Jocasta

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In Greek mythology, Jocasta, also Iocaste (Iοκαστη) or Epikastê, was a daughter of Menocenes, Queen of Thebes, who unwittingly married Oedipus, her own son. She was the wife of Laius and, by him, mother of Oedipus, and mother (by Oedipus) of Antigone, Eteocles, Polynices and Ismene.

Her husband, King Laius of Thebes, consulted an oracle when she was pregnant with her first child, Oedipus. The oracle told Laius that the child was destined to kill his father and marry his own mother. Laius had the baby left out in the woods to die. He was found by a shepherd and given to King Polybus and Queen Merope (or Periboea) of Corinth.

Later, Oedipus killed Laius, not knowing who he was, and married Jocasta, not knowing who she was. When this was discovered, not able to bear the truth, Jocasta committed suicide by hanging herself and Oedipus tore out his own eyes with Jocasta's brooches. However, in the Phoenician Women by Euripides, Jocasta doesn't commit suicide until she witnesses the death of her sons Eteocles and Polynices who have slain each other in a battle for Thebes. In this version she dies by stabbing herself in the throat with a sword.

See also: Oedipus the King by Sophocles.

In astronomy, Iocaste is the name of a small moon of the planet Jupiter.
In the Marvel Universe, Jocasta is a superheroine.
In and , Jocasta Nu is the name of the librarian at the Jedi Archives during the Clone Wars.

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