Polybus of Corinth Polybus of Corinth Polybus (Ancient Greek: Πόλυβος) is a figure in Greek mythology. He was the king of Corinth and husband of either Periboea or Merope, a Dorian. Polybus reigned over the city like a gentle man and loved his wife, but unfortunately their marriage remained childless for many years. When Oedipus as an infant was abandoned by his parents Laius and Jocasta, the rulers of Thebes, Periboea who was washing garments at the shore, found and rescued him. In some accounts, either shepherds or keepers of horses of Polybus found the small child in Mount Cithaeron and brought it
Oedipus Rex descendants (although many scholars regard Laius' transgressions against Chrysippus to be a late addition to the myth). When his son is born, the king consults an oracle as to his fortune. To his horror, the oracle reveals that Laius "is doomed to perish by the hand of his own son". Laius binds the infant's feet together with a pin, and orders Jocasta to kill him. Unable to kill her own son, Jocasta orders a servant to slay the infant for her. The servant then exposes the infant on a mountaintop, where he is found and rescued by a shepherd (in