"Oedipus the King"

Paper Summary:

This paper analyzes the relationship between gods and mortals in Sophocles' Greek tragedy "Oedipus the King". The paper first briefly describes the plot of the tragedy and then analyzes Sophocles' message that the gods merely use the power that they have, and have always had, over Oedipus and indeed over all mortals and that we are all always at the mercy of the gods, for better or for worse.

From the Paper:

"The Greek tragedy Oedipus the King by Sophocles has, as its main character, Oedipus, the King of Thebes, a man both blessed and cursed by the gods. As an infant Oedipus is cast out to die by Laius after hearing prophesy that his son will kill him. Here, Laius seeks to control his fate by killing Oedipus before Oedipus kills him. But baby Oedipus already has his own fate cut out for him - he is rescued by a shepherd, grows up, and still (accidentally) kills Laius. First Oedipus seems (since he is allowed to live) to have much favor from the gods in store. True, his ankles have been bound so tightly by his murderous and rejecting father that even after the shepherd unties them, Oedipus's feet, ankles, and legs (the literal meaning in Greek of "Oedipus" is "swollen foot") are damaged, and he grows up to walk with a limp. Still, early on Oedipus seems more blessed than cursed overall. But the gods are fickle in this play, and relationships between gods and mortals are extremely unpredictable. By the end of Oedipus the King, the gods have painfully reminded Oedipus of his mere mortality vis-a-vis them, and thus his basic subservience."

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