Was Oedipus Responsible For His Own Fate?

The affairs in Oedipus the King, authored by Sophocles, show a relentless desire to discover the truth around Laius’ murder and the question neighboring his own birth, force him to the awful realization of his dreadful deeds. Oedipus’s pride depicts the distrust in the gods and the expedition for the truth, leave the king restless. The idea of fate and free-will which the Greeks believed to guide everything in creation to a balanced direction. The choices a manmade was simply accountable for his own actions. The concept of both fate and free-will play a extensive role in Oedipus’s destruction. Even Though, Oedipus was the sufferer of his fate, his intentions were

Ancient Greece is a very unique and foreign place to us today but surprisingly the ancient Greeks liked theatrics as much as we do now. This love for the stage led to many great plays being written one of which was “Oedipus the King”. “Oedipus the King” written by Sophocles in 430 BC is a Greek tragedy that shows the tragic downfall of Oedipus the king of Thebes. In this play Oedipus finds out that the prophecy that he had fled from so long ago had come true as he married his mother and murdered his father. “Oedipus the King” is a brilliant allegory for man's unwinnable struggle against fate and the puzzling actions of the indifferent gods.

Most people in today's society live their lives based on the belief that fate controls their destiny. But some people still debate on whether we have free will or if some other source, fate, controls our destiny. In Oedipus the King, fate is used and proclaimed much throughout the play. Fate plays an important role in the lives of the characters just as it plays one in our lives to this day.

Throughout the vast history of literature, various concepts have come and gone. The idea of fate or fatalism has been a concept that has survived the test of time. Numerous characters have succumbed to the power of fate and the character of Oedipus from Sophocles’ Oedipus the King is a prime example of the vast power of fate within literature. Sophocles effectively depicts the wrath of fate as he portrays how Oedipus fell victim to fate and his efforts to disregard fate were futile. Once again fate manages to triumph and displays no character whether king or slave can avoid its gaze.

Oedipus taught that he had escaped his fate from what he knew, by going away from his adopted family but, that action led him to accomplish his fate that was killing his father and sleeping with his mother and have children with her. He killed his father, king Laios, in an argument in a road closes to Thebes for passage rights, solved the riddle of the sphinx and became the king, slept with his mother and had children with her and finally on hearing the truth, removes his sight as a sign of dishonour to him, his family and to the Gods. This shows that fate is something that was beyond human power and that is not possible to chance or avoid it. One definition that can explain why the characters in Greek tragedy were doomed to accomplish their fate would be the fact that both the characters and mankind in the plays lacked both free will and reflective actions that led them to have a fatal fate (Kierkegaard, 1944). It is also the human side that led Oedipus to his fate. The goodness of his actions of trying to get away from what he taught was his real father and mother in order for them to live and escape his fate. For example, Oedipus is taught to be arrogant but, his arrogance can be interpreted by refusing to hear or see or even admit what he has done to try to escape his fate but, eventually, it turned on him in the bad way because his fate still managed to claim his superiority over humans. Another great example of his goodness is the simple fact of him wanting

Oedipus the King by Sophocles is a play that has stood the test of time mainly due to the important themes it explores. The main theme being man’s vain struggle against the all-powerful will of the gods. Whereas ancient cultures believed in fate and a preordained path for humankind, modern culture is based on the idea of free will with the notion that every individual is free to choose between right and wrong, good or evil. This has become the basis by which each member of society is judged. There is, however, philosophers and scientists who have posited that we do not really have free will; that our destiny is set in stone. The play is a good platform to explore fate versus free will.

Sophocles suggests that fate can play a role in one's failure, however Oedipus is the one that brings about his own doom. While trying to figure out who killed Kking Laïos, Oedipus begins to realize that the evidence points to himself. “Where is a man more miserable than I?/More hated by the gods? Citizen and alien alike/Must never shelter or speak to me--/I must be shunned by all/And I myself/Pronounced this malediction upon myself!”(Sophocles 43).

