Power of the Gods: A Literary Analysis of Oedipus

Sophocles' Oedipus the King is a classic work of literature that opens our minds to the possibility of preordained destiny, which is a timeless theory that holds as much importance in our lives today is it did for those who lived in Sophocles' time. The human need to consider life after death and understand the reason for existence has brought about many religions. Such religions rationalize the big questions and require us in return to offer our trust or faith, our fear, or even our lives. Oedipus' story is not only a testament to the solidity of fate and the power of the gods, it also alleges that responding to one's destiny with arrogance will lead to disaster as Oedipus and his family lead themselves right into what they dread the most.

From the beginning of the story we can plainly see that Oedipus has the confidence a good king would be expected have, but his overly dramatic response to his people, his short temper, and his paranoia, brings about questions concerning whether Oedipus is a confident king or an arrogant ruler. We first see Oedipus' disregard for prophesy when he barely listens to and then rejects the claims of the blind prophet Teiresias just moments after responding to him with what seems like perfect trust and respect as a man of great wisdom. He tells Teiresias, "you understand all things, what can be taught, what is locked in silence, the distant things of heaven, and things that crawl the earth...Only you, my lord, can save us, only you can defend us" (754), but when the prophet points to Oedipus as Laios' murderer his demeanor becomes angry and defensive. Oedipus reacts to this by insulting the prophet and accusing his trusted friend Kreon of "reaching for my power, wanted to ambush me, get rid of me by hiring this cheap wizard" (756), further demonstrating his very human arrogant nature.

Oedipus isn't alone in his arrogance, his family has attempted to run from prophesy since before his birth, when it was foretold that he would sleep with his mother and murder his father. His parents believed they could escape the prophesy by sending him away to die shortly after his birth. The very woman who abandoned her son out of fear of prophesy later tells Oedipus, "The future is darkness. No human mind can know it. It's best to live in the moment, live for today" (773). Whether her opinion about fate changed due to guilt of abandoning her child or because she believed she had escaped her fate; she is just as helpless in the fate of the family as Oedipus. Whatever the reason, it is clear, by the tragic ending of her life, that living in the moment is not the intended message of this story.

The intended message is more likely trust and faith in the gods. The people of Thebes come to Oedipus pleading for his help saying, "Advice from the gods or advice from human beings--you will know which is needed"(745). Coming to a man, even a king to save them from disease and famine is unrealistic and shows a deep lack of faith in their gods. Perhaps because of such a lack of faith, the people deserve their fate as does Oedipus for trying to escape his fate. Of course these are acts of desperation; who could blame them?

Tests of faith is a common theme in many religions, particularly in Christianity. The Christian God is a suspicious god who constantly tests his believers' faith with the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the temptation of Christ, the misfortunes God brings upon Job, and so on. The key difference between Christ and the Greek gods is that Christianity is based on faith, not fear. What we see in Oedipus' story is the gods' predestined revenge, a lesson as to what can happen when one thinks himself smarter than his gods.

Oedipus' faith is tested by prophesy. When trying to understand prophesy, one must consider fault. Is Oedipus responsible for killing his father and marrying his mother? Is he immoral for this behavior despite his ignorance? Actually, I don't think the lesson here has anything to do with morality. If Oedipus were not a moral man the acts he committed would not affect him so badly. Oedipus could have submitted to his fate; allowed himself to grow up and kill his own father, sleep with his own mother. He could have sacrificed the people he loved and his own morality for the gods, but that would make him immoral and weak. The gods knew all along what decisions he would make. Oedipus is merely a victim, a pawn, a sacrificial lamb to put fear and faith of the gods' power into the people.

Works Cited

Sophocles. Oedipus the King, Literature of the Western World. 5th ed. Ed. Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 2001 743-791.