Oedipus Rex

Oedipus Rex was a story of destruction through knowledge of his own fate. In this story Oedipus came into a new city and saved the people th rough knowing an answer to an riddle to get rid of the Sphinx. When a plague came over these same people they turned to Oedipus to help them get rid of it. Oedipus is not sure of what to do so he sent a messenger to Apollo, the sun god, to find out a rememdy for this disease. When the messenger returns with Apollo's answer is when this story really starts to come alive.

Apollo is also known as the god of fate. Fate played an important role in this story. According to the Greek myths, fate is inevitable. No matter what Oedipus does to change his fate it is still going to happen. When Oedipus ask for Teiresias to tell him who is was that killed Laios, Teiresias says to him "How dreadful knowledge of the turht can be when there's no help in truth!". Teiresias was trying to explain to Oedipus that knwing who killed Laios was not going to help him but was going to do just the opposite, it was going to destroy him. When Oedipus then went looking for the truth he was fulfilling his prophecy. If Oedipus hs never wanted to know his past he would of probably lived a happy life in Thebes. Instead he came across the truth. He saw himself as evil. He was afraid to return to his country land in fear that he would join his mother in marriage.If he had never gone looking for the turth he would have never found out that Polybus was not his father and that the king was. He also would have never found out that that he married his mother. Through these findings he was ashamed of himself. He no longer saw himself as the great man he once was. Through the truth he came across his own destruction. It was envitable that he was going to marry his mother and kill his father but it was not necessary for him to know these things. It was through searching for the truth of his own fate that his self destruction came about.

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