Three Female Characters In Greek Tragedies

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Lauis rejected all women. This
infuriated Jocasta and she had gotten Lauis drunk, and slept with him. This
proves that Jocasta refuses to be outdone, even by her husband. When Jocasta
had given birth to a baby boy (Oedipus), Lauis had it sent away by a messenger
to die of exposure high in the mountains. A shepherd discovered the boy and
gave it to his master King Polybus.
As years passed, Thebes was plagued by a Sphinx that sought the answer
to a riddle. It asked for the answer and killed everyone who had guessed
incorrectly. This had riddled Thebes' commerce and left its people disgruntled.
To make matters worse, news reached the city that Lauis had been killed by
unknown assailants. Desperate and in need of help, Creon (now the regent of
Thebes) had offered up the throne and Jocasta to anyone who could solve the
Sphinx's riddle.
In the meantime, Oedipus came across the Sphinx and solved the riddle.
He ended up in Thebes because he went to the oracle at Delphi just ...

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had been sent into hiding immediately after Oedipus's crowning. Oedipus
demands his presence, but Jocasta begs him to stop his investigation.
"Impossible. Trust me, he could never make the murder or Lauis truly fit the
prophecy." (208) Oedipus starts to realize he had put a curse upon himself when
he had condemned the man who had slain Lauis. The witness verifies the truth to
Oedipus and their stories match. Jocasta prays to Apollo that Oedipus won't be
so worrisome. "What should a man fear? . . . Better to live at random, Live as
if there's no tomorrow!" (215) She wants him to be calm, for she believes he
did not do it.
Both Jocasta and Oedipus are excited to hear the news of ...

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