Take “Oedipus” Off

To the Editor: Oedipus lived in Greece in the mythical period 800–500 BCE.¹ We know of him through the play Oedipus Rex, written by Sophocles in approximately 429 BC. Sigmund Freud attended a performance of the play in the late 19th century and was deeply impressed. He labeled one of his theories the “Oedipus complex.” However, the events portrayed in Oedipus Rex do not reflect the components of the psychoanalytic theory. Thus, the name Oedipus should be disconnected from this theory.

Freud first used the term Oedipal complex in 1912.² Theoretically, the Oedipal complex is central to the psychosexual development of boys during the phallic stage (3–6 years).³ Similar events have been described in female children, but with less vehemence (sometimes under the heading of the Electra complex).^4,5

The focus here is on males, as Oedipus is a male name. Theoretically, during this period, the boy desires sexual or bodily contact with his mother and is jealous and wishes to take the place of his father. It is stated that the boy is consequently plagued by unconscious fear of castration and feelings of guilt. If such issues are not adequately resolved, it is held that neurosis may arise in later life. Such events have been considered normal in any family circle.⁶

Laius, the King of Thebes, married Jocasta, the daughter of a Theban noble. After they married, the Delphic Oracle told Laius he should die childless as he (the Oracle) had received the prophecy stating that a son from the union of Laius and Jocasta was destined to kill him (Laius).

Consequently, soon after he was born, Oedipus was abandoned by his parents—he was left on the slopes of Mount Cithaeron to die. His ankles were pinned together with metal in an effort to cripple him and deter his rescue by any passing stranger. However, Oedipus was rescued and passed between individuals, finally being parented by King Polybus of Corinth and his wife Merope.

As a youth, Oedipus heard rumors about him not actually being the son of Polybus. He went to the Oracle of Delphi to get a clearer understanding of his history. He was told he would kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus interpreted that he was destined to kill Polybus and was deeply distressed. He immediately left Corinth and planned never to return, thereby making the fulfillment of the prophecy impossible.

As he traveled, at crossroads, he had a disagreement with an unknown elderly man about the rules of the road. There was a fight, and Oedipus killed the stranger. He was unaware he had killed Laius, his biological father. He went on to Thebes where he was met by a Sphinx. This creature had been ensconced in Thebes for months or years. She stopped and asked travelers a question, none answered correctly, and she ate them. Oedipus answered the question correctly, and the Sphinx was so distressed that she committed suicide by jumping off a cliff. There was a prize for ridding the city of the monster—the successful person was to be made King of Thebes and to have the hand of the queen in marriage.

Oedipus accepted these gifts. He married Jocasta, and they had 4 children. Over time, there were some rumors about Oedipus’s origins. He consulted a seer, Tiresias, who stated that as prophesied, Oedipus had killed his father.

A clue to Oedipus’s identity was an ambulatory problem, caused by the pinning of his ankles together when he was a baby. Jocasta eventually guessed his identity and, tortured by their incestuous relationship, hanged herself.

At this point, Oedipus was aware he had killed his father and participated in an incestuous relationship with his mother. He took pins from Jocasta’s clothes and blinded himself with them—he did not take his life—believing he would be a source of pollution to the dead as much as to the living. He was cared for by one of his daughters until his death.

It is not reasonable to name this psychoanalytic concept about boys during the phallic period (3–6 years of age) being physically attracted to their mothers and hostile toward their fathers after the ancient Greek, Oedipus. We are not concerned here with the validity or otherwise of the concept of the complex but the mismatch between the events of the life of Oedipus and features of the theory.

Oedipus was abandoned by his biological parents in the first day or so of his life. If he had physical attraction toward his mother and consequentially murderous intentions toward his father, these would have been toward King Polybus and Queen Merope of Corinth, who raised him from hours or days up to, through, and far beyond his phallic stage.

Oedipus did not recognize Laius, his father, the day he killed him. They separated before Oedipus had any mental mechanisms necessary for unconscious resources or cognitive abilities to lay down lasting memories.

Nor did Oedipus, for the same reasons, have any memory of conscious or unconscious desire for intercourse with Jocasta, his mother. In his history of psychiatry, Michael Stone⁷ wrote, “This was not incest, because there was no consciousness of incest.”^(p192)

There are no readily available case studies or other suggestions indicating males can develop an Oedipus complex toward a parent in the first day or so of life. If Oedipus had developed a strong Oedipus complex, it would have been toward his adoptive, not his biological, parents.

The events depicted in the play Oedipus Rex are dramatic and entertaining, but there is no means of verifying them. As there is a mismatch between the timing and events of this play and those described in clinical accounts, the term Oedipus complex should be replaced. “Freud’s complex” or “parental complex” could be contenders, but clinicians working in the field would likely have more appropriate suggestions.

Article Information

Published Online: May 12, 2026. https://doi.org/10.4088/PCC.25lr04128
© 2026 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.
Prim Care Companion CNS Disord 2026;28(3):25lr04128
To Cite: Naguy A, Pridmore S. Take “Oedipus” off. Prim Care Companion CNS Disord. 2026;28(3):25lr04128.
Author Affiliations: Inpatient Care, Al-Manara CAP Centre, Kuwait Centre for Mental Health, Shuwaikh, Kuwait (Naguy); Department of Psychiatry, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia (Pridmore).
Corresponding Author: Ahmed Naguy, MBBch, MSc, MRCPsych (UK), Inpatient Care, Al-Manara CAP Centre, Kuwait Centre for Mental Health, Shuwaikh, Kuwait ([email protected]).
Financial Disclosure: None.
Funding/Support: None.