![]() ![]() ![]() The exploration of free will in Western philosophy began with ancient Greeks. By attempting to escape the prophecy, Oedipus fulfilled it fully, ending up where he was fated to be. Oedipus marries Jocasta, his biological mother, without realising what he is doing. When Oedipus does arrive at his homeland, he is greeted and made the king. Both men tried to escape their prophesized fate, driven by fear. Therefore, when Oedipus was born, he was sent to be killed, and only by fate did he survive and find a home in Corinth. Before the play’s events, King Laius received a prophecy that his son will murder him. In the play, Oedipus, wanting to know the truth about his parentage, describes going to the oracle of Delphi, and receiving the prophecy, “I would be my mother’s lover/…and be his murderer whose seen I am” (794-796). Prophecies were highly sought after as the oracles believed to be carriers of ultimate wisdom. At this time in history, Greek gods were a pantheon of worship, while the oracles were their incarnations on Earth. The concept of fate was a popular motif in Greek tragedies. ![]()
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