Ϋdip us

A son of Laius, king of Thebes, and Jocasta. Laius was informed by the oracle, as soon as he married Jocasta, that he would perish by the hands of his son. On his birth Œdip us was given to a domestic, with orders to expose him to death on the mountains, where he was found by one of the shepherds of Polybus, king of Corinth. Peribœa, the wife of Polybus, educated him as her own child, tending him with great care. In after life he met Laius in a narrow lane in a chariot, and being haughtily ordered to make way for Laius, a combat ensued in which Laius was slain. After this Œdip us was attracted to Thebes by the fame of the Sphinx, who devoured all those who attempted to explain without succe the enigmas which she propounded. The enigma proposed by the Sphinx to Œdip us was:—What animal in the morning walks upon four feet, at noon upon two, and in the evening upon three? Œdip us solved the riddle by replying that the animal was man, who in childhood crawls on his hands and feet, on attaining manhood walks on two feet erect, and in the evening of life supports his tottering steps with a staff. The monster on hearing the correct solution of the riddle, dashed her head against a rock and perished.