Discussion Topic
Oedipus' Visit to the Oracle at Delphi
Summary:
Oedipus visits the Oracle at Delphi initially to confirm rumors that he is not the biological son of the King and Queen of Corinth. Instead of clarifying his parentage, the Oracle prophesies that he will kill his father and marry his mother, driving him from Corinth to Thebes, where he unwittingly fulfills the prophecy. Later, as king, Oedipus sends Creon to Delphi to find the cause of a plague in Thebes, unknowingly setting the tragic events of the play in motion.
Why did Oedipus visit the oracle when he was young?
In Act II, Oedipus relates how, when he was young, he had heard rumors at a banquet that he was not really the son of the King and Queen of Corinth, so he went to the oracle at Delphi to ask for clarification. It was there that the oracle told Oedipus that he was fated to kill his father and to marry his mother. Horrified, Oedipus forgot about the rumors that claimed he wasn't the Corinthian king's son, and he left town so as to avoid fulfilling the prophecy. Ironically, when he ran away, Oedipus ran into his real father, Laios, on the road, had an altercation with him, and killed him...all the while not knowing the man's identity. This was the beginning of the fulfillment of the oracle's prophecy.
Why did Oedipus visit the Delphic Oracle?
There are two instances in his life in which Oedipus seeks...
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out the Delphic Oracle. On the first visit, Oedipus goes to the Oracle himself because he has heard rumors that he is not the true son of the king and queen of Corinth. Indeed, Oedipus's true parents are Laius andJocasta, the king and queen of Thebes, who when Oedipus was born received a terrible prophecy that their son would grow up to one day murder his father and sleep with his mother. Terrified, the king and queen expose the child—a common enough practice in Ancient Greece—but a kindly shepherd took pity on the boy and brought him to the childless rulers of Corinth, who adopted Oedipus and raised him as their son. The Oracle, however, does not answer Oedipus' question about his parentage but instead repeats the prophecy he was given at birth, that he would sleep with his mother and murder his father. Horrified at this prospect and still believing the King and queen of Corinth to be his true parents, Oedipus runs away from Corinth to Thebes, where he unwittingly fulfills both part of the prophecy.
The second time Oedipus seeks the Oracle, he sends his brother-in-law, Creon, in his place. He intends to ask the Oracle the cause of the plague that is besetting Thebes. Creon reports that the Oracle said the plague had been caused by religious pollution, since the murder of Laius, the previous king, had never been avenged. Thus, the play's plot is set in motion as Oedipus vows to uncover the king's murderer and bring him to justice, unknowing that he himself is the criminal he seeks.
Why does Oedipus send Creon to Delphi?
Oedipus sends Creon to Delphi in order to consult the oracle and find out why a blight (or disease) has come on the crops, the herds of cows and sheep, and even women who are pregnant. The priest of Zeus tells him early on that he believes the god of plague, Apollo, has decided to afflict the people of Thebes and that the "murky realm / Of Pluto," the underworld, is now filling up with the shades of those who have died as a result. However, Oedipus has already sent Creon to the oracle to inquire as to what he, the king, must do in order to save the kingdom.
When Creon gets back from his visit to the Oracle of Delphi, he tells Oedipus that the oracle said that Oedipus would have to find out the identity of the murderer of Laius, the former king. Only when the guilty person is discovered will the blight disappear and the people of Thebes be free of famine and disease once again. The guilty person must be identified and duly punished.
Oedipus is amazed that this person was never found out before now, that the Thebans had not tried harder to avenge their king's death right away, but Creon explains that such "trouble ... ensued" after the king was pronounced dead that there was no one who could avenge the murder at that time.
In Oedipus Rex, why does Oedipus allow Creon to go to Delphi?
In Aristotle's Poetics the tragic hero is defined as of noble stature, possessing virtue. Thus, Oedipus as the hero of the tragedy "Oedipus Rex" is of this admirable character. In his love for the people of Thebes, he seeks to end the plague that torments them. As a wise ruler, Oedipus also is cognizant of the fact that he must seek solutions from every possible source. And, as a tragic hero, he possesses the excessive pride (hubris) that does not entertain any suspicion that harm may come to him in his sending Creon to Delphi in the first scene of the play. At this point, of course, the dramatic irony which moves the tragedy begins.