The influence of Italian Renaissance master Andrea Mantegna has also been detected in Moreau's version. 1826) which is now in the National Gallery, London, but it is uncertain whether Moreau saw that work. Moreau had sketched Ingres' 1808 Oedipus and the Sphinx in Paris and that is a likely source for his version of the story. In this work Moreau deliberately rejects the realism and naturalism in vogue in mid nineteenth century France, instead adopting a deliberately archaic painting style and mythological subject matter. Oedipus thereby won the freedom of the Thebans, the kingdom of that city, and as his wife, Jocasta, who was later revealed to be his mother. Oedipus was the first to answer the riddle correctly and, having heard Oedipus' answer, the Sphinx was astounded and inexplicably killed herself by throwing herself into the sea. Oedipus answered: 'Man: as an infant, he crawls on all fours as an adult, he walks on two legs and in old age, he uses a walking stick'. The riddle was: 'What walks on four feet in the morning, two in the afternoon and three at night?'.

Failure means his own death and that of the besieged Thebans. Oedipus must answer the Sphinx's riddle correctly in order to pass. The painting depicts Oedipus meeting the Sphinx at the crossroads on his journey between Thebes and Delphi.

Conflicts in oedipus rex quotes