Fate In Oedipus

Fate is the predetermination of the events in one’s life by the gods in the way of Greek mythology. Mortals are subject to their fate and are left with no choice but to let it play out in their lives. The idea of challenging fate and the gods will is a recurring theme in greek mythology, such as in The Theban Plays, by Sophocles. Sophocles uses the main characters in The Theban Plays as key examples to the audience of people whose overzealous hubris and overwhelming curiosity inevitably lead them down the path of their misfortunate fate. Oedipus’s life is bombarded with challenging decisions that lead to the exposure of his few flaws that every human possesses. Sophocles uses the trilogy of plays to examine the relationship between the Gods and man, the idea of fate, and uses Oedipus as an example of harmful traits as a precaution to readers. In ancient greek culture it was believed that fate was an inevitable path that their life was going

Rather than serving as the “plaything for forces of predestination ” (Weil), Oedipus revolts against the Oracle of Delphi, an extension of Apollo. He questions Tieresius’, given his seeing power by Athena, word was not enough for Oedipus as he questioned that he couldn’t possibly kill his father who he had left when leaving to Thebes. He then turns the tables, claiming that the prophet was “at least a co-conspirator” (Fisler) in the slaying of King Laius. Oedipus values the “things which [he] perceives”, such as Tiresias is acting off instructions from Creon, as more justified as Athena’s judgement. Another instance of the Gods’ power is prevalent is when the baby, a young Oedipus, is given to the shepherd to be discarded of. Rather than get rid of the baby, as the line of messages from the Theban king had told him to do, the man gives refuge to the child and eventually delivers him to a Corinthian