The Plague In Sophocles Oedipus The King

Sophocles begins the drama of Oedipus the King by having the people of Thebes report on the plague that has stricken the land’s crops and women. They called upon their ruler Oedipus, who once defeated the Sphinx who tormented their land, to aid them once more. Oedipus acknowledged his citizens suffering and waited for the return of his brother–in-law, Creon, who after traveling to the Oracle of Apollo informed Oedipus that to rescue Thebes, they must punish the killers of the previous king, Laius. Oedipus to comfort his people announced the search for those at fault and cast down a curse onto the murders. To hasten the search Oedipus called upon Tiresias, a respected blind prophet, to reveal who has caused the plague. Tiresias subtly claimed
that Oedipus was the murder. Enraged, Oedipus completely disregards Tiresias’ claims and continued on with the search. Jocasta, the wife of Oedipus and the late Laius, revealed to her husband that she doesn’t believe in prophecies because Laius was told that he would die at the hands of his son. Yet years after having sent their newborn son up into the mountains to die, Laius was supposedly killed by robbers where three highways meet. This story didn’t ease Oedipus; instead it further implied that he might truly be Laius’ murderer.
Oedipus then informed Jocasta on how he came to Thebes.
When he was younger he abandoned his parents, the rulers of Corinth, after the Oracle of Apollo foretold that he would procreate with his mother and kill his father. In his effort to avoid fulfilling the prophecy he ran away until one day at the place where three highways meet he was attacked by a group of men, in the effort to defend himself he killed them. Jocasta and others told him that he can’t be sure until they speak with the shepherd, the only person who witnessed the murder of Laius. Suddenly, a messenger from Corinth arrived and told Oedipus that his father Polybus had died of old age. The news temporarily relieved Oedipus, until the messenger explained that Oedipus was not related to Polybus by blood. The messenger then described how Oedipus was given to him by Laius’ shepherd, and then handed off to Polybus and his wife because they were unable to have children of their own. Oedipus, determined to discover the truth, called for the Shepherd despite Jocasta’s plea to stop inquiring on the
situation.
Once the shepherd was brought forth, he refused to give any direct answer until Oedipus threatened him with torture. The Shepherd then admitted to handing over the child of Laius to the messenger from Corinth because he thought that it would be enough to defy the prophecy. Oedipus had thus discovered the truth that he sought for relentlessly. As a result of learning that the prophecy was fulfilled Jocasta hung herself and Oedipus shameful of the life he has led punished himself by gouging his eyes out. He then begged Creon, the new ruler of Thebes, to look after his family and to banish him from Thebes. Thus, Oedipus saved Thebes once more by having punished the murder of Laius.
Despite the fact that Oedipus attempted to be an honorable ruler throughout the story there was always foreshadowing of his destined life of shame and suffering. Oedipus was born to be a victim of fate by the prophecy given to his parents before his birth; their child was to kill his father and marry his mother. Laius and Jocasta desecrated the prophetic power of the gods by attempting to kill Oedipus three days after his birth. Yet the failed filicide just changed the means in which the joint prophecy of Oedipus and his parents was going to be fulfilled. His parents’ crime against the gods would bring more suffering onto Oedipus in the future.
Oedipus’ fate loomed over him for years until a drunkard made him question whether his assumed parents were truly his birth parents.
To ease his mind Oedipus traveled to the Oracle of Apollo to question the gods, but instead of finding the answer he was seeking he received his delayed prophecy. His attempt to flee from his assumed parents in Corinth led him to Thebes, where he unknowingly fulfilled his prophecy proving there is no escaping the fate of the gods. Yet Oedipus completed the prophecy without acquiring the shame and suffering that should have come along with it, instead Oedipus “won complete prosperity and… [was] honored above all men, ruling over great Thebes.” The thought that the child of Laius and Jocasta was dead had spared Oedipus the consequences that should have followed from his unspeakable actions until the gods demanded atonement for the prophecy by threatening
Thebes.
Creon after having traveled to the Oracle told Oedipus that Apollo clearly advised the people of Thebes to “drive out the thing that defiles [the] land which… [they] have fed and cherished”, the murder of Laius. This threat on Thebes seems to have been created by the gods to severely punish Oedipus. After discovering the truth about the prophecy and the respectable life that he shouldn’t have been able to establish as king and husband of Jocasta, Oedipus tore his own eyes out and forcefully banished himself in shame. The prophecy of Oedipus’ life never foretold such cruel punishments in the beginning, yet the gods had obviously felt that Oedipus didn’t have the wretched life that was originally destined for him from birth.
The journey Oedipus had in discovering the truth of his life and the completion of the prophecy that went unnoticed shouldn’t be viewed as free will on his part. The efforts of Oedipus and his parents never stopped the horrible prophecy from being completed. Instead it angered the gods and caused heavier suffering for Oedipus, Jocasta, and even the people of Thebes. In this story all seem to be instruments of fate; it’s just that some tend to be difficult.