Oedipus Oedipus Oedipus (, ; "Oidípous" meaning 'swollen foot') was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus accidentally fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby bringing disaster to his city and family. The story of Oedipus is the subject of Sophocles' tragedy "Oedipus Rex", which was followed by "Oedipus at Colonus" and then "Antigone". Together, these plays make up Sophocles' three Theban plays. Oedipus represents two enduring themes of Greek myth and drama: the flawed nature of humanity and an individual's role in the course of
Oedipus complex unconscious guilt. Freud believed that the Oedipal sentiment has been inherited through the millions of years it took for humans to evolve from apes. He based this on his analysis of his feelings attending the play, his anecdotal observations of neurotic or normal children, and on the fact that " Oedipus Rex" was effective on both ancient and modern audiences. (He also claimed that the play "Hamlet" "has its roots in the same soil as "Oedipus Rex"", and that the differences between the two plays are revealing. "In ["Oedipus Rex"] the child’s wishful fantasy that underlies it is brought into