One of the most important--and most confusing--things in Levi-Strauss is his chart for the Oedipus myth, which appears on page 813. Levi-Strauss says that the Oedipus myth is familiar to everyone, but it had been a while since I took a look at it--and I'm guessing that the same goes for you. I've tried to lay out some of the crucial events in the myth, not all of which make it onto the chart. Events or characters that do turn up on the chart are marked in red.

While looking over the myth, please remember a couple of things. First, although Levi-Strauss speaks about the "Oedipus myth," his real concern is with several generations of Theban royalty. He starts with Oedipus's grandfather, Cadmus, and he goes down to Oedipus's children, Polynices, Eteocles, and Antigone. Second, although Levi-Strauss spends a fair amount of time on the Theban stories, he's actually got bigger fish to fry. His real purpose is to show that myths are founded on and organized around contradictions.

Levi-Strauss says that if you look closely at the elements of a myth, you'll see that they can be sorted into mutually exclusive categories. In the case of the Oedipus myth, one of the categories expresses the "overrating of blood relations," a second the "underrating of blood relations." A third category suggests that humans are not born from the earth, a fourth that they are. Presumably, more categories and further sortings might be possible. In any case, the important thing is to notice that beneath all of the details are some basic structures--basic oppositions and contradictions, which give the story its resonance and power.

I'll say more about those contradictions, and more about Levi-Strauss's chart, on another page. For now, just consider the events of the Oedipus myth--and remember that the ones marked in red are the ones that appear on the chart.

1. A beautiful young girl, Europa, is kidnapped by Zeus.
2. Europa's brothers, including Cadmos, are sent to find her. They fail.
3. In the process of looking for Europa, the brothers all found cities.
4. Cadmos is told to follow a cow and to found his city where the cow stops to rest.
5. After the cow does stop to rest, Cadmos sends his men to get water.
6. The men are killed by a dragon.
7. Cadmos kills the dragon, but now he's got no men to help him in founding a city.
8. Athena tells Cadmus to sow the dragons' teeth in the earth. He does, and armed men spring up out of the ground.
9. The men--called "spartoi" (meaning "sown")--begin fighting one another.
10. Only five of the spartoi survive to help found the city, Thebes.
11. Cadmus has a son, Polydoros, who has a son, Labdacos, who has a son, Laius.
12. Laius is told that he will be killed by his own son.
13. Laius leaves his infant son to die on a mountain top.
14. The infant is discovered by a shepherd and adopted by the king of Corinth.
15. All grown up now, the boy (now called Oedipus) learns that he will someday kill his father and marry his mother.
16. Determined to avoid his fate, Oedipus leaves Corinth.
17. While travelling, Oedipus meets Laius. Laius provokes a fight, and Oedipus kills him.
18. Oedipus comes to Thebes and finds that the city is plagued by the Sphinx.
19. Oedipus solves the riddle of the Sphinx, and the Sphinx kills herself.
20. Oedipus marries Jocasta, Laius's widow and his own mother.
21. Later, the truth comes out! Jocasta commits suicide, Oedipus blinds himself and goes into exile.
22. Oedipus and Jocasta's twin sons, Eteocles and Polynices, go to war against each other. The twins kill each other.
23. Eteocles, loyal to Oedipus's successor, is given a proper burial. Polynices is not.
24. The sister of the twins, Antigone, buries Polynices herself.
25. Antigone is sentenced to die, but she hangs herself first.