The background of Oedipus is important in understanding the play. The key figure is Oedipus' father, King Laius. When Laius was a child, Amphion and Zethus usurped the Theban throne. Loyal citizens managed to rescue Laius. King Pelops took in the young Laius who repaid his hospitality by abducting Pelops' son. This abuse of hospitality brought down a curse on the house of Thebes.
After Laius regains his throne he marries Jocasta. The oracle at Delphi predicts that his son will murder him and marry Jocasta. He gives the baby Oedipus to a servant to be exposed on a mountainside and left to die. Instead, Oedipus is rescued and raised as the son of the King of Corinth. Oedipus hears a prophecy that he will murder his father and marry his mother. Not realizing that he is adopted, he leaves Corinth to avoid his fate, kills Laius (whom he does not realize is his father), and marries Jocasta.
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