Fate And Free Will In Sophocles Oedipus Rex

In “Oedipus Rex”, as told by Sophocles (edited by George Theodoridis and Caroline Gosslin), tells the story of how King Oedipus realizes he had killed his father,married his mother, and faced the consequences of fate. Citizens of Thebes beg King Oedipus to help get rid of the plague, that is killing the village. The citizens believe that since Oedipus has previously dealt with a monster (the Sphinx), that he can deal with their problems as well. Since Oedipus wants to help the people of Thebes, he sends his brother in law Creon, to the oracle in Delphi to ask the gods for help. Once Creon returns, he tells everyone that they must find the person who killed the previous king of Thebes, whose name was Lauis. Oedipus seeks information on Lauis’s murder, so he calls the seer Tiresias to help …show more content…
Oedipus welcomes Tiresias to Thebes, yet Tiresias regrets coming. After Oedipus begs Tiresias to tell him, Tiresias says that Oedipus is the wound of the city, and that he is causing the plague. Oedipus gets mad,and says that Tiresias must be plotting with Creon. Oedipus also accuses Creon with treason, but Creon tries to stand up for himself. Jocasta (Oedipus’s wife/ the queen/ Creon’s sister), stands up for Creon, but Oedipus banishes Creon from Thebes, therefore he leaves. Oedipus then complains about Creon to Jocasta, and worries that what the seer said is true. Jocasta tries to calm him down, by saying the prophecy could be false. Oedipus asks Jocasta exactly what happened when Lauis died, and she tells Oedipus all she knows. Oedipus then proceeds to tell Jocasta about a prophecy he heard from long ago, about how he will kill his father, and marry his mother. He also tells her about how he killed men at a crossroad, and how it could have been Lauis, since he sounded familiar. Jocasta then tells Oedipus that when Lauis was killed, a Shepard was