First, in Oedipus at Colonus, there is the oracle at Delphi that tells Oedipus’s parents and then himself that he will kill his father and marry his mother. It does end up happening, proving divine intervention occurs. Later, the prophet Tiresias tells Oedipus exactly what the oracle did, making himself another example of divine will, that is, the gods speak through him. Divine intervention is abundant in Oedipus at Colonus, too. In it, Oedipus tries to gain sympathy for himself by saying all the sins he committed in the previous play were the work of fate, thus proving the point of divine intervention in Oedipus the King.
When he heard Apollo’s prophecy, he could have calmly investigated the murder of King Laius, but in his hastiness, he cursed the murder, and in so, cursing himself. “I pray that that man’s life be consumed in evil and wretchedness. And as for me, this curse applies no less” (Sophocles 13). Oedipus’ desire to know the truth about Laius’ murder and the mystery surrounding his birth, led Oedipus to his realization of his doings. Although multiple people tried to stop him from pursuing the truth, he is unable to.
Sophocles seems to even mock the believers a few times, by telling the audience how there is no point in struggling against what is meant to happen, In Oedipus Rex, we finally see the conclusion of the prophecy made at the beginning of the Oedipus Trilogy. As Oedipus tries to hunt down the man who killed Laius, the audience already knows that it was in fact himself who did it. The audience at the time still believed in prophecies, so they would have expected Oedipus to kill his father and marry his mother. Sophocles seems to even mock the believers a few times, by telling the audience how there is no point in struggling against what is meant to happen, In ancient Greece, the Greeks accepted Fate to be a reality that no one could control, and that determined the course of an individual’s life. Nowadays the idea of fate sounds ridiculous and has become something that belongs in a fantastical tale.
Oedipus represents two enduring themes of Greek myth and drama: the flawed nature of humanity and an individual's powerlessness against the course of destiny in a harsh universe. Oedipus was born to King Laius and Queen Jocasta. In the most well-known version of the myth, Laius wished to thwart a prophecy saying that his child would grow up to murder his father and marry his mother. Thus, he fastened the infant's feet together with a large pin and left him to die on a mountainside. The baby was found by shepherds and raised by King Polybus and Queen Merope in the city of Corinth.
Oedipus, son of Laius, born with destination preset to Corinth where he was delivered to King Polybus and Queen Merope by a messenger. Since Polybus and Queen couldn’t have any children, they gladly accepted Oedipus as their child. Growing up Oedipus later found out that Polybus and Merope are not his real parents. He has also learned from the Oracle that he will kill his father and marry his mother. Another example of predestination is set here by the author.
This means that the gods had key roles in the fates of mankind, an idea which is hinted heavily upon during the course of the play. The title character of Aeschylus’ production, Agamemnon, faces various challenges which ultimately end rather poorly with Clytaemnestra organising his assassination. It could be argued that this was destined to happen from the very beginning of the sequence of events due to the family curse that circles his house. Atreus’s house was known for the curse that seemed to pass down through the generations of his sons which involved terrible things, ie murder happening between the children and the fathers. Atreus himself was involved in the tragedy in which he murdered his brother’s children and served them up as a dish to eat.
Although he simply plans to put on an anti-disposition and eventually kill whom he believes to be the murderer of his father, Claudius. Being who Hamlet is, he tends to take his time to get things done, which is seen as his attempt to murder Claudius drags on throughout the play. As the play begins to get more climatic and King Claudius is still alive, Hamlet soon begins to lose his patience and cool. Getting eager to avenge his father, he begins to lose his original anti-disposition act and actually take on the
The blind prophet can see, but Oedipus decides to not see what is shown to him. Lastly, Oedipus cuts out his own eyes so that he is forever in darkness. After he learned what he had done to his father and his mother hung herself Oedipus cut out his own eyes. He no longer wanted to see even if it was the truth. There are many pieces to the puzzle of this tragedy and how vision works is a major piece.
Oedipus is the son of Laius and Jocasta, king and queen of Thebes, but little does he know that his father was cursed by Apollo. Apollo prophesied that any son born to Laius would kill him, which is why when Oedipus was born Jocasta gave the boy to a servant and told him to dispose of it on the nearby mountain. This led the audience to become attached to Oedipus because of the sorrowful occurring that he is going through, but the servant didn’t do as told. He instead, gave the baby to a shepherd from Corinth. This concerned the audience because they know about the oracle, while Oedipus doesn’t.
The purpose of seeing and blindness being a major theme in this play is to show the readers or watchers that the truth may be right in front of their eyes, and they still may not fully be able to see what’s right in front of them. When Oedipus learns of the prophecy of him killing his father and marrying his mother, he is blinded to the fact that Polybos and Merope are not his real parents. As he runs away from Corinth and goes to Thebes, he is blind to the fact the man in which he killed where the three roads meet was indeed his father. He then solves the riddle to prove he can be King, marry the Queen, which would unknowingly to him, be his mother Iokaste. The fortune teller Teiresias who comes to Thebes and reveals to Oedipus he indeed did kill his father and marry his mother, is himself blind.