Classics and the Western Canon discussion
Discussion - Oedipus Rex
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Oracles
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I can't help but think of the movie The Matrix...Do you think the Oracles purposefully played mind games? Where they demi-gods?
From Wiki: the oracular utterances, called khrēsmoi in Greek, were often referred to under the same name—a name derived from the Latin verb ōrāre, to speak.
Do you think this story suggests that we should be very careful what we speak. I have heard that our words are really very powerful. For example, does speech and thought even have power over what happens? I tend to think it does.
Words are very powerful, there is a phrase from a song that says (translated from spanish) "I wish that the dictionary would stop the bullets". I've not had a chance yet to finish the text but I am familiar with the story, and not only should we be careful of what we speak as to what we hear and interpret from it. I'm no expert in greek mithology, but from what I know of the story, no matter what they did (Oedipus, Laius), the Oracle's prophecy was right. Was this just the gods whim, or was there something else they could have done? In fact, if there where no prophecy in the first place, would Laius have tried to get rid of his son? Would Oedipus married his mother knowing who she was if he would've been raised with his real parents? I apologyze for any misspelling, English is not my first language.
I think one of the main lessons to be learned from this tragedy is that often we can be our biggest enemies. In an effort to protect himself and his family, Laius in turn sets into motion what will be his destruction. Had he sat back and done nothing would the Oracle's prediction still come true? Possibly, but we have no way of knowing that for sure. What we can glean from this text is that our actions have power. I think your interpretation of the tragedy depends on whether or not you believe in fate. What we do know is that Laius gave the Oracle's words weight and acted on that belief. This play offers so many philosophical questions I don't think I could begin to make much more sense out of it than I have, as each "answer" brings up several new questions. This is what I love about literature!
You can hardly blame Jocasta for saying she's quite finished with stupid oracles. Unfortunately for her, the oracles were spot on.
And I'm not sure the oracles were misunderstood, exactly. If anything, Laius & Jocasta & Oedipus gave enough credit to the oracles to fear their prophecies & take steps to try to prevent the prophecies from coming true. What else should they have done?
And I'm not sure the oracles were misunderstood, exactly. If anything, Laius & Jocasta & Oedipus gave enough credit to the oracles to fear their prophecies & take steps to try to prevent the prophecies from coming true. What else should they have done?
Consulting an Oracle, the most famous but by no means the only one being the Oracle at Delphi, was a common practice for the Greeks. The Oracles were not always right, but they were often cryptic and frequently misinterpreted. One famous example of this is when Croesus asked the Oracle whether he should invade Persian empire. The answer was "Croesus will destroy a great empire," so he went ahead and invaded, but he lost decisively; the great empire he destroyed was not the Persian empire but his own.
How does misunderstanding oracles play into Oedipus Rex? Would the play be as powerful if there had been no oracles but the same events had taken place naturally?