Oedipus: history, legends, plays, complexes

Abstract

A discussion of "Oedipus Was Not the Son of Laius and Jocasta" by Angel Garma, M.D. The thesis that Oedipus was not the son of the Theban royal pair but his Corinthian "foster parents" raises questions as to which Oedipus is under discussion--one of several different "historical" and legendary accounts, the hero of the plays of Sophocles, or the synthesized "Oedipuses" of millions of individual and ethnic fantasies. Oedipuses, in whom the particular variant described by Dr. Garma can be discerned, certainly abound and should be included among the many possibilities to be considered.