Free Will In Sophocles Oedipus The King

Oedipus the King, a play written by Sophocles, is the story of Oedipus and his prophecy. The prophecy stated that he would kill his father and marry his mother. Against all efforts to prevent this prophecy from becoming true, Oedipus discovers the truth behind his past and how he unknowingly fulfilled the prophecy. Was Oedipus responsible for his actions, or was he bound by the fate of the Gods? Despite all efforts, Oedipus could not change his pre-determined fate. He did all in his power to avoid both prophecies, such as running away from Corinth to avoid contact with his known parents, Polybus and Merope. "...I must be banished from Thebes, and then I may not even see my own parents or set foot on my own fatherland-or else I am doomed to marry my own mother and kill my father Polybus..."(Pg:57) On this trip, Oedipus came across a man in a carriage and killed him because he failed to abide by the right of way. After killing the man in the carriage, Oedipus makes his way to Thebes where he concurred the Sphinx and married the Queen of Thebes, Jocasta. To this point in the play, Oedipus believed he had done the right thing by leaving Corinth and that he had escaped the prophecy. This feeling was multiplied when the messenger delivers the news of Polybus's death. However, the messenger then proceeds to
This is shown from Oedipus's birth as steps were taken to ensure the prophecy could hold true. The gods knew Oedipus would want to preserve his pride and leave Corinth to avoid his parents, so they punished him by disguising his parents allowing him to fulfill the predetermined prophecy. As fate would have it, leaving Corinth to avoid his prophecy really just brought him closer to fulfilling it. After all, Oedipus himself said; "... no man on the earth can force the gods to what they will not." (280) The gods had obviously had this pre planned and despite his best efforts, Oedipus could not shake the power of