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This paper seeks to examine the evolutionary origins of the oedipus complex through an ethological approach. The author hopes that we can construct a model of our own primordial background by comparing ourselves with contemporary animal species. The animals chosen for this are the anthropoid apes, more specifically, the chimpanzee and the gorilla, animals extensively studied by the ethologists Good-all and Fossey. The paper focuses on a constellation in these species viewed as similar to aspects of the oedipus complex and involving the development of the males. Its aim is to show that the oedipal constellation has undergone a gradual evolutionary development and is universal in anthropoid ape communities. The author gives a number of examples of what he sees as this oedipal constellation, including a description, in chimpanzees, of the way male and female infants try very hard to interfere with the mating of mature males and females. This behavior is tolerated until the infant is four or five at which time the young male will be threatened or worse if he tries to disrupt the mating. In both these species mother-son mating is inhibited to the point of being almost nonexistent. The author discusses developmental considerations in the anthropoid apes. For instance, in chimpanzees there is a long period of dependence on the mother resulting in great loyalty, along with an early sexual interest in females in estrus. However, even during estrus the mother is treated by her son as a mother and not as a female in heat. Holmström stresses his belief that the son's early and prolonged dependence on the mother produces a bond so strong it precludes sexual activity. From the evolutionary perspective, the selective advantage of this incest taboo is that it prevents excessive inbreeding and strengthens the defensive capabilities of the group and the safety of the offspring. A central hypothesis of the paper is that the oedipus constellation, in which the author inclu