How Did Oedipus Lose His Fate

As the play proceeds and Oedipus is passed from hand to hand, he eventually ends up in the home of King Polybus and Queen Merope were he grows into a young man being fed the lie that they were his true parents. When Oedipus is told the prophecy that he will kill his father he flees in an attempt to avoid the murder. However, as fate would have it he ran to a crossroad where he fulfilled the prophecy killing King Laius, his true father. While Oedipus continues to run he meets Jocasta, his birth mother, whom he eventually marries and has children with. If Jocasta had kept Oedipus as a baby and raised him or just killed him herself there would have been no chance of the prophecy coming true.

Oedipus Rex, also known as, Oedipus the King is the story of a man who’s most vicious enemy was himself. Oedipus is a tragic hero who constantly denies the truth and allows his pride to lead him to trials. The question this play raises is can you escape fate? Oedipus spends his life attempting to run from his fate and the fate of his parents.

In the Greek myth “Oedipus the King,” Oedipus is told as a young man that he is going to kill his father and marry his mother. His fear of fulfilling this horrendous prophecy leads him to attempt to run from his fate. Oedipus becomes King of Thebes, and there is a plaque covering the town. In order to lift this plague, he must find the killer of the previous ruler Laius. Through this hunt, a blind prophet summoned hints at another prophecy involving an incestuous marriage, as well as a future involving blindness, infamy, and wandering.

Oedipus the King was written by Sophocles and was is titled Oedipus Rex in Latin. It is one of the most well-known Greek tragedies. As is the case with Greek tragedies—or roughly most tragedies that make their way to stage—fate plays a key role in the events in Oedipus Rex. Oedipus discovers there is a plague on his city. The only way to lift the plague is by slaying the former king’s killer. As the play’s acts unfold one discovers about the prophecy concerning Oedipus. The prophecy states that Oedipus is destined to kill his father and marry his mother. But was this just by chance or his predetermined fate.

Even Though Laius got Oedipus out of his life, Oedipus still ends up fulfilling the prophecy and kills Laius and marry his mother. The character's behavior changed significantly after they found out their destiny. Using king Laius for an example, when he was informed of his destiny he immediately started acting insane and gave his

In all likelihood, the fate of Oedipus would have been much different if his parents had decided to accept fate, rather than control it. Instead, their disregard of the prophecy and actions of escaping it had influenced in fulfilling it.

There are definitely two arguments on whether or not Oedipus had fallen to fate or made his own decisions, but if you think about it, the prophecy stated literally everything that was going to happen, and maybe it would not had happened if Oedipus did not seek out everything because the prophecy only unfolded when he began to venture out and look for the problem trying to solve his own problems. Him doing this unraveled something much worse and is what led him to his banishment, so if you think about it, maybe fate did bring him to this terrible ending, but how can we be for sure because he did make these decisions himself. Jocasta and Laius were the two to blame for believing in such a thing and leaving their child to die a terrible death, only to come back and have the prophecy happen anyways.

Oedipus soon realized that all his efforts of trying to prevent the inevitable, was just fate’s way of completing the Prophecies. Whether it was predicted before his birth, told at the time of his birth or orchestrated throughout his life, Oedipus had a per-determined lot to follow. No matter the derailed plans or unplanned events could stop the sad, tortured life that Apollo had laid out for

“Oedipus The King” is full of instances that would portray both the free will and fate of Oedipus. All the choices he makes throughout the play are his own, but the prophecy he aims to avoid still becomes his reality. While reading the play, the illusion that Oedipus was

Fate is defined as a predetermined event that cannot be changed by mortals. In Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, Oedipus is marked by his fate, and he does not realize it until it is too late. Oedipus learns of his fate when he calls for Teiresias, the blind man who can read and interpret the prophecies. After being provoked by Oedipus, Teiresias angrily reveals that Oedipus is destined to kill his own father and marrying his own mother, while eventually gouging out his eyes. However, Oedipus does not fear his fate; he believes that he is invincible to these prophecies. How does one go about escaping fate? Does one have any control over these predetermined events? Oedipus is a man in pursuit of answers, and the idea of his prophecy coming to fruition does not sit well with him. He does not even fully understand fate and how it is going to affect him until he experiences it. Nevertheless, Oedipus understands that free will does exist and is seen throughout the text implementing his own actions into his everyday life. The idea of fate is flawed, and is used by Oedipus and people of today’s society as a scapegoat for one to hide behind their own poor decisions.

We also find that fate has led him to be ignorant of his the fact that those he considers his parents are not really his biological parents. The play portrays Oedipus as a man with much love for his family. Though he wishes to see his parents, he vows not to return to his home in Corinth for fear of falling into fate’s hands. Had he known who his parents are beforehand, he never would have slain his father and married his mother. His actions are noble and meant for the greater good however, twist of fate corrupt them, and lead him closer to his unwanted destiny. We can argue that fate has it that he comes to learn the truth about his family when it is too late.

Again Oedipus fate was shown when the messenger brings news that king Polypus had died a natural death. Oedipus and Jocasta were overjoyed knowing that what the oracle had predicted was wrong. Even so, Oedipus still had fear in his heart and would not return to Corinth as long as Merope (adoptive mother) is alive. It was fate that

Oedipus’ destiny or fate had little to do with his downfall. The prophet told Oedipus that he was destined to kill his father and marry his mother, but the prophet never mentioned Oedipus murdering Laius on the highway, or solving the Sphinx’s riddle, or accepting and taking advantage of his kingship. Oedipus blinding himself was an example of free will, “for he removed from…[Jocasta’s] garment the golden brooches which she was wearing…” by choice “…and struck the sockets of his own eyes..” blinding himself Free will and hubris, according to the ancient Greeks, were separate from unavoidable fate. Oedipus’s fate was to kill his father and marry his mother. However, everything else, including fleeing Corinth, solving the Sphinx’s riddle, and finally pursuing the truth about his life, was by his own free will, a direct result of his ego and pride. Oedipus Rex is a story about the dangers of pride and arrogance, one teaching about the importance of humility and tolerance, and one stressing about the control of hubris, a potentially perilous quality that destroyed Oedipus’s vision and his life.

In the current world, fate and destiny are not things to be believed in. Anyone who says so is often deemed as a fake or a fraud, which is usually true. In stories, however, things like fate and destiny play a large role. It is a common trope found in most novels. There are peaceful fates, but in the case of Oedipus, it was an unruly one, in which he was set on a path to his own demise. The story itself starts at the point in time in which all the Oracle of Delphi had told was true, but everyone was oblivious to it. Oedipus had already killed his father and married his mother, even bore children with her. It is a tragic end to who was once a glorious man, but one must think whether or not these chain of events happened because Oedipus

During Oedipus’s journey to escape his unbearable prophecy, his dominant character traits are egotism and pride. Oedipus fled from the city he thought he had been birthed in, Corinth, to avoid killing King Polybus, and marrying Queen Merope, whom he thought were his parents. Oedipus’s desire to change his future not only backfires when he eventually kills his real father, but also leads him to solve the Sphinx's riddle while on this mission. As a result, Oedipus is crowned King of Thebes, and therefore marries his mother. During Oedipus’s reign, he makes many poor decisions, blinded by the overconfidence that came with solving the Sphinx’s riddle. When Oedipus was informed that King Polybus had died, he says in relief, “They prophesized that I should kill Polybus, kill my own father; but he is dead and buried, and I am here- I never touched him, never” (50). Clearly, Oedipus now shares Jocasta’s belief that the prophecies are not to be considered, for they have outsmarted the gods. Oedipus’s desire to avoid Apollo’s prophecy