s not answer her riddle correctly. So as Oedipus gets to Thebes and learns of the Sphinx and he is curious to challenge the Sphinx’s riddle. As Oedipus travels the countryside he comes across the Sphinx, the Sphinx asks the riddle and Oedipus answers it correctly. At that moment the Sphinx kills herself and Oedipus returns to Thebes as a hero and it’s new king. As Oedipus is king he tries to solve the mystery of the death of Laius and who killed him. As Oedipus investigates more into the matter he finds the killer. When Oedipus names the killer he goes to a room to find his mother Jocasta, who he thought was his wife, dead on the floor. Oedipus in extreme depression cut out his eyes to live in darkness once he saw his dead mother on the floor. Oedipus did not throw away everything he had by doing this, no; he had four children, two boys and two girls. The boys are named Polyneices and Creon, who was the heir to the throne. The girls were called Antigone and Ismene. This now separated the family, because his son Creon drove his father out of the city along with his sister Antigone. Antigone was her father’s only friend and tended to his needs. Ismene stood back in Thebes to let her father learn of any news concerning her father. The brothers now were fighting for the throne at Thebes, and this completely separated the family of the house of Thebes. The brothers ended up killing one another in a duel for the throne that put the family’s name to shame. The family of Thebes had a strong and powerful house that had potential to succeed greatly, but selfishness and greed destroyed the family name. That was the men of Thebes fault, but no fault should be laid on the women of Thebes. In reality they helped make the house of Thebes die with honor by burying their brothers despite orders telling them not to be buried. By the sisters burying their brothers they helped put their brother’s souls to rest. The reason the ...
