The role of The Oracle of Apollo in Greek Mythology and its relevance to Sophocles' Oedipus The King.

 


The role of The Oracle of Apollo in Greek Mythology and its relevance to Sophocles' Oedipus The King.
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Abstract
Apollo is seen to actively intervene in Oedipus destiny fulfillment through oracles and significantly in onstage action. Rather than actually punishing him for any kind of offense committed, the god's main purpose appears to impress upon king Oedipus his natural existential insignificance. In such context of absurd but ordered universe, Sophocles, in turn, emphasizes the issue of the paradox of a man's moral greatness whose existence value is more of zero. Apollo's oracular form of declaration in these circumstances actually entails such effective intervention seen that oracles act more as contributing causes of destiny they in turn predict. Because human reactions are infallibly foreseen by these gods hence can be factored into such divine purpose.
The ancient Greeks acknowledge the presence of gods will inform of fate which is a unappeasable form of reality revealed by the oracle at such places as Delphi who in turn spoke for the Apollo in mysterious pronouncements. The promise of their prophecy draws many but only such messages offered the questionnaire as incomplete which maddens evasive kind of answers which illuminate one’s darkened life. By 15th century B.C, Athenians started questioning the power vested I the oracles by conveying gods will (G, 1989).
The production of such tragedy in ancient cities of Greece was the greatest pursuit attempted by most people but achieved or accomplished by some. Oedipus Rex is today considered as the greatest tragedies developed by Sophocles during his time. Carefully developed motifs with poignant irony combined with character developing monologues create a tragedy which leaves audiences or readers grieved and stunned for poor Oedipus. Throughout this play, the motif of sight and blindness emphasizes the struggles seen between the power of gods and the power of free will evident in king's interactions with Tiresias, development of his own character and Jakarta's attempts to actually assuage the king's fear of crime (Gregory, 1995).
Judging from this play, Sophocles took such a conservative kind of view on prophecy and augury; the oracles in king Oedipus Trilogy are seen to speak truly even though obliquely as such unassailable authority. The voice of gods is in the expression of such divine will a representation of unseen force in Oedipus Trilogy. Teiresias uses such psychic abilities in foreshadowing the destruction and anguish that Oedipus encounters after he develops and learns the truths of his own life. Teiresias is also responsible for dramatic irony imposed because of such great knowledge of Oedipus (Griffith, 1992). He uses his own physical blindness in making Oedipus conscious or aware of his own mental form of blindness toward life lessons and truths.
Oedipus play takes place inside a palace in Thebes-the ancient Greek city, performed in 430 B.C. The story or play opens with Oedipus being the king of Thebes responds to some citizens in regards to the tragic such as stillbirths, dying crops and ongoing plague. Having initially solved the Sphinx riddle on the road to the city of Thebes, Oedipus is seen as a sent savior of Thebes city and in turn tells the priest he had initially sent his wife’s brother, Kreon and lokaste to Apollo’s oracle in search of answers (Gellie, 1972). Kreon, in turn, returns  back saying that the reasons for this plague are because the old King's murderer still lives in Thebes and to actually end the menace of plague, the king ought to be punished. After the king sweared to exile or kill this murderer, Oedipus, in turn, summons the blind soothsayer and after a heated argument, he tells the king that is his the murderer he actually seeks. Oedipus, in turn, accuses Tiresias and Kreon of conspiracy labeled against him and schemes how he will, in turn, get rid of Kreon. 
The chorus object and lakaste discredits the findings of the prophet depicting that he once gave a prophecy that her own son would eventually murder his dad and marry her but this actually never happened. She finally left her own baby with the ankles tied at the mountainside but Lokaste' description worries Oedipus since the description of the three-road junction was where he had killed a traveler and coincidentally Laius was also killed. Oedipus left Corinth since he was initially told he would eventually kill is ma and pa. Unwilling to actually believe this substantial evidence, Oedipus is also told by a shepherd and a messenger that Merope of Corinth and Polybius were basically not his real parents (Dodds, 1966).
Oedipus is a tragic hero and as a king of Thebes who in turn fall from pedestal more as benevolent while respected kings to such depths of despair as a horrified and disgraced victim of incest. At initial stages, Oedipus is revealed as a paragon of his monarch, a rare leader who