Jocasta was the queen of Thebes who unknowingly married her own son, Oedipus, after his victory over the Sphinx. Their unwitting marriage fulfilled a dark prophecy. When the horrific truth of their relationship was revealed years later, Jocasta hanged herself in despair. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
The Myth of Jocasta
Jocasta was the daughter of Menoeceus and the sister of Creon. She first married King Laius of Thebes. After an oracle prophesied that any child they had would kill Laius, they abandoned their infant son, Oedipus. Years later, unaware of his parentage, Oedipus returned to Thebes, saved the city, killed his biological father (Laius) in a road dispute, and married Queen Jocasta, with whom he had four children: Antigone, Ismene, Eteocles, and Polynices. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
The Jocasta Complex in Psychology
In psychoanalytic theory, the "Jocasta complex" is a term coined by Raymond de Saussure in 1920. It is the logical counterpart to the Oedipus complex, used to describe an abnormal, incestuous, or deeply smothering attachment of a mother toward her son