Oedipus

Oedipus means 'swollen foot' because when he was a baby, his feet were tied together! He was a king in an old Greek story. He was a hero, but he had a really sad and surprising adventure. He didn't mean to, but he ended up doing things that brought big problems to his city and his family. It's like a super dramatic fairy tale gone wrong!

When Oedipus was born, people heard a prophecy, which is like a prediction of the future. It said he would kill his father and marry his mother! His parents were so scared they tried to leave him on a mountain. But a kind person saved him and he grew up thinking his adopted parents were his real ones. He tried to run away from the prophecy, but it followed him!

On his journey, Oedipus met a scary monster called the Sphinx. The Sphinx asked a super hard riddle, and if you got it wrong, it would eat you! But Oedipus was super smart and solved it. The Sphinx was so surprised it disappeared! Because he was so clever, he became the new king of a city called Thebes and married the queen, who was secretly his mom!

Years later, a terrible sickness hit Thebes. Oedipus wanted to find out who caused it. He discovered the awful truth: he was the one who killed his father and married his mother! His mother was so sad she ended her own life. Oedipus, in shock, poked his own eyes out with pins from her dress. It's a very sad story about fate and not knowing the truth.