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Quiz about The Cruel Fate of King Oedipus

The Cruel Fate of King Oedipus Quiz

Oedipus is a classic Greek hero with a classically awful fate - see what you know about the doomed leader.

A multiple-choice quiz by merylfederman. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
merylfederman

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
369,632

Updated
Jul 23 22

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
7 / 10

Plays
385

Awards
Top 20% Quiz

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Oedipus was raised in Corinth by which king and queen? Hint

Agamemnon and Clytemnestra

Polybus and Merope

Creon and Eurydice

Atreus and Aerope

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Question 2 of 10

2. Which great terror of the ancient Greek world did Oedipus vanquish? Hint

The Sphinx

The Minotaur

The Hydra

The Chimera

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Question 3 of 10

3. Which city-state did Oedipus rule? Hint

Thebes

Sparta

Corinth

Athens

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Question 4 of 10

4. What act of physical cruelty was committed against Oedipus when he was an infant? Hint

Hung from a tree

Wrists tied together

Shot with an arrow

Feet pierced together

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Question 5 of 10

5. When Oedipus was king, what sociopolitical incident inspired him to consult the oracles and soothsayers that ultimately led to him discovering his own unintentional crimes? Hint

Plague

Religious dispute

War

Political marriage

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Question 6 of 10

6. Before Oedipus' populace can be satisfied that they're safe, the killer of the old king of Thebes (the Queen's last husband) must be found. Who was the old king? Hint

Laertes

Laius

Tereus

Peleus

7. The seer Tiresias reveals (though Oedipus scarcely believes it) that Oedipus himself is the killer of the old king, and chillingly predicts what future calamity that falls on Oedipus and links the two men? Hint

Blindness

Suicide

Exile

Paralysis

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. When it is revealed that Oedipus is the child of his wife Jocasta and her first husband Laius, the old king (making Oedipus' children his own half-brothers and sisters) what does Jocasta do? Hint

Kills their children

Curses the seer

Runs away from Thebes

Kills herself

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Question 9 of 10

9. Oedipus had four children with Jocasta, and one of them remained faithful to him even after he was exiled in the wake of his murder and criminal marriage being brought to light. Which child is this, who follows him and becomes his aid in his old age and infirmity? Hint

Antigone

Eteocles

Ismene

Polynices

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Question 10 of 10

10. Oedipus abdicates his throne to leave the city, seeing as his presence had caused the great disaster he needed to eliminate from Thebes. When he abdicates, who becomes the interim leader of Thebes before his sons can take over? Hint

Haemon

Creon

Cadmus

Lycomedes

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Oedipus was raised in Corinth by which king and queen?

Answer: Polybus and Merope

Oedipus' more famous parents weren't the Corinthian ones who raised him, as they proved far less relevant to his fate. However, his relationship with his adoptive parents was very important and led to his return and re-introduction to the land of his birth.

2. Which great terror of the ancient Greek world did Oedipus vanquish?

Answer: The Sphinx

Oedipus defeated the Sphinx, a riddling creature with the body of a lion but the head of a human woman who would kill all travelers who could not answer the riddle successfully. Oedipus freed the Sphinx's victims once he answered the riddle, as the Sphinx killed herself after his success.

3. Which city-state did Oedipus rule?

Answer: Thebes

Thebes was the city Oedipus took over after his miraculous victory over the Sphinx. He was given the kingship and the hand of the Queen Jocasta in marriage as a reward for protecting the city from the monster.

4. What act of physical cruelty was committed against Oedipus when he was an infant?

Answer: Feet pierced together

Oedipus was taken into the woods on order of his parents and left to die with his feet pierced together, but the shepherd handed him off to a Corinthian messenger, who gave him to the king and queen who raised him.

5. When Oedipus was king, what sociopolitical incident inspired him to consult the oracles and soothsayers that ultimately led to him discovering his own unintentional crimes?

Answer: Plague

A plague descends upon Thebes after years of Oedipus' reign, and the populace begs him to discover the cause and remove it by any means. Oedipus, as an intelligent leader, reaches out to those best equipped to help - as far as he knew, that was the Delphic oracle and the seer Tiresias.

6. Before Oedipus' populace can be satisfied that they're safe, the killer of the old king of Thebes (the Queen's last husband) must be found. Who was the old king?

Answer: Laius

The last king, Laius, was killed on the road but the killers were never found, as that time was preoccupied with discovering the Sphinx's riddle. Oedipus, upon hearing that the killer is at large and his sin is infecting the city, swears to find the man.

Answer: Blindness

Tiresias is the blind seer, and compares Oedipus' ignorance to blindness at first, then progressing to assert that Oedipus will suffer a literal blindness in the future to match his prior figurative blindness. Oedipus will also be exiled, though that does not bind the two.

8. When it is revealed that Oedipus is the child of his wife Jocasta and her first husband Laius, the old king (making Oedipus' children his own half-brothers and sisters) what does Jocasta do?

Answer: Kills herself

Jocasta, realizing that all the prophecies about her first son had come true and that he was now her husband, hangs herself in her bedroom. Oedipus finds her, followed by other members of the household.

Answer: Antigone

Antigone is the loyal child and remains adamantly protective of her family to the end, going so far as to bury her traitor brother Polynices after he falls in war against Thebes, despite an edict against such activity.

Answer: Creon

Creon is the brother of Jocasta and brother-in-law/uncle to Oedipus. He ultimately carries out the order to banish Oedipus, but later on conspires to bring him back into the city so that Oedipus can be buried there. Oedipus refuses to be buried in the city that had rejected him, and knows that Creon only wants him back because a new prophecy had implied that Oedipus' burial would bless the place where it happened.

Source: Author merylfederman

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor LadyCaitriona before going online.
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