Oedipus Fate

The power hierarchy between deities and immortal gods tragically prevail over mortal being’s fate. In the play, Oedipus the King and Herakles both heroes suffered heavily upon the uncontrollable fate that befalls their future from both inescapable deities. However, contrastingly Oedipus’ fate was more tragic. Oedipus’s tragedy was innately out of the gods’ control. His fate was set upon by a prophecy Apollo preached to Laius and Jocasta before his birth. Although, his parents tried to prevent the prophecy from becoming reality, fate was inescapable. The tragedy begins in the middle of Oedipus’s reign over Thebes, and his city has become infected with a plague. Tracing back the possible clues, Oedipus finds out that he has not only shed the blood of his father, but also married his mother. Upon realization that he has committed the two most heinous crimes, Oedipus bellows in agony, “Darkness! Horror of darkness enfolding, resistless, unspeakable visitant sped by an ill wind in haste! Madness and stabbing pain and memory of my evils!” (1314-1318). Oedipus was under the assumption that his parents were the king and queen of Corinth, however the tragic plot unravels as the audience evidently sees Oedipus murdering his father and winning his mother’s hand in
Both Oedipus and Herakles, lost their family by their own hands, but in the long-term the death of Oedipus’s children and the fall of Thebes weigh a heavier consequence. The civil war that Eteocleus and Polynices waged brought inconsiderable amount of distress, and the death of Antigone and Ismene resulted in the extinction of the royal family. Herakles never had the opportunity to rule his own kingdom, but Oedipus lost not only his family, but his city as well. One can argue the theory of rationalism vs. religious beliefs and whether or not we can control the inevitable fate that befalls our