Oedipus was made king after solving the "Riddle of the Sphinx." The Sphinx was a female monster that terrorized the city of Thebes until her riddle was solved by Oedipus. The riddle of the Sphinx was "What is it that walks on four feet and two feet and three feet and only has one voice; when it walks on most feet, it is most weakest?" Oedipus answered: "man." " This is the answer to the riddle since man has four feet, as a child who crawls on all four, and three feet when we walk with the aid of a stick. After answering the riddle correctly, the Sphinx was surprised and killed herself by going into the sea which now caused Thebes to be free. .
Consequently, if someone were to answer the riddle wrong, they would be killed. .
It is possible for Oedipus to give the right answer because Apollo made it his fate to answer the riddle of the Sphinx. Oedipus' prophecy was made true when the shepherd who was ordered to bring Oedipus to the mountains and kill him did not kill him but instead gave him to another shepherd. The prophecy of Oedipus is to murder his father, husband his mother, and have children with his mother. After being revealed this prophecy, Jacasta, mother of Oedipus, sends a shepherd to bring the baby to the mountains and to kill it. The basis of the story is revolved around this prophecy and started when the second shepherd gave young .
Oedipus to Polybus, king of Corinth, and Merope, queen of Corinth.
Oedipus fails to understand all the evidence about his prophecy that is brought to him, from the beginning with Creon and Tiresias arguing with Oedipus until the very end when he blinds himself. Not only does he fail to understand everything that he is dealing with but he also does not want to accept the fact that he could possibly be the murderer of his father and husband of his mother. Oedipus' first encounter with this riddle is when he argues with Tiresias thinking that Creon and he want to overthrow Oedipus so that they can claim the throne of Thebes.