Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles, is a tragedy that shows us no matter how much free will we have in controlling our lives fate is the inevitable determining factor in the end result.
Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles, is a tragedy that shows us no matter how much free will we have in controlling our lives fate is the inevitable determining factor in the end result. Oedipus was a victim of fate and there was no escaping his future. Even before Oedipus was born, the Gods had control of his destiny; an oracle told his biological father Laius, that his son would be his murderer and would marry his mother. Laius and his mother Jocasta abandoned him and left him for dead because of this prophecy. A Shepard found him and took him to Corinth and presented the baby to the childless King Polybus and Queen Merope, who adopted him and raised him as their own.
Later on in Oedipus’s life, a drunkard told him that he was not the true son of Merope and Polybus; Oedipus asked his adopted parents about this claim who told him that it was a lie. Now full of doubts and questions, Oedipus seeks the oracle at Delphi where he learns that his destiny is to kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus feels that the best way to escape this terrible fate is to run away from town therefore being nowhere near the only parents he knows, Polybus and Merope. Unknowingly to him, Oedipus instead of escaping his destiny falls right into it; as he was wondering Greece, he comes to a three cross road, where he is provoked by an old man and his friends. Oedipus does not back down to this man and slays him. This old man was Laius, king of Thebes, and father to Oedipus.