. -- 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Theban Queen Jocasta identifies a crossroads in the land of Phocis as the location at which her first husband, King Laius, and all but one of his escort party dies. Her second husband, King Oedipus, recognizes that location as the site of a long ago murder committed by him before moving from Corinth to Thebes. Jocasta sends for the lone survivor, who reluctantly reveals Oedipus' birth to Jocasta and Laius, desertion because of a frightening prophecy, fostering into the Corinthian royal house, killing of Laius at the crossroads, and marriage to his own mother.