The tragedy of Oedipus Rex tells the story of a king who was cursed by the gods for killing his father and marrying his own mother. The play ends with Oedipus blinding and exiling himself out of guilt for his deeds, and in order to save Thebes from the plague. I think that the plague and the punishment he received were somewhat unfair. The events of Oedipus' life were not entirely his fault. It seems to me that the gods, specifically the god Apollo, were more responsible for these crimes than Oedipus.
The gods caused these things to happen indirectly, but were well aware of what they were doing. They brought about the misfortunes of Oedipus' life through the self-fulfilling prophecies that Apollo's oracle gave. By self-fulfilling, I mean that the events which the prophecies spoke of wouldn't have come about if the prophecies had never existed in the first place. When Oedipus was first born, Laius and Jocasta left him on a mountainside to die. The only reason they did this was because the oracle said that Laius would be killed by his own son. So if Laius had never received the prophecy, then he wouldn't have left Oedipus to die. Instead, Oedipus would have been raised in Thebes, would never have met Laius at the crossroads, and, most likely, would never have killed Laius. Thus, the prophecy itself is the only reason that it came true, and the gods are responsible for starting the events that would lead to Oedipus' downfall. But the gods didn't just start a chain of events. They also kept it going. If the first prophecy had been the only one given, Oedipus' life still would have been quite happy and successful. The shepherd rescued Oedipus on the hillside, and he was adopted by King Polybus of Corinth. He could have simply been raised as a Corinthian prince and never have returned to Thebes. But instead, when he asked an oracle about his parentage, the gods told him that he would one day kill his father and marry his mother. This frightens Oedipus so much that he flees Corinth in hopes of getting as far away from his parents as possible. While he is traveling, he meets and kills Laius at the crossroads, and goes on to become King of Thebes and marry Jocasta. Again, the prophecy is what caused itself to come true.
One might argue that the gods are not responsible, because it was the choices of people who brought about Oedipus' fate. This is partially true. Laius and Jocasta made the choice to abandon Oedipus. The gods did not force them to do it. Then, the shepherd rescued Oedipus and King Polybus chose to adopt him. These are acts that the gods didn't influence at all. Oedipus could have avoided his fate if he had reacted differently to the prophecy. Instead of fleeing Corinth, Oedipus could have simply decided that he would never murder anyone or marry anyone. He chose to go to Thebes, he chose to kill a group of men at the crossroads, he chose to challenge the Sphinx, and he chose to take the throne of Thebes as his reward. The gods' prophecies are only a few of the many things that caused the events in Oedipus Rex.
Why, then, do I consider the gods to be more responsible than any of the other characters? Because of knowledge and motivation. Most of the characters' choices were made with ignorance. Oedipus didn't know that Polybus wasn't his real father when he fled Corinth. Jocasta didn't know that Oedipus was her son when she married him. And all of the characters had some sort of reason or motivation for their choices, even when their choices were wrong. Laius abandoned Oedipus because he was afraid that Oedipus would kill him one day. Oedipus ignorantly killed Laius when they fought on the road. In the play, Oedipus explains this to Jocasta. “The groom leading the horses/ Forced me off the road at his lord's command;/ But as this charioteer lurched over towards me/ I struck him in my rage./ The old man (Laius) saw me and brought his double goad down upon my head/...I killed him.” (page 232). The gods, on the other hand gave the prophecies knowing full well that they would cause all of this to happen. I can't think of any motivation the gods would have to do this except for the sake of making Oedipus and his family miserable. Oedipus seems to know that the gods are partially to blame for his fate. On page 256, after he has discovered his identity, Oedipus says, “Children, the god was Apollo./ He brought my sick, sick fate upon me.” I can't find any way that the prophecies benefited the gods or any of the people. Thebes suffered a plague, Laius was killed, Jocasta committed suicide, Oedipus was exiled, and Oedipus' children were seen as cursed because of their parents.
All of this came about because the gods gave self-fulfilling prophecies. Without the oracles, Oedipus could have had a joyful life. Although Oedipus and many other characters made choices that helped the prophecies to come true, the gods knowingly helped to cause these events for no obvious reason other than spite. The gods are just as much at fault, perhaps even more at fault, for Oedipus' fate than Oedipus himself.
