Thursday, February 15, 2007

Cairo Museum, Oedipus and The Sphinx Riddle


Cairo Museum has an interesting collection of Greco-Roman artifacts includes a masterpiece of fresco that represents the legend of Oedipus. This fresco dates back to second century A.D, the Roman Dynasty. The fresco views, from the right, Oedipus the young heir of the kingdom of Corinth while killing Laius the king of Thebes in Greece. Originally the myth describes him to be the child of king Laius and queen Jocasta of Thebes who had an oracle predicted that they shall have a cursed son who will kill his father and marries his mother and once they believed in it they pierced his feet and tied it then left him in the wilderness alone to die. Oedipus fate was determined by Agonus goddess of Agony who is seen to the left side of him just standing to watch. Then the fresco shows the sphinx as a monster that Oedipus had to face, then the myth tells that Oedipus was asked by the sphinx about a creature can walk at sunrise on four the can walk on two at noon time then walk on three by sunset, Oedipus was smart enough to solve this riddle and next to that the fresco shows Oedipus while being married to the widow Jocasta then to the left it views him piercing his eyes once he found out that he killed his father and got married to his mother. The name Oedipus in the Greek language means the swollen feet that is due to the way they tied his feet once he was a baby.
Copyrig © 2006.

No comments:

Art in ancient Egypt ! My T.V talk today! I hope you find it enjoyable!💙💙💙

Art in ancient Egypt ! My T.V talk today! I hope you find it enjoyable!