Oedipus Free Will

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In ancient Greece fate was very strongly believed in. Fate is defined as something that unavoidably falls upon a person. Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, is old Grecian literature that really makes the reader think about whether there really is such a thing called fate or free will. In Oedipus the King an unfortunate man, named Oedipus, is given a prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother. Despite Oedipus’s tries to make sure his prophecy does not come true. It does in fact come true. But Oedipus’s tragic downfall was not an act of fate, yet an outcome due to the choices he made throughout the novel. The first free will action that Oedipus committed was his choice to run away from home. Oedipus first runs away when a drunken man tells him that his parents are not his real parents and he wants to seek wisdom on this from the oracle of Apollo. The oracle tells Oedipus a prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus said that “When (he) heard that, (he) ran away” (Sophocles 56). Oedipus then makes the choice to run away and not go back to Corinth, his home. Oedipus has other options that he could have chosen instead of running away from home. Oedipus could have gone home and told his “father” that he received this prophecy. When he knew that this prophecy could come true just do not kill your father. After Oedipus leaves with the prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mom, he runs away from home towards Thebes another Ancient Greece city. On Oedipus’s way to Thebes he comes across Laius, the king of Thebes, heading home from his consultation with an oracle. Laius’s bodyguards push Oedipus off the side of the road and out of their way. Oedipus fights back and ends up killing all of Laius’s men including Laius. Of course Oedipus does not know who he has just killed let alone knows that Laius was his father.
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