Oedipus the King the Ancient

Oedipus the King

The ancient Greek philosophers have come up with a series of legends which have influenced most of the philosophy existing in our modern world. Many of the contemporary philosophers have managed to find answers regarding to the problems that their patients had with the help of Greek philosophy. Sophocles' writing, Oedipus Rex, helped the father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud in his claim that all people are inclined to identify themselves with Oedipus's character.

Most of the plot from Oedipus Rex revolves around the interaction between free will and fate. Oedipus's life had been determined from a young age as his parents went to Apollo's Oracle in Delhi which was said to have an ability to predict the future. The Oracle claimed that Oedipus had been fated to murder his father and marry his mother.

Free will intervenes and challenges fate as Oedipus and his parents are separated and Oedipus's destiny seems to have changed suddenly. The fact that Oedipus is completely changed as he is adopted by king Polybus makes it virtually impossible for someone to still believe that there is any truth in the prophecy that the Oracle had made.

Even if Oedipus's life had experienced a 180 degree turn from where it was, the character still manages to meet his real father as he becomes an adult. After a skirmish between the two concerning the right of way in crossroad, Oedipus kills his father. Fate proves to be stronger than free will during the episode.

Oedipus travels further to his home city, Thebes, and consequent to a series of incidents he is named king of Thebes. However, Oedipus finds that the city is rapidly becoming a ruin because of a plague. As a result, he turns to the gods to ask them for help. Apollo tells Oedipus's messenger that there is a lot of evil in Thebes and that it can be saved only if the killer of the former king is banished from the city.

Oedipus investigates and finds that he is the killer of the king that was in fact his real father, and, that he had married his own mother. Thus, one can see how everything that was done in order to prevent fate from taking its course has been done in vain, with Oedipus's impressive power of will being no match for destiny.

The main character leads his life in a civilized manner, as he believes that everything is exactly as it looks like. Oedipus believes that his real parents are Polybus and Merope, and, when he asks them, they lie, telling him that he is their son. He is informed by the gods that one day he will murder his father and marry his mother. As a result, he flees from Corinth, where Polybus and Merope, are in order for the prophecy not to be fulfilled.

The statement "truth has made me strong" is partially false, because while the main character believed that his life was exactly as he made it, it was actually shaped by his fate. A chain of events had lead to the forming of Oedipus as a strong and wise man. Most of the actions performed by Oedipus across his life had contradicted with the Oracle's prophecy.

The circumstances that Oedipus found himself in when he murdered his real father, Laius, had come as a result of the lies that he had been told. If Polybus and Merope hadn't had lied to him, telling him that they were his real parents, Oedipus wouldn't have came across Laius.

Apollo instructs Creon that the only way for the plague to leave the citizens of Thebes alone would be for Laius's killer to be found. Without knowing of his own situation, Oedipus demands that the murderer should be caught immediately. As he learns that a blind man named Tiresias knows everything, Oedipus finds him and obliges him to tell the truth. Instead of making him strong, truth had weakened Oedipus and brought him death.

In the end it is revealed that the truth brought nothing but distress in the story of Oedipus. The truth made the queen commit suicide and it blinded and exiled the king.

The character of Tiresias the Seer is present in several works belonging to Greek philosophers as Greek heroes ask him for help in numerous occasions. In the story of Oedipus, Tiresias has the role of revealing the truth and telling another prophecy regarding to the life of Oedipus. Even if Oedipus believes that he is strong enough to get over any impediment that might stands in his way, he realizes that his fate is sealed after Tiresias predicts his future.