Oedipus

In Sophocles' "Oedipus the King", the central thematic intent is of divine prophesy and human will. In the introduction it states that Laius and Jocasta, "the childless King and Queen of Thebes", had been told by the god Apollo that their son would kill Laius and marries his mother Jocasta. To make sure the prophesy would not come true, they gave their son to a shepherd so that he would leave it to die on the mountain, Cithaeron. The shepherd took pity on the child and gave him to the king and queen of Corinth, who then raised the child. Laius and Jocasta remained under the impression that their son was dead and "the prophesy of Apollo false". As a young man, Oedipus was enlightened by the truth that Polybus and Merope were not his biological parents. He pursued the oracle of Apollo for reassurance but was only informed that he would kill his father and marry his mother. He took this information and left Corinth to seek a new life. On his quest Oedipus ran into a conflict where he was forced to defend himself. In self-defense, Oedipus killed Laius, King of Thebes, not knowing that this was his father. Oedipus continued on his journey and settled in Thebes where he answered the riddle of the Sphinx and was rewarded the crown to be king and to marry the widowed queen, Jocasta. The prophesy was fulfilled but not to Oedipus' knowledge.

The questions raised in Oedipus Rex is, is divine prophesy valid? Did the gods tell the truth? And did they want to inflict punishment? Laius and Jocasta wanted to be acquainted with their future. They went out to seek information from Apollo, and took what they had learned and tried to change the outcome. The god had given them the information that their son was going to kill the father and marry his mother. Apollo had never stated that there was a way in which the situation can be avoided. The king and queen took it upon themselves to alter their forthcoming proving in the end, that you