Discussion Topic
Reasons behind the lack of investigation into Laius's murder in Thebes
Summary:
The lack of investigation into Laius's murder in Thebes is primarily due to the city's focus on dealing with the Sphinx's curse. The immediate threat of the Sphinx diverted attention and resources, leaving Laius's murder unsolved and neglected until Oedipus's inquiry later in the story.
Why wasn't Laius' murder investigated when it occurred in Thebes?
Simply put, the Thebans have other things on their minds, most notably the Sphinx. This terrifying monster has put a curse on the city and she's warned the citizens of Thebes from inquiring into the circumstances of Laius's death. Not surprisingly, the Thebans are extremely reluctant to defy this mysterious creature. And in any case, only one eyewitness of Laius's murder remains—an old man crazed with fear now hiding out in the mountains. As he's gone completely mad, it's unlikely that he'll be able to provide much in the way of reliable information, certainly nothing that could help solve the mystery.
Strictly speaking, it would be relatively easy to discover the murderer's identity, were there a will to do so. But it's not really in anyone's interests to do this for the reasons just mentioned. Ironically, the one man who believes it is in his best interests to uncover the...
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killer's identity is, of course, the killer himself.
When Sophocles' Oedipus the King opens, we find the people of Thebes suffering under the ravages of a terrible plague. Oedipus sends his brother-in-law Creon to Delphi to consult the oracle about a remedy for the situation. When Creon returns, he reports that the oracle has told him that the killer of Laius, the previous king, is still present among the Thebans. To rid themselves of the plague, Creon tells Oedipus that they must drive Laius' killer from their city.
Upon hearing this, Oedipus wonders why the Thebans did not try to investigate Laius' death at the time it happened.
When the ruling king had fallen in this way,
what bad trouble blocked your path, preventing you
from looking into it? (Ian Johnston translation)
Creon, in turn, responds that at the time the Thebans were also faced with another problem, the Sphinx, whose death, ironically, Oedipus subsequently brought about by solving the monster's riddle.
It was the Sphinx—
she sang her enigmatic song and thus forced us
to put aside something we found obscure
to look into the urgent problem we now faced.
Why didn't the Thebans pursue Laius's murderer?
The Thebans probably did not chase Laius' murderer because they were distracted by the lifting of the plague laid on the city of Thebes by the Sphinx. When Oedipus arrived in the city and solved the riddle of the Sphinx (What goes on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the afternoon? Answer: man), the plague that the city has suffered is gone, and the city rejoices. They reward Oedipus by giving him the queen Jocasta in marriage and making him their new king.
Another reason may be that the only man who survived the attack at the place where three roads meet when Laius was killed reported that a band of murderers killed the king and his entourage. Only one man escaped. This man chooses to leave Thebes to become a herdsman in the mountains without telling the truth, that only one man--the man who has just been crowned king--was responsible for Laius' death. The citizens of Thebes may figure that attempting to locate all of this so-called band of murderers is a futile search.
More than likely, however, the reason is their celebration because the deadly plague is over.