In
Greek mythologyGreek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
,
Jocasta, also known as
Jocaste ,
Epikastê, or
Iokastê was a daughter of
MenoeceusIn Greek mythology, Menoeceus was the father of Creon and Jocasta and both grandfather and father-in-law of Oedipus. Another Menoeceus was the son of Creon, named after his grandfather...
and Queen consort of
Thebes, GreeceThebes is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain. It played an important role in Greek myth, as the site of the stories of Cadmus, Oedipus, Dionysus and others...
. She was the wife of
LaiusIn Greek mythology, King Laius, or Laios of Thebes was a divine hero and key personage in the Theban founding myth. Son of Labdacus, he was raised by the regent Lycus after the death of his father.-Abduction of Chrysippus:...
. Wife and mother of
OedipusOedipus was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. He fulfilled a prophecy that said he would kill his father and marry his mother, and thus brought disaster on his city and family...
by
LaiusIn Greek mythology, King Laius, or Laios of Thebes was a divine hero and key personage in the Theban founding myth. Son of Labdacus, he was raised by the regent Lycus after the death of his father.-Abduction of Chrysippus:...
, and both mother and grandmother of
AntigoneIn Greek mythology, Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta, Oedipus' mother. The name may be taken to mean "unbending", coming from "anti-" and "-gon / -gony" , but has also been suggested to mean "opposed to motherhood", "in place of a mother", or "anti-generative", based from the root...
,
EteoclesIn Greek mythology, Eteocles was a king of Thebes, the son of Oedipus and either Jocasta or Euryganeia. The name is from earlier *Etewoklewes , meaning "truly glorious". Tawaglawas is thought to be the Hittite rendition of the name. Oedipus killed his father Laius and married his mother without...
,
PolynicesIn Greek mythology, Polynices or Polyneices was the son of Oedipus and Jocasta. His wife was Argea. His father, Oedipus, was discovered to have killed his father and married his mother, and was expelled from Thebes, leaving his sons Eteocles and Polynices to rule...
and
IsmeneIsmene is the name of two women of Greek mythology. The more famous is a daughter and half-sister of Oedipus, daughter and granddaughter of Jocasta, and sister of Antigone, Eteocles, and Polynices. She appears in several plays of Sophocles: at the end of Oedipus the King, in Oedipus at Colonus and...
by
OedipusOedipus was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. He fulfilled a prophecy that said he would kill his father and marry his mother, and thus brought disaster on his city and family...
. She was also sister of
CreonCreon is a figure in Greek mythology best known as the ruler of Thebes in the legend of Oedipus. He had two children with his wife, Eurydice: Megareus and Haemon...
.
The tale goes that one day her husband, King Laius of Thebes, consulted an
oracleIn Classical Antiquity, an oracle was a person or agency considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic predictions or precognition of the future, inspired by the gods. As such it is a form of divination....
while she was heavily pregnant with Oedipus. The oracle told Laius that the child was destined to kill his father and marry his own mother, i.e., Jocasta. So King Laius decided the child must be brought up to the mountain separating the city of Thebes from
CorinthCorinth is a city and former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Corinth, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit...
. He got a servant to travel to the top of the mountain and leave it there, but the servant saw nothing wrong with the baby and saw no reason to leave it to die. A shepherd was walking by and said that he and his wife would take the baby and raise it as if it were their own and they did for 19 years. Alternatively, Oedipus gets adopted by the king of Corinth and raised as a prince of that city. Jocasta allowed Laius to go through with the abandonment of the child in fear of the prophecy.
Oedipus grows up in Corinth and one day crosses paths with the oracle, Teiresias, who tells him that he will kill his father and marry his mother. Not knowing that his parents are actually Jocasta and Laius, he runs away from home to escape the evil fate. Oedipus subsequently crosses paths with Laius and in course of an argument over right-of-way for their respective chariots, unwittingly kills the King, his father. He then goes to Thebes and sees that it is in disorder, in part due to being in thrall to the
SphinxA sphinx is a mythical creature with a lion's body and a human head or a cat head.The sphinx, in Greek tradition, has the haunches of a lion, the wings of a great bird, and the face of a woman. She is mythicised as treacherous and merciless...
. When he solves the famous riddle of the sphinx, Oedipus becomes king and marries the widowed queen, Jocasta, unaware she is actually his own mother. Jocasta and Oedipus then have four children together: two girls, Antigone and Ismene and the brothers (eventually mutual fratricides) Eteocles and Polyneices. Oedipus eventually discovers the truth of his origin, and thus his patricide and incest. Upon hearing the news, Jocasta hangs herself. Oedipus in turn gouges his eyes out and wanders exiled in the wilderness along with his daughter, Antigone, until his death 10 years later (some versions have 20 years later).
See also
- Oedipus the King
Oedipus the King , also known by the Latin title Oedipus Rex, is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed c. 429 BCE. It was the second of Sophocles's three Theban plays to be produced, but it comes first in the internal chronology, followed by Oedipus at Colonus and then Antigone...
by SophoclesSophocles is one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived. His first plays were written later than those of Aeschylus, and earlier than or contemporary with those of Euripides...
is an ancient Greek retelling of this legend as a play.
In popular culture
- "Jocasta" is a song by Noah and the Whale
Noah and the Whale are an English indie folk band from Twickenham, London, England formed in 2006. The band consists of Charlie Fink , Tom Hobden , Matt "Urby Whale" Owens , Fred Abbott , and Michael Petulla .-Early years and Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down...
. It is about the abandonment of Oedipus in the mountains, and one's personal condition being a consequence of one's upbringing.
- Jocasta is also the term for the faceted gems with minuscule carvings in the The Land of Elyon series of novels.
- Jocasta Sleeps, a rock band from Glasgow, Scotland, take their name from the story.
- Jocasta: The Mother-Wife of Oedipus, a novel by American authors Victoria Grossack and Alice Underwood, tells the Oedipus story from the point of view of his mother-wife, Jocasta.
- Jocasta
Jocasta is a fictional, comic book superhero appearing books published by Marvel Comics. A member of the Avengers, the character is a robot created by the villain Ultron.-Publication history:Jocasta first appears in The Avengers Jocasta is a fictional, comic book superhero appearing books published...
is also the name of a robotic Marvel Comics character, who was created by an evil, sentient robot named Ultron - with strong similarities to Oedipus - to be his bride.
- Jocasta is also the name of the Jedi Archives Librarian in both Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the clones and Star Wars: The clone wars TV series (2008).
- In the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon
Diana J. Gabaldon is an American author of Mexican-American and English ancestry. Gabaldon is the author of the Outlander Series. Her books they contain elements of romantic fiction, historical fiction, mystery, adventure, and science fiction.-Early life and science career:Diana J. Gabaldon was...
, Jocasta Cameron is the aunt of the main character, Claire Randall Fraser's husband Jamie Fraser.
- Jocasta Rose is the name of Eddie's much older lover in Matt Wagner's Grendel
Grendel is a long-running series of comic books originally created by American author Matt Wagner. First published by Comico, Wagner has now moved his character to Dark Horse. Originally a noir comic in the style of European titles such as Diabolik, it has evolved into, in Wagner's words, a study...
.