Oedipus Rex as a Historical Construct The tale of Oedipus Rex is one that is mind-boggling. It is quite perplexing for two reasons: on one hand, knowing the Greeks so strongly believed in the fates and prophecies, the course of events in Oedipus’ life seems to be a probable perception; yet on the other hand, that course of events also seems too-well put together, tragically speaking, to be true. First off, it is very likely that Laius and Jocasta, as king and queen of Thebes, would have had a baby as there needed to be an heir to the throne. To explain the separation between the parents and their child, it was common for mothers to abandon newborns in that time in ancient Greece. It is possible Oedipus was found and taken to another town, taking him a step closer to fulfilling his prophecy of killing his father and marrying his mother. After finding the king and queen of Corinth to not be his real mother and father, and expected reaction would be for Oedipus to leave and search for his real parents. Up until this point of Oedipus searching for Laius and Jocasta, the events do not seem too far-fetched. The only miraculous happening that may seem unlikely is Oedipus being found after being abandoned by Jocasta. The search, however, does not make much sense; Oedipus does not know anything of Jocasta or Laius and has not considered that any older, married man may be his father. Conveniently, the tale of Oedipus provides he gets involved in some sort of quarrel with
