That depends a great deal on which adopted home you are referring to.
As a baby, Oedipus was left on a mountain with pierced feet to die of exposure so that he can not fulfill the prophesy that Laius (his father, and the king of Thebes) will be killed by his son. A shepherd feels sympathy for the baby and takes him to Corinth, where he is adopted by the King and Queen, making Corinth his first adopted city, through no action of his own. He leaves Corinth as a young man to find out who his "real" parents are, after hearing a rumor that the King and Queen of Corinth are not his natural parents.
Another version of the story has him leaving Corinth because he has been told the prophecy that he will kill his father. Believing that the Corinthian king is his natural father, he flees Corinth to prevent the dual crimes of regicide and patricide. This version is the more common and makes better sense. After all, what would be the likelihood that he'd be able to find parents whom he'd never known and who assumed that he was dead all these years.
If you are referring to Oedipus fleeing Thebes, the city he ruled as king and believed to be his adopted city, it is because he has seen the truth, that in his youth he killed his father (not knowing the true identity of the man he killed in anger on the road) and married his mother (also without knowing her relationship to him). This profanity has brought a blight on their land, and only through his expulsion from Thebes can the city be saved. He leaves Thebes as a blind beggar, accompanied by his daughter, Antigone, who aids him in his exhile. His other children, Eteocles and Polyneices- his twin heirs- and Ismene-another daughter- are left behind in Thebes.
thebes
Corinthian King Polybus is Theban King Oedipus' adopted father.
Corinth in actuality but Thebes in Oedipus' mind is what Oedipus' adopted hometowns is in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Oedipus is born in Thebes. But he is fostered at a very, very early age into the royal house of Thebes. Years later, he leaves Corinth and settles down in Thebes. Even more years pass before Oedipus realizes that Thebes is his actual, not adopted, hometown.
As the adopted son and intended heir to the throne, Theban King Oedipus also becomes King of Corinth in the play "Oedipus Rex."Specifically, Oedipus is brought by a trusted shepherd from Thebes to Corinth. In Corinth, the infant is adopted by the childless royal couple, King Polybus and Queen Merope. Much later, as a young man, Oedipus hears of a prophecy that he is fated to kill his own father and marry his own father. He does not share that revolting news with anyone, instead choosing to flee what he thinks is his hometown of Corinth for Thebes, his real hometown. Decades after his flight, Oedipus learns that the man whom he always considered his father is dead. The Corinthian throne is his if he wants it ... until the twists and turns of the plot reveal themselves in their full horror.
Oedipus was the son of Laius, King of Thebes and Jocasta. He was sent to die on a hillside. A shepard rescued him and he was adopted by King Polybus of Corinth and his wife. An oracle said that Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother. So he left his adopted home and went to Thebes. He met his real father, and not knowing, killed him. Then he riddled with the Sphinx and won the throne of Thebes. He married his mother without knowing and had four children. When the truth became known, his mother hung herself and Oedipus blinded himself.
thebes
Corinthian King Polybus is Theban King Oedipus' adopted father.
Corinth in actuality but Thebes in Oedipus' mind is what Oedipus' adopted hometowns is in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Oedipus is born in Thebes. But he is fostered at a very, very early age into the royal house of Thebes. Years later, he leaves Corinth and settles down in Thebes. Even more years pass before Oedipus realizes that Thebes is his actual, not adopted, hometown.
As the adopted son and intended heir to the throne, Theban King Oedipus also becomes King of Corinth in the play "Oedipus Rex."Specifically, Oedipus is brought by a trusted shepherd from Thebes to Corinth. In Corinth, the infant is adopted by the childless royal couple, King Polybus and Queen Merope. Much later, as a young man, Oedipus hears of a prophecy that he is fated to kill his own father and marry his own father. He does not share that revolting news with anyone, instead choosing to flee what he thinks is his hometown of Corinth for Thebes, his real hometown. Decades after his flight, Oedipus learns that the man whom he always considered his father is dead. The Corinthian throne is his if he wants it ... until the twists and turns of the plot reveal themselves in their full horror.
Corinth is the adoptive home town of Theban King Oedipus in the play "Oedipus Rex" by ancient Greek playwright Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Oedipus is born in Thebes where it is predicted that he will grow up to kill his father, Theban King Laius. His parents therefore try to kill him, but he survives through the help of a Theban and a Corinthian shepherd. The latter brings him to Corinth, where Oedipus is adopted by the childless King Polybus and Queen Merope.
Old age and illness are the reasons why Oedipus' adopted father dies in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Corinthian King Polybus is Oedipus' adopted father. The two have not seen each other for almost two decades. But on what turns out to be his last day on the job, Theban King Oedipus gets the news of Polybus' death and an invitation to occupy the Corinthian throne.
Oedipus was the son of Laius, King of Thebes and Jocasta. He was sent to die on a hillside. A shepard rescued him and he was adopted by King Polybus of Corinth and his wife. An oracle said that Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother. So he left his adopted home and went to Thebes. He met his real father, and not knowing, killed him. Then he riddled with the Sphinx and won the throne of Thebes. He married his mother without knowing and had four children. When the truth became known, his mother hung herself and Oedipus blinded himself.
An unidentified individual in a flashback and the Corinthian messenger during the play tell Oedipus that he is adopted in "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. - 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, a nameless individual says that Oedipus is not the biological son of his presumed parents, Corinthian monarchs Polybus and Merope. He receives evasive answers from the royal couple and a disturbing prophecy from the Delphic oracle. So he runs away to Thebes, where he becomes the happily married King of Thebes. But years later, a Corinthian messenger brings the news of Polybus' death and in the process says that Oedipus is the monarch's adopted son.
Yes, the future Theban King Oedipus was adopted. He was fosterd by a shepherd to the childless royal couple of Corinth, King Polybus and Merope. The shepherd was given the abandoned baby while visiting a fellow shepherd in Thebes. The Corinthian monarchs were so pleased with Oedipus that they raised him as their heir apparent.
That his adopted father Polybus had died of old age.
the recognition and reversal occur when it is revealed that he was adopted
No, he was the adopted son of the king of Corinth, Polybus.