Free Will In Oedipus The King Essay

Two factors decide the circumstances of a person’s life: free will and fate. These two schools of thought have been prevalent for millennia, and have been debated by both philosophers and theologians seeking truth and knowledge. Fifth century B.C.E. Athenian playwright Sophocles, pondered these same questions, and this prompted him to write the ancient Greek tragedy, Oedipus the King. In the play, the protagonist Oedipus rules over the city-state of Thebes, which is decimated by plague. To find a remedy for this hardship, Oedipus sends his brother-in-law Creon to the Oracle at Delphi to acquire the guidance of the sun god, Apollo. Creon returns with an answer from the Oracle. It is decreed that they must bring the murderer of the prior king of Thebes, Laius, to justice. This prompts Oedipus to embark on a quest to apprehend …show more content…
Oedipus and the citizens of Thebes prove to be very susceptible to this way of thinking. For example, uncertain what to do about the plague, and convinced that this must be the will of the gods, Oedipus commissions Creon to find an answer from the Oracle of Delphi (Sophocles, 1.1.69-72). This belief in the inevitability of fate has been shown to be prevalent amongst superstitious people who struggle to find an answer for what troubles them. To expound upon this point, Clay Routledge, Ph. D., in his article “Why We Believe in Fate, Sometimes” states, “A team led by Aaron Kay at Duke University proposed that when people are struggling with making important decisions and see no clear right answer, they may be inclined to believe in fate, as a way to reduce the anxiety associated with not knowing what to do” (Routledge, 2014). This belief in fate, that causes Oedipus to seek guidance from the gods, sends him on a quest that ultimately leads to his