How Does Oedipus Predicts His Own Fate

A kingdom cursed by the gods, doomed to die by famine and plague, in Sophocles’ play Oedipus the King, the people of Thebes and their king desperately cry out to the divine and beg for mercy and a way to end their agony. Finally, a glimmer of hope, a riddle that a prophet can solve, and the damned nation call to him for help. A directed scene of what plays out in Oedipus’ confrontation of the truth of his fate with Tiresias is covered in this document. The scene is set in its traditional form of ancient Greece but contains the contemporary English language of Robert Fagles’ translation so that modern audiences can more thoroughly understand and enjoy the content of the play while preserving the cultural charms of the time period. The background

Equally important to the role of fate in bringing about the downfall of Oedipus is the human flaw of arrogance that clouded Oedipus’ intellect to reason. One can ultimately see this human flaw in the beginning of the play as he says “Here I am myself – you all know me, the world knows my fame: I am Oedipus” (p 262, line 7-9). One day Oedipus heard someone say that he wasn’t his father’s son in which bothered him greatly and triggered his curiosity in whether Polybus and Merope were his biological parents. So, as a way to figure out his identity and true origins, he left to Delphi to see the Oracle. However, instead of answering Oedipus’ answer of who his true parents were, the Oracle told him of his fate that “You are fated to couple with your mother, you will bring a breed of children into the light no man can bear to see – you will kill your father the one who gave you life” (p. 297, lines 873-875). Hence, his arrogance is clearly showed as he disregards the prophecy, similar to the actions of Laius and Jocasta by escaping it, as he abandons Corinth and sets forth to a place where he “would never see the shame of all those oracles come true” (p. 297, lines 879-880). His flaw of

The gods offer strict rules and morals to which the characters of Oedipus the King and Antigone adhere. The people of ancient Greece allow the gods to govern many aspects of their lives. Their fate, destiny, and the right to rule fall into the hands of their gods. All problems or questions are presented to the gods in prayer and answered through an oracle or prophet. Their wisdom is nearly absolute and their decrees are the unwritten law. Sophocles develops his characters to

Fate is defined as the development of events beyond a person’s control. In “Oedipus the King,” Sophocles, tells us about a tragic hero (Oedipus) in which his life is predetermined by fate, because he is deprived of free will. The first act of fate on Oedipus was him being saved by a shepherd when his parents (Queen Jocasta and King Laius) left him in the mountains to die, he then met and killed his father without knowing who he was, and last, he married Queen Jocasta, later realizing that she was his mother. Every action that Oedipus took to prevent his fate, would soon be the ultimate downfall, not only for himself, but for his family and the people of Thebes.

Sophocles gives the readers many different views of the play Oedipus the King in which we can take and analysis accordingly to things we are most interested in. Throughout the play Oedipus personally changes. He starts off as a being a smart leader, calm, and determined, but at the end of the play it reveals how he is angry, irrational and is blind to certain aspects, which becomes his downfall.

In Oedipus the King, the theme of fate vs free will appears all through the play. Oedipus throughout the play tries to avoid his inevitable fate, which ironically seems to make his fate come

Change is inevitable. It could be in a person’s looks, personality, beliefs or way of thinking. Changes can be categorized under two main types. Changes that take place in nature we have little or no control over. We cannot, for instance, switch the time of tides, which anyway, wait for no one.

Fate refers to an occurrence that uncontrollably befalls a person. The Oracle Prophesies at Delphi dooms Oedipus prior to his birth; by prophesying that Oedipus would marry his mother and kill his father. Oedipus learns about this prophecy, and lands on this fate because of his arrogance. He makes a quest for the truth about his father, because he does not know about his origin. This forms a platform for the occurrence of the Oracle prophecies. He eventually marries his mother and kills his father as prophesized by the Oracle. But was this uncontrollable? Was it not obvious that Oedipus unwittingly murdered his father, King Laius of Thebes, at a crossroad? Then as he married the king 's widow, Oedipus also wed his own mother, fulfilling the double fate of parricide and incest foretold about him. Kurt Fosso argues that “Resisting fate, One could argue that Oedipus 's

Fate and free will are two topics that are often questionable because they go hand in hand. Fate is a belief that a certain event is said to happen, then that person's choice and free will lead them to what has been predicted as inevitable. Knowing whether something is fate’s fault or the fault of the person who’s going to enact the said action, is one question that has never been fully answered. In Sophocles' Oedipus Rex and Shakespeare's Macbeth, fate is determined by their own choices and free will, the character Macbeth knows of what lies ahead of him, making him alter the present to create his idealistic future, however instead he lives a life of ruins. As for Oedipus his entire actions are based on one prophecy he desperately

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.

Throughout the tragedy, "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles, the authority of the gods and their power is challenged. Gods are a key element in driving the plot of "Oedipus Rex”. This shows the author's sense of cosmic order, and this belief is reflected in the characters he writes. The citizens of Thebes, and their attitude towards the gods, help show the beliefs of Sophocles through a multitude of ways. By analyzing the text written by Sophocles, it is evident that he believed the gods to be cruel, powerful, and that they commanded respect.

A sense of unfairness always surrounded around the play, “Oedipus the King” mainly towards Oedipus, the protagonist of the story. Oedipus is face injustice in his life, some that he provoked himself for not listening to others and being full of pride. On the other hand, his main subject,however, is something cursed upon being brought to the world, which he cannot dominate or change it.

A war took place “early in the century” in the time that Sophocles lived in which the “Greeks had astonished the world (and themselves) by defeating, at Salamis, an invasion by the great King of Persia himself.” Persia at the time, was an extremely powerful country while Greece was “weak,” “poor,” and “divided,” and this may have inspired Sophocles as he was creating the character of Oedipus to be a strong and respected man who still suffered a tragic ending. Continuing, during the play, the audience would be in the “position of the gods” and would be able to see the “struggles, hopes, and fears” of the characters through the help of the Chorus. Though the struggles that the characters face may not be parallel to what often happens in reality,

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.

As ruler, he is a father to Thebes and its citizens, and like a father he will take care of his “children.” We see already the supreme self-confidence and ease of command in Oedipus, who can address not only other people’s children as his own, but also be a father to men older than he is. But beyond even this there is, in the wretched posture of the citizens, the hint of prostration before a deity. We are “clinging to your altars,” says the priest. . . . That he also exudes a godlike mastery in the eyes of his subjects only strengthens the heroic portrait. . . .(21-22).