In Greek mythology, gods were known to control the fate of everyone in the mortal world. Every aspect of life revolved around the many gods of the culture. Each god represents different things. In the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Apollo was a very influential God as evidenced by his encounters with Oedipus which control his fate. Oedipus Rex, the first chronological play in the Oedipus Trilogy, was an Athenian tragedy written around the time of 429 BC. As Sophocles portrays fate in each one of his plays, destined fate is inevitable. Throughout the trilogy he expresses his ideas of fate from as well as what he and the people of his time believed. Oedipus, the protagonist, is faced with many struggles throughout his life. First, as a child,
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The readers knows that from the beginning because to start the chain of events of finding the murderer of Laius, Oedipus calls upon an oracle from Delphi to help them. Jocasta, his wife, tries to console him to not worry about the future ‘Since Fate rules and nothing can be foreseen? A man should live only for the present day’. ( Sophocles, Oedipus Rex , 51). The oracle, had brought to light that Oedipus was the killer from the help of the gods. Apollo the oracle god, whose ancient city is Delphi, was able to enlighten the oracle about Oedipus’ fate and past. At first Oedipus was unconvinced, but soon the pieces of his fate became clear. He understood that his prophecy of killing his own father and having children with his mother, had came true. Shocked and disgusted he blinded himself, ashamed of his despicable acts. By analyzing ‘And tell me this; if there were prophecies repeated by the oracle of gods, that fathers death should come through his own son, how could you justly blame it upon me?’(Sophocles, Oedipus at Colonus, 137) this statement shows that later in life Oedipus even understands that the Gods had control of what he was doing, not himself. He explains to Creon that he would not have proceeded with all of those wretched things knowing the real tragedy about them, such as incest with his own mother. As he continues on, he convinces Creon that the gods are punishing him for a mistake of humanity, or of a relative. If it was his choice, he would of never lived that way. That is why Oedipus’ twisted life was controlled by his destined
The readers knows that from the beginning because to start the chain of events of finding the murderer of Laius, Oedipus calls upon an oracle from Delphi to help them. Jocasta, his wife, tries to console him to not worry about the future ‘Since Fate rules and nothing can be foreseen? A man should live only for the present day’. ( Sophocles, Oedipus Rex , 51). The oracle, had brought to light that Oedipus was the killer from the help of the gods. Apollo the oracle god, whose ancient city is Delphi, was able to enlighten the oracle about Oedipus’ fate and past. At first Oedipus was unconvinced, but soon the pieces of his fate became clear. He understood that his prophecy of killing his own father and having children with his mother, had came true. Shocked and disgusted he blinded himself, ashamed of his despicable acts. By analyzing ‘And tell me this; if there were prophecies repeated by the oracle of gods, that fathers death should come through his own son, how could you justly blame it upon me?’(Sophocles, Oedipus at Colonus, 137) this statement shows that later in life Oedipus even understands that the Gods had control of what he was doing, not himself. He explains to Creon that he would not have proceeded with all of those wretched things knowing the real tragedy about them, such as incest with his own mother. As he continues on, he convinces Creon that the gods are punishing him for a mistake of humanity, or of a relative. If it was his choice, he would of never lived that way. That is why Oedipus’ twisted life was controlled by his destined