Oedipus Rex
Sophocles
Written 430-420 BC
Athenian Tragedy
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Before the play began, there was a tale about Oedipus. Ahead of his birth, Oedipus' parents, king and queen of Thebes, Laius and Jocasta, discovered through Apollo's oracle that their son would one day kill his father and marry his mother. Not willing to kill him themselves, Laius and Jocasta handed him over to a servant to abandon the baby in the mountains and leave him to die. The servant, obeying the word of Apollo, took the baby beyond the borders of his country and left him with a messenger, who in turn took him to the childless king of Corinth, Polybus.
Of course, in adulthood, Oedipus was exposed to the rumor of the curse, through Apollo, and wanting to alter the course of the prophecy, he left those whom he believed to be his true parents and went straight to Thebes, which was in chaos. King Laius had been murdered and the Sphinx was terrorizing the city. Oedipus had arrived in time, solved the riddle to rid Thebes of the Sphinx, eliminated her dominance, and was rewarded with the loyalty of the people as king. He married Jocasta and together they had four children.
After fifteen years of peace, a devastating plague was devouring the city, and the people looked to their king for salvation.
Oedipus sought answers from Creon, his brother-in-law, and Creon told him they needed to find out who killed Laius first. Therefore, Oedipus proclaimed that if anyone knew about the death of Laius, they must speak up.
The blind prophet of Apollo directly told Oedipus that he was the killer. This caused much conflict between Oedipus, Creon, and the Chorus, the male elders of Thebes.
Remember, up to this point, Oedipus had no idea that the king and queen of Corinth were not his natural parents. He still believed that he avoided his fate by fleeing. But when Jocasta entered the conversation, she filled in details about the oracle, how she gave up her son as an infant. However, Jocasta was sure that her baby died when she and Laius sent him away with the servant.
Oedipus filled in the blanks and revealed that he did kill several men on the road, and since one man had escaped (none other than the servant), he wanted to hear from him what he remembered from the attack on Laius. Thus, they sent for the servant.
Long story short, this servant, the same who was given orders to dispose of the cursed infant, admitted that he was instrumental in preserving the child's life. Thus, the parties concluded that Oedipus was the grown son of Laius and Jocasta.
Upon revelation, Jocasta killed herself and Oedipus put out his eyes.
What should I do with eyes where all is ugliness?
Where is there any beauty for me to see? Where loveliness of sight or sound? Away! Lead me quickly away out of this land. I am lost, hated of gods, no man so damned.
I will not believe that this was not the best that could have been done. Teach me no other lesson. How could I meet my father beyond the grave with seeing eyes; or my unhappy mother, against whom I have committed such heinous sin as no mere death could pay for? Could I still love to look at my children, begotten as they were begotten?
CHORUS:
Then learn that mortal man must always look to his ending, and none can be called happy until that day when he carries his happiness down to the grave in peace.
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THEME(S)
One major theme of this play is fate. Fate is "the development of events beyond man's control, regarded as determined by a supernatural power." Oedipus' parents thought they could change their fate by abandoning their son, and Oedipus thought he was able to affect or escape the predicted outcome of the oracle by fleeing his "parents"; and yet, they all stepped right into the prophecy.
Is man truly in control of his own life, having free will, or is his life already preset? I suppose if you have a curse upon your head, you know the answer.
Today, the question of free will and fate still perplexes us, and some people still seek oracles (fortune tellers, horoscopes, astrologers, etc.). What do you think? Fate or free will? Are we in control of our destiny; can we affect change at all? Or is life in the hands of God?
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| The Finding of Oedipus - unknown (1600-1799) |
The next play in TWEM reading list is Medea by Euripides.
Good questions!
ReplyDeleteI am a Christian (not to preach, just so you know where I'm coming from). When I was younger I was convinced that God gave us free will and we could use it anytime, however we wanted and that He chose to let that happen.
Now, I'm much more in the "God is completely sovereign" camp. But the Bible talks enough about Him holding us accountable for our actions that I think it's a mix, one that we can't necessarily parse out. And to be honest, I'm ok with that now. I'm called to obey and I don't need to necessarily worry about everybody else :-D
I am a Christian, too! : ) I also believe that God is sovereign AND that we are called to obey (and held accountable for our choices). Yet, there's so much I still don't understand...so you may be right. It's a mix. (I'm totally interested in the freewill - election debate. That's a whole other can of worms.) But as for this Greek tragedy, man has been thinking about fate/freewill for a long time Is he in control of his destiny or do "the gods" control his end?
DeleteDr. Charles Stanley of 1st Baptist in Atlanta whom I followed for over thirty years was a proponent of "limited free will." As a boy I had a substitute Sunday School teacher who advised our class to try to understand everything we could and accept the rest on faith. Lots of interesting questions here.
ReplyDeleteI know Stanley. I have a few of his study guides. Anyway, I was thinking about some of the people from the OT who tried to change their fate, like Sarah who gave her maid Hagar to her husband Abraham, to speed up the process of having a son, and she made a mess. She wasn't patient for God's timing. Also, Joseph's brothers tried to eliminate their brother bc of their envy/jealousy, and instead, God turned it for good by making Joseph instrumental in saving them. In many ways, we think we have control over our situations, and really God is working out everything according to His plan and His will. So in a way, we make choices and decisions, thinking we are in control of our fate, but it is God who is working out everything for our good and His purpose, His glory.
DeleteOne of the points Charles Stanley always emphasized was not to get ahead of God's timing. Not to knock the door down rushing to the next thing but to be waiting for the perfect timing of the Lord. He would also speak of how God could turn evil for good, even as Joseph proclaimed that truth to his brothers when they came for grain during the famine. And think of the tragic results to this day of Sarah's haste.
DeleteNumerous sermons of Stanley are all over YT. And I like the Alexander Scourby Bible readings because of his sonorous voice. I'm glad to know that you have spent time with Charles Stanley and I believe he would be proud of your degree and depth of understanding. While he could be hard-hitting on some points, I always liked the compassion for suffering humanity that he never failed to show. And I appreciate the irresistible truth you have spoken here in your note.
Thank you.
DeleteP.S. I think I should have said that Sarah tried to speed up God's timing...in other words, take control of God's plan, instead of change her fate. How often I do that myself instead of being patient for God to work accordingly, or to work through my husband.
I can relate to that thoroughly, about the timing. And the humility it takes to acknowledge it. In addition, to mention that I have been helped out by Frankl, especially, and Schaeffer and others that you have written about; some from years ago. J.I. Packer's Knowing God, is one that I'm currently re-reading that carries a solid freight of insight and encouragement.
DeleteRe: upcoming Medea-It's over half-a-century since I was required to read it for a Great Writers course at my school, but the final searing scene of recrimination between herself and Jason made a deep impression on me. Harrowing! I think this play will make for fertile commentary.
ReplyDelete