Oedipus was prophesized to kill his father and marry his mother as warned by the oracle of Apollo. The prophecy would inevitably come to pass, no matter what he might have done to avoid it. His past actions were determined by fate but at the same time his actions in Thebes, he did so on out of his own will. From the beginning, Oedipus took many actions leading to his downfall, Oedipus could have waited for the plague to end, but out of compassion for his people, he had Creon go to Delphi. When he heard Apollo’s prophecy, he could have calmly investigated the murder of King Laius, but in his hastiness, he cursed the murder, and in so, cursing himself.
A prophecy foretold that Oedipus was destined to kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus killing Laius was free will, though of course he did not realize Laius was his biological father. Oedipus marrying Jocasta was free will, though he did not realize that Jocasta was his biological mother. However, if Oedipus knew that Laius was his father before he had killed him, this would not have changed the matter of Laius' death, just the way in which he had died. Laius was fated to die at the hand of his own son, whether his son knew who his father was or not, and regardless of whether Oedipus had any intention to kill his father.
Another example of predestination is set here by the author. After getting the news, Oedipus determined to find out his real father. Oedipus could not accept the foreknowledge set by the gods. He ran away from Corinth in search of his parents and on the way he kills his father without knowing his real identity. He tried to run away from his fate but ultimately he ran into it.
Vision is an important part of the puzzle in Oedipus Rex. Early on in the story Oedipus’s parents blinded him from the truth of where he actually came from. It is also ironic how the blind prophet could see into the future, but Oedipus could not and would not believe the man. Lastly, at the end of the story Oedipus causes himself to become blind by cutting out his own eyes and forever being in eternal darkness. When Oedipus was born his King Laius – his father -- was told that he is doomed to perish by the hand of his own son.
Oedipus is the son of Laius and Jocasta, king and queen of Thebes, but little does he know that his father was cursed by Apollo. Apollo prophesied that any son born to Laius would kill him, which is why when Oedipus was born Jocasta gave the boy to a servant and told him to dispose of it on the nearby mountain. This led the audience to become attached to Oedipus because of the sorrowful occurring that he is going through, but the servant didn’t do as told. He instead, gave the baby to a shepherd from Corinth. This concerned the audience because they know about the oracle, while Oedipus doesn’t.
First, in Oedipus at Colonus, there is the oracle at Delphi that tells Oedipus’s parents and then himself that he will kill his father and marry his mother. It does end up happening, proving divine intervention occurs. Later, the prophet Tiresias tells Oedipus exactly what the oracle did, making himself another example of divine will, that is, the gods speak through him. Divine intervention is abundant in Oedipus at Colonus, too. In it, Oedipus tries to gain sympathy for himself by saying all the sins he committed in the previous play were the work of fate, thus proving the point of divine intervention in Oedipus the King.
Creon's decision to disagree with his son made a catastrophic impact on what was coming for him in his future. Creon punishing his own niece, Antigone, for performing a ritual on Polyneices' body brought the most misfortune to him. Creon announced, “I will carry her far away out there in the wilderness, and lock her living in a vault of stone”(III, l. 52-54). Antigone was then sent to the
Over the centuries, people have wondered if there is such a thing as divine intervention, a sacred power that determines the fate of an individual. In Oedipus Rex, we finally see the conclusion of the prophecy made at the beginning of the Oedipus Trilogy. As Oedipus tries to hunt down the man who killed Laius, the audience already knows that it was in fact himself who did it. The audience at the time still believed in prophecies, so they would have expected Oedipus to kill his father and marry his mother. Sophocles seems to even mock the believers a few times, by telling the audience how there is no point in struggling against what is meant to happen, In Oedipus Rex, we finally see the conclusion of the prophecy made at the beginning of the Oedipus Trilogy.
This quote turns out to be dramatic irony because it is evident that he is going to curse himself if he finds out the murderer is closed to him. The hidden message is that he is closer than he thinks because he is the Laius’ murderer. “I call down this curse in the gods’ name: let no crop grow out of the earth for them, their wives bear no children. Rather let them be destroyed by the present plague, or something even worse. But to you people of Thebes who approve of my action I say this: May justice be our ally and all the gods be with us forever” (Sophocles 16).
Antigone, on the other hand, wants to give her brother a formal burial. She wants to follow by the god’s rules and not follow Creon’s rules. She goes against Creon’s law and gets caught in the act. Creon decides to lock her away, where she hangs and kills herself. Before this, a prophet warned Creon that bad things will go his way if he doesn’t release Antigone and bury Polynices.