Oedipus and the Psychological Symbolism of Riddles

Everybody loves a riddle, right? Here's one The Riddler told in an old episode of Batman and Robin: When is a woman in love like a welder? Give up? When they are both holding a torch. You know, I actually laugh like Frank Gorshin's Riddler just naturally when I get really tickled by something. I have often had people in restaurants and movie theaters and the like stare at me when I get an uncontrollable fit of the giggly wigglies. Riddles are more than just jokes, of course. A riddle in psychological terms can be the route toward getting to the answer to the question that lies buried in the subconscious: Why am I acting this way? A riddle can even become a question that answer who we are, where we came from and where we are going. Ancient writers seemed to intuitively grasp this modern dimension to the world of riddles and as a result the greatest riddle of them all is a centerpiece of one of the greatest works of ancient Greek drama.