In Greek mythology, Periboea (Ancient Greek Περίβοια) is queen of Corinth and wife of King Polybus. Apollodorus and Parthenius name her as the adoptive mother of Oedipus; Sophocles and many other accounts call the same Corinthian queen Merope. She raised the exposed Theban infant as her own until taunts about his parentage drove him to Delphi and toward Thebes.
Adapted from Wikipedia, "Merope (Oedipus)" · CC BY-SA 4.0
I.Family and role
Periboea is the wife of Polybus, king of Corinth. After Laius and Jocasta of Thebes expose their infant son on Mount Cithaeron, herdsmen bring the child to the Corinthian court. Periboea adopts him, heals the ankles pierced with brooches, and gives him the name Oedipus ("Swell-foot") on account of his swollen feet.
Apollodorus names her Periboea; Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannus and the bulk of the tragic tradition call her Merope. Both names denote the same foster mother of Oedipus at Corinth.
II.Mythology
Raised as a Corinthian prince, Oedipus eventually hears spiteful doubts about his parentage. When he questions Periboea and Polybus, they deny the adoption, so he continues to believe they are his true parents. After the Delphic oracle warns that he is destined to kill his father and marry his mother, he refuses to return to Corinth — and thereby sets in motion the journey that leads him to kill Laius and marry Jocasta.
In the myth she remains a minor figure: the Corinthian queen whose love and silence keep the foundling ignorant of Thebes until prophecy and chance undo the deception.
III.Homonyms
This atlas entry (periboea-corinth) is Polybus' queen and Oedipus' foster mother. She is distinct from Merope daughter of Atlas (wife of Sisyphus at Corinth in other genealogies), from the Naiad Periboea (periboea-naiad), from Oeneus' wife (periboea-oeneus), from the Paeonian and Phaeacian women of the same name, and from other Periboeae in the catalogue tradition.