How Does Oedipus Lose His Own Destiny

An Uncertain Destiny to the King Oedipus. While fate still ranks high nowadays, in the first half of the decade 430-420 BC, when Sophocles was writing his play Oedipus Rex it was even more intense the legitimacy of the prophecies, oracles, and gods. Brilliantly written, Oedipus Rex is a tragic drama, where ironically the destiny of Oedipus (the main character) is hinging on two prophecies: he would kill his father; he would marry his own mother. That raises an interesting question: could he avoid doing these things or his fate was already determined? Both, fate and free will decide the outcome of Oedipus’s life in this play.
While fully unaware of the cruel truth, Oedipus persist in the desire to know about his own existence. He does not succumb to the idea of ignorance, and throughout the entire play, he pushes Jocasta, Tiresias, Creon and the Messenger for information regarding his origins. Each of this characters refuse to give him a real answer. “Listen to me, I beg you: do not do this thing! I will not listen; the truth must be made known (Sophocles 737 ). His desire for knowledge and the ability of choose to continue with the discovering of the truth are elements that grant his free will.
Ironically the audience knows that he killed the King
Teiresias gives substance to the idea of life is based on fate when he says: “Let me go home. Bear your own fate; I’ll bear mine. It is better so: trust what I say.” (Sophocles 717) These words leave in clear understanding the common belief of Teiresias: he was convinced that the fate of the man is part of his daily life and those future events are always guided by the will of the gods. In the same lines, he exclaims “I am not your servant, but Apollo’s” (Sophocles 719) this line just reaffirms the thought of Teiresias, humans are at the mercy of the gods, to the point of being slaves of their wishes and