Sigmund Freud used the Greek mythology of King Oedipus to develop his psychoanalytic theory of the Oedipus complex, which is a universal stage of development in which children experience attraction and desire towards their opposite-sex parent and jealousy and hatred towards their same-sex parent.
According to Freud, this conflict occurs because a child's first love object is their mother. However, as they grow older, children realize that their father is the primary obstacle to their relationship with their mother. This leads to feelings of jealousy and hatred toward the father and a desire to replace him.
For boys, this conflict is particularly intense because they must also contend with the fear of castration from their father. This fear is rooted in the myth of King Oedipus, who unknowingly killed his father and married his mother. After learning the truth, Oedipus gouged out his own eyes and exiled himself from Thebes.
Freud believed that all boys go through a similar conflict, though not all with such extreme consequences. He also believed that girls experience a similar conflict, which he called the Electra complex.
The Oedipus complex is a controversial concept that has been challenged by many other psychologists and psychoanalysts. However, it remains a fundamental concept in Freudian theory and has influenced our understanding of human development and behavior.