Fate's Deception

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Recommended: Philosophy of oedipus rex

Classic Greek tragedies were used to portray controversies in that time period. “Oedipus Rex the King” by Sophocles is a classical Greek tragedy and is considered to be one of the most influential plays ever. There are many philosophical questions to ask in the play of Oedipus like; do we ultimately decide our own fate? Or is the path of life laid before us? Many of these’s questions are very controversial and are still discussed in the world we live in now. College-age readers can take a lot of away from reading this play, but most importantly is to question everything one thinks they know about life their life. Don’t believe what your eyes perceive. To know the play of “Oedipus Rex the King” first the background to the play needs to be presented. King and Queen of Thebes Laius, the King and Jocaste, the Queen, visit an Oracle, which many Greeks did when making important life decisions. An Oracle is a virgin girl, which is picked by a priest to serve the people. The Greeks believed that the Oracle was the vessel of God and that they could communicate with them through these Oracles. The priest would hear the request of a citizen and bring it to the virgin women, who was chewing laurel leaves and inhaling ethylene gas, which causes hallucinations. The Oracle would say something non comprehensible; the priest would then interpret it back to the citizen. The King and Queen of Thebes visit the Oracle and they are told that they will bring a son unto this world that will marry his mother and slay his father. This of course is Oedipus that they are talking about, so the mother and father decide that the best thing to do is give the child to a shepherd and order him to take it outside the city and kill the baby. Instead of killin... ... middle of paper ... ...o eyesight. “Take me away, far, far from Thebes, quickly, cast me away, my friends— this great murderous ruin, this man cursed to heaven, the man the deathless gods hate most of all!” (1477 – 1478) Oedipus was so blind to all that he thought he knew. He thought his real parents were Polybus and Merope, and when he found out his fate was doomed he decided to take action against the gods and leave Corinth. Consequently, he played right into the hands of fate when trying to avoid it. Tiresias, the man who told him from the start that he was the killer of the King of Thebes was blind, but he knew the truth regardless. Oedipus on the other hand who could see was blind to the truth the whole time, until he became physical blind. Perceiving what people think is the truth with their eyes, instead of the actual truth ultimately becomes Oedipus’s downfall.

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