Oedipus had four children with his wife, Jocasta—who was also, of course, his mother. Oedipus had no idea that the woman he married had also given birth to him so many years before. Oedipus's parents were not at all anticipating the idea that their son would arrive and interfere with their later lives, since they had set aside the prophesy that he would kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus, marrying his own mother Jocasta, produced four children: two girls, Antigone and Ismene; and two boys, Polynices and Eteocles.

The birth of these children was understood to fulfill the prophecy that had been expressed about the town. Many years after Oedipus's were born, others in the town fell prey to infidelity and became concerned about their own potential to bear children.