What was oedipus guilty of

On the other hand, defying the gods was, for the Greeks, a shameful act. At the crossroads, other travelers nearly cut Oedipus off the road. A fight between the men breaks out, resulting in the death of one of the men. Later in the play, it is revealed that the man Oedipus murdered was in fact Laius, the former King of Thebes, his biological father. Guilt in this situation can be broken down into two parts: being guilty of murder and being guilty of patricide.

Based on the Oxford definition, Oedipus is guilty of patricide as he did in fact kill his own father. Oedipus is certainly conscious of his act of murder, but he is blind to his own patricide. Oedipus was conscious of having killed a man, which had very few, if any, consequences at the time, but he was blind to recognize that the man was his own father.

Immediately following the murder, Oedipus could have felt shame for killing someone, but he could not have felt the specific shame for killing his own father. In Christianity, which is reflected in modern Western law, murder is an offense that warrants punishment. In ancient Greece, murder was not so much a crime, let alone an act that would cause one to harbor the guilty conscience of shame. Patricide, however, was viewed as an act of significant dishonor and, therefore, if Oedipus had known immediately after the fact that he had killed Laius, he would have taken on the burden of shame.

Because Oedipus thinks he has not dishonored his family by killing his father and wedding his mother, he holds himself to a higher level of fortune, which is actually just a product of his own vanity. Guilt sits with regard to action—in the case of Oedipus, the action of killing his father and marrying his mother. Similarly, neither Oedipus or Jocasta feel shame for their marriage. After he was told this, Oedipus decided he would never go back home because he did not want those things to happen.

While traveling to Thebes, Oedipus killed an older man he crossed paths with along the road. This is an example of irony because, of course, Oedipus did not even consider that action would be fulfilling part of prophecy the oracle had just told him.

The very prophecy he was trying to prevent from happening. Once he arrived in Thebes, Although the truth had been spoken to him about these matters previously, Oedipus had chosen not to believe and understandably so. True revelation comes to Oedipus through the same slave that had been ordered to kill him as a baby.

Since Oedipus had no knowledge of his birth parents, he cannot be accused of knowingly fulfilling the prophecy. He had no understanding of Laius as his birth father upon killing him. One might say that Oedipus is then guilty of murder regardless, but if he had killed in self defense, that cannot be true. Foolishly he leaves his home in Corinth without further investigating the oracle's words. His inflated notions of his stature as ruler directly question the authority of the gods.

He goes to the oracle then leaves without an answer. Finding out his true father is important because he has just been told he will kill his father. But maybe his reason for acting insane is legitamite. Many of Hamlet's actions are done for a viable reason. He does not go off and do random acts of violence or anything of the sort. When Hamlet was going to kill Claudius the first time, he stopped himself, because Claudius was in confession. If Hamlet had killed him there, all of Cladius' sins would have been wiped away, and Hamlet feared sending him to heaven, so he would wait for a better time to kill Claudius.

Oedipus did not listen to the Gods. His circumstances determined his fate, but could have been broken if he had not killed anyone, researched his parents before leaving Corinth, or not been so anxious to punish himself or find the murderer.

Oedipus did kill a man, and although he was not aware of his identity at the time, it could still be argued that he is not innocent because he was aware that a prophecy existed and he should not have killed anyone. In the context of an Ancient Greek audience, his act was justifiable, however reading this play in a modern context one must consider the culture of violence in Ancient Greece that could condone such an act.

In all of greco-roman historical literature there are multiple similarities; one of which is the representation of hamartia. Yes, Oedipus is a victim of fate, but every action has an equal or opposite reaction, therefore his fate. Boundaries of Fate and Free Will in Oedipus the King The ancient Greeks firmly believed that the universe was guided strictly by order and fate. In Oedipus the King, Sophocles has examined the relationship between free will and fate, suggesting that free will paradoxically exists inside the boundaries of fate.

It may be concluded, however, that man has free will and is ultimately held responsible for his own actions. Oedipus' destruction was brought about by a combination of fate. These similarities show how writing and entertainment have not completely changed despite how long it has been. One of the most important similarities is the theme. This essay will explore these two works by looking into the similar themes, how the themes are treated, and the importance of similar themes.

DaKan Wei Professor Annjeanette Wiese HUMN 1 October Fatalism in Oedipus the King Tragedy has always been considered the highest form of literature; Oedipus the King is written by Sophocles who is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians, it fully represents the enduring charm of the ancient Greek tragedy, leaving the reader endless thinking. Even though the story is thousands of years old, people enjoy reading them today. The involvement of Gods and godlike heroes, the prophecies, humans and their flaws, and scandalous behaviors create so much entertainment for the reader.

They are so spectacularly dramatized, that several movie makers even made movies about them. The captivating, and at the same time very disturbing aspect, that Oedipus kills.

Sophocles said that a man should never consider himself fortunate unless he can look back on his life and remember that life without pain. For Oedipus Rex, looking back is impossible to do without pain. This pain stems from his prideful life.