Men Control Of Fate In Antigone

Throughout history, men have questioned whether they control their fate, and even today, men still linger on this dilemma. In Oedipus the King, and Antigone, Sophocles shows men have no control whatsoever in their determined fate. In Oedipus the King and Antigone, Sophocles show how men try to change their fates, but ultimately fail in the end despite the decisions of the characters. First, Sophocles shows how men don't control their fate through oracles and prophecies. In Antigone, when Creon is visited by the great prophet Tiresias, who gives a chilling omen too Creon about his future if his current decision making continues on its path. “Once the wrong is done, a man can turn his back on folly, misfortune too, if he tries to make amends,
In Antigone, Creon tried to redirect the direction of his fate, but ultimately, the prophecy about the future of his actions had ultimately become true. In this, Creon realized that from the moment he had set his foolish law into motion, that his ultimate fate had been set. He states in the epic that “My crimes, my stubborn, deadly- look at us, the killer, the killed, father and son, the same blood- the misery! My plans, my mad frantic heart, my soul cut off so young! Lost to the world not through you stupidity, not, my own.” (Sophocles 1393-1399). Creon then realizes that the blame falls to him in this matter, but his ultimate destiny was not in his hands. Creon had tried to change his fate according to the prophecies wishes, but his efforts were ultimately futile. This helplessness of fate is also shown in Oedipus the King. After discovering after all the tinkering he had done to change his fate, Oedipus had realized that the very prophecy that he feared, had indeed come true. “I’d never come to this, my father's murderer… mother's husband… Mother i defiled coupling in my father's bed, spawning lives in the loins that spawned my wretched life. It’s mine alone, my destiny- I am Oedipus.” (Sophocles 1491-1497). With this devastating travesty that has been laid upon him, Oedipus had realized that this fate was his, and his alone, not matter if it was a result of his doing or the gods, and it is with this that Sophocles show how man can’t control their fate. If anything is to be learned from these great Greek tragedies, it is that fate is set, no matter how hard one tries. In Oedipus and Antigone, Sophocles show how men try to change their fates, but ultimately fail in the end. Fate can not be changed, no matter if men try to move mountians to do so, which makes this game called life all the more