Oedipus and the Sphinx Oedipus and the Sphinx Oedipus and the Sphinx is an 1864 oil on canvas painting by Gustave Moreau that was first exhibited at the French "Salon" of 1864 where it was an immediate success. It is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The work was a fresh treatment of the established subject of the meeting between Oedipus and the Sphinx on the road to Delphi, notably portrayed at Sophocles' play Oedipus Rex. The painting depicts Oedipus meeting the Sphinx at the crossroads on his journey between Thebes and Delphi. Oedipus must answer the Sphinx's riddle correctly in order to
Oedipus Rex ability, as seen in "Oedipus at Colonus". It is deliberately ironic that the "seer" can "see" better than Oedipus, despite being blind. In one line (Oedipus the king, 469), Tiresias says: ""So, you mock my blindness? Let me tell you this. You [Oedipus] with your precious eyes, you're blind to the corruption of your life ..."" (Robert Fagles 1984) Sigmund Freud in "Interpretation of Dreams" wrote a notable passage regarding of the destiny of Oedipus as well as the Oedipus complex. He analyzes why this play, "Oedipus Rex", written in Ancient Greece, is so effective even to a modern audience.