The plays starts with the city is fulfilled with the disaster from the Gods because there is sin and evil happened before Oedipus became king, and the murder who kills the king Laius need to discover and obtain the punishment. It was strongly reflecting to the background of ancient Greek society and God’s involvement in the humans’ life. Essentially, it demonstrates the Greek god has the ultimate power, being divinities of the fate, and shows how helpless of the position the people in. When Tiresias hide the information about the murder, Oedipus became angry, but he noticed Oedipus that his personal cargos is more than his desire to know the truth. (Sophocles 365). Oedipus do not know this warning is about he is the prime for the death of Laius and sleep with his mother, he still continues follow the clue to find out the truth to save his people. His actions is deliberate but it was triggered a curse set upon him many years. So the Tiresias gives a conundrum that Oedipus starts to fall and lost everything. “Revealed at last, brother and father both to the children he embraces…he spilled his father’s blood!”(Sophocles 185). Fate played an important role among the humans and Greeks believed their lives were directly decided by the goddesses. Oedipus knew there will be oracle happened on him

    Oedipus Rex (the King), written by Sophocles, is the tragic play depicting the disastrous existence to which Oedipus, an Athenian, is 'fated' to endure. With a little help from the gods and the 'fated' actions and decisions of Oedipus, an almost unthinkable misfortune unfolds. Athenian perfection can consist of intelligence, self-confidence, and a strong will. Oedipus, the embodiment of such perfection, and his tragedy are common place to Athenians. Ironically, the very same exact characteristics that bring about the ominous discovery of Oedipus' fate: to kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus' 'fated' decisions entangle everyone whom is of any significance to him

The events in Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles, suggesting a connection between man 's free will towards perfection in life or fate which the ancient Greeks believed that Gods had given to them. Man was free to choose and was ultimately held responsible for his own actions. Both the concepts of fate and free will are a poignant factor and they play an indispensable role in the Oedipus ' destruction. Oedipus was a victim of fate when he was predicted from birth to someday marry his mother and to murder his father. This prophecy as a warning by the oracle of Apollo, and it certainly will happen, no matter what he would do to avoid it. His past actions were determined by fate, but what he did in Thebes, it was decided by his own will.

Fate is defined as the development of events beyond a person’s control. A person’s predetermined course of events better yet. In Sophocles’s Oedipus the King, fate is primary theme in the play. The influence of fate goes beyond the play but how Greeks viewed fate entirely. Also, Oedipus somewhat represented the Athenian political system and the people of Athens by his leadership. And lastly, having the play unfold, one is able to sympathize with Oedipus and strike pity and fear rather than disgust from his sins.

Oedipus, The King unfolds as a murder mystery, a political thriller, and a psychological tragedy. Throughout this mythic story of patricide and incest, Sophocles emphasizes the irony of a man determined to expose and punish an assassin, only to find out that the man himself is at fault. This revelation guides the story by presenting a confliction of morals and introducing the concept of fate. Oedipus truly believes that he alone can control his destiny but his lack of knowledge ultimately leads to his demise.

Oedipus the King by Sophocles, emphasizes the role of fate in the world’s everyday life, but specifically in the life of Oedipus. The events that occur in Oedipus the King show how the relationship between Oedipus and his fate are inseparable. His quest --starting with fleeing from his foretold fate-- becomes more difficult to digest when his fate catches up to him in his race to salvation. Through the confabulation between Tiresias and Oedipus, Sophocles compares fate being told by Tiresias to Oedipus with the life he is living.

Like his parents to avoid this he fled from his parents the ones he thought was his true parents only to kill his real father. It was fate that led Oedipus to kill his father at the crossroads that day “the one shouldering me aside the driver, I strike him in anger! I killed them all every mothers’ son”. Instead of just stepping aside and letting the caravan go by he instead he stayed in the road. Was it fate that day or just his stubbornness that caused that fatal incident? Oedipus then becomes King of Thebes after he solves the riddle from the Sphinx’s. He would later marry the king’s wife who he would learn later that it was his mother. Was it fate that brought him to marry the late king's wife or was it a decision he made he did not have to marry the kings,

The titular character of Oedipus Rex is a sympathetic one due to the fact that he is a victim of fate. In the play fate is depicted as something that can not be avoided under any circumstances whatsoever. This was a commonly held belief by the ancient greeks. In today’s world however, fewer and fewer people believe in the concept of predestination. Most people nowadays believe that we, as humans, are the masters of our own destiny which, might make it difficult for a modern audience to truly connect with the play as many would argue that Oedipus could have in fact, avoided his fate. For example, Oedipus gets in a fight with an elderly man driving a carriage while escaping his home town. He hits the man with a stick, which causes him to crash