Oedipus Rex and that deal with the story of Oedipus, "Oedipus Rex" was the second to be written. However, in terms of the chronology of events that the plays describe, it comes first, followed by "Oedipus at Colonus" and then "Antigone". Prior to the start of "Oedipus Rex", Oedipus has become the king of Thebes while unwittingly fulfilling a prophecy that he would kill his father, Laius (the previous king), and marry his mother, Jocasta (whom Oedipus took as his queen after solving the riddle of the Sphinx). The action of Sophocles' play concerns Oedipus' search for the murderer of Laius in
Oedipus Rex some versions, the servant gives the infant to the shepherd). The shepherd names the child Oedipus, "swollen feet", as his feet had been tightly bound by Laius. The shepherd brings the infant to Corinth, and presents him to the childless king Polybus, who raises Oedipus as his own son. As he grows to manhood, Oedipus hears a rumour that he is not truly the son of Polybus and his wife, Merope. He asks the Delphic Oracle who his parents really are. The Oracle seems to ignore this question, telling him instead that he is destined to ""mate with [his] own