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The Nature Of God In Oedipus Rex By Sophocles

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The question of gods has always been disputed. Even today the debate rages on. Are the gods benevolent and caring, and if so then why is there evil still in the world; or are the gods evil and malevolent? Perhaps there is no god and humans have done all their worshipping for nothing, and the pain in the world is their own fault. In Oedipus Rex by Sophocles this same idea is expressed, what is the nature of god? While progressing through the play a clear commentary on god is revealed to the reader with each prophecy and Oracle. The god of Oedipus Rex does not set up the hero’s demise to be cruel nor benevolent, but to watch and witness the tragedy. The first and most significant prophecy given to Oedipus in his life is the driving force of the entire play. When he was a child, Oedipus lived in Corinth where he was beloved by the whole land, including his mother Merope and his father Polybus. One night while at a banquet a drunkard told him a slurred secret, that Polybus and Merope are not his real parents. Angry but controlled, Oedipus confronts Polybus and Merope, but they will not offer anything except wrath for the drunkard. Oedipus decides that if the truth will not come to him then he will go to the truth, and he leaves home and heads to the oracle of Apollo, god; unfortunately, the Oracle does not tell the truth of his parents but reveals a horrible fate. The Oracle said to Oedipus, “He foretold a dreadful, calamitous future for me-to lie with my mother and beget
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In Oedipus Rex, Sophocles showed his feelings of irreverence towards the Gods. He was living in a time when people were starting to turn away from the gods, and this play shows his feeling’s of agreement. Oedipus Rex also demonstrates his feelings of how the gods thoughts can change on whim, destroying the lives of nobles and those around them. This is demonstrated by his showing of how the gods being spontaneous and non caring, in how the cure of oedipus’ family traveled down many generations before finally being fulfilled by oedipus. Irreverence towards the gods is a heavily implied undertone appearing in the text.

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