Oedipus Rex

Oedipus Rex

If fate is predetermined then what good can come out of seeing one's future? Perhaps Sohpocles had this question in mind when he wrote Oedipus Rex. In this story, Oedipus, king of Thebes, must find the murderers who killed his wives first husband, king Laios, so that the great plague will be lifted from his city. He stops at nothing to find out the truth. Oedipus sends a messenger to bring him Teiresias, a blind prophet, in hopes that he may have some insight to who killed the king. He tells him that he is the murderer and that king Laios is his father but Oedipus refuses this information saying that Kreon, his wives brother, has put him up to this in hopes to gain the throne.

He then hears of a slave who was with king Laios the day he was murdered and sends for him hoping he may have seen the ones who killed him. Before the slave arrives a messenger from Corinth comes to tell Oedipus that his father, king Polybos of Corinth had died and now they needed him to be there king. Oedipus was thrilled at this news because the oracle had told him that he would kill his father and marries his own mother. Oedipus decided at that moment to never return to Corinth so he could avoid this fate. The messenger then tells Oedipus that many years ago a Shepard from Thebes had given him a baby that he took back to Corinth and gave as a gift to the king and queen. Oedipus was that baby.

Even after all this, Oedipus is still oblivious to the thought that he may have actually killed his own father and married his mother. His wife on the other hand was not. She began to beg him not to dig any deeper in to this, telling him his parents may have been slaves or even worse. But Oedipus needed to know the truth.

As it turns out, the slave who was with king Laios the day of his murder was also the Shepard who gave the messenger the baby. He unwillingly admits that the baby came from the house of Laios and finally Oedipus begins to see clearly who he is and what he has done.

In an effort to change their future, the king and queen of Thebes had sent their baby to die after being told of his fate by the oracle. In doing so they actually laid the path for the prophecy to be fulfilled. Oedipus himself tried to change his future when the oracle told him of his fate, and he also contributed to the fulfillment of the prophecy. So the question is, would any of this have happened if