What is the myth of Oedipus: to the question of the structure of the plot

Object of the article: the myth of Oedipus. Subject of the article: the structure of the Oedipus story. Purpose of research: the analysis of the specific characteristics of the story of Oedipus which distinguish it from a traditional folklore story. Research methods: methods of the structural and semantic analysis applied. Results: The author argues that the specific nature of the story of Oedipus is characterised by the “prophetic” function of the combination of two interrelated motifs: the number motif and motif of feet. Those motifs, which are conveyed in the riddle of the Sphinx by the words “four-footed”, “two-footed” and “three-footed”, semantically connect with each other the riddle, Oedipus' fate and his name (Οἰδίπους). The riddle about a creature which changes the number of its feet corresponds to 1) Oedipus' biography (he changes the number of his feet when he becomes “three-footed” - a blind man with a staff); 2) Oedipus's name (which foreshadows the answer to the riddle - “man” (alias “two-footed”) as part of the name Οἰδίπους - δίπους means “two-footed”; 3) number symbolism related to Oedipus (“three days” after Oedipus' birth his father pierced his feet and cast him upon a hillside; Oedipus killed his father where “three roads meet”). Field of application: literary studies. Conclusion: The author argues that story of Oedipus is a result of the semantic adaptation (accommodation) of a traditional folklore story to the ancient numerological riddle about a creature with a changing number of feet by adding of the imagery connected to the number motif and motif of feet. The systematic manifestation of the number motif and of motif of feet on various levels of the structure suggests that the “telling name” of Οἰδίπους (“swollen foot” and “two-footed”) has been integrated into a traditional folklore tale in order to semantically adapt it to the ancient riddle about “feet”. The author is indebted to Svetlana Gracheva, Dan Whitman and Oleg B. Zaslavsky for stimulating discussions and helpful advice.