Jocasta

Jocasta, also Iocaste, is a figure in Greek mythology associated with Thebes. She is traditionally described as the wife of Laius and the mother of Oedipus. After a prophecy foretold that Laius would be killed by his own son and that his son would wed his wife, Laius and Jocasta attempt to thwart the oracle by abandoning their infant son. The child is saved and later raised elsewhere.

Oedipus, unaware of his true parentage, leaves his adopted home and comes to Thebes, where he defeats the Sphinx and is made king. He then marries Jocasta, still ignorant that she is his mother. The couple bears four children: Polynices, Eteocles, Antigone, and Ismene. The truth about Oedipus’s origins is gradually revealed, culminating in Jocasta’s suicide after she realizes the full extent of the prophecy’s fulfillment.

Jocasta is a central figure in Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex (Oedipus Tyrannus) and appears in related Theban plays, embodying themes of fate, knowledge, and the limits of human wisdom. Her story has become a paradigmatic example of tragic revelation and familial doom in classical literature.

In modern times, Jocasta remains a reference point in discussions of tragedy, fate, and maternal associations with guilt and guilt's consequences. The name has also appeared in contemporary fiction and adaptations inspired by Greek myth.