Fate Vs. Freewill

Question 1

What does Fate and Free will mean in the ancient world

Answer 1

• many people in the ancient world were concerned about their fate and what was going to happen to them in the future
• Greeks from all over the Greek world visited oracles to find out the will of the gods
• There are arguments that fate is a fixed thing and that it cannot be changed; there are arguments that fate is compromised by free will
• The Greeks believed in teh Fates as a divine group of goddesses who controlled the actions of men; some believed that Zeus was in control of all fate; others belive that there was not fate and in fact all actions are the result of free will
• The play Oedipus the KIng explores these themes in various ways

Question 2

Fate in Oedipus
The Delphic Oracle

Answer 2

• 1st message from the oracle (before play) tells Laius and Jocata that thier child will kill his father
• 2nd message from the orcale (before the play) tells Oedipus that he will kill hi father and marry his mother - Oedipus leaves Corinth thinking Polybus and Merope are his real parents
• 3rd message from the oracle (during the play) Creon arrives with news that the killer of Laius is in the city and only his removal will rid the city of the plague
• Although Tiresias is not the orcale he still communicates the will of Apollo

Question 3

Oedipus fulfilling his fate

Answer 3

• By acting on the 2nd Oracle - Oedipus leaves Corinth and kills the man he later discovers to be his real father
• By leaving Corinth and saving Thebes from teh Sphinx, he fulfills his fate by then marrying his mother (Jocasta)
• Oedipus learns avout his fate before the play; it is then confiremed by Tiresius but Oedipus does nto know at that point that Lauis was his father
• As a baby he was saved by the sheperd - his fate was to survive and fulfil his destiny
• Fate is often considered a righter of wrong - Oedipus’ actions correct the wrongs he has caused throughout his life

Question 4

Oedipus and Free Will

Answer 4

• Oedipus chooses to leave Cornith to protect his ‘parents’ - he could have spoken to his father about the oracle/gossip he ehard about himself
• Oedipus chooses to kill Laius - if he knew he was destinbed to kill someone he should have decided never to kill
• Oedipus chooses to marry a woman who is old enough to be his mother
• Oedipus chooses find out the truth about the murderer of Laius
• Oedipus chooses to reject Tiresias’ prophecies
• Oedipus chooses to ignore Jocastas warnings
• Oedipus chooses to act like a tyrant towards the shepard

Question 5

Other Characters and Free Will

Answer 5

• Apollo did not tell Laius and Jocata to expose the baby
• Laius and Jocasta chose not to check that the baby Oedipus had been killed - no evidence
• The shepard chose to save Oedipus’ life rather than kill him
• Polybus and Merope chose not to tell Oedips the truth about his parentage and that he was not their real son (although it seems that this was fairly common knowlegde in Corinth)
• The shepard chooses to tell the truth to Oedipus about killing the baby (he couldve kept up the lie)

Question 6

Creon from the Oracle at Delphi; “There is an unclean thing, born and nursed on our soil, polluting our soil”