Everything Happens For A Reason

Everything Happens For a Reason

Both The Odyssey by Homer and Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, were based in the context of ancient Greek culture but each was written during different time periods. The Gods played an enormously influential role in the lives of the Ancient Greeks. The Odyssey was written during the Greek Heroic Age (1500-1100 B.C.E.) and Oedipus Rex was estimated to be written around the 430s B.C.E. during the Age of Pericles when Athens was at its height of political and cultural power. The Odyssey and Oedipus Rex share the common idea of a fixed and pre-determined fate. The difference is that in The Odyssey, the Gods have a more flexible control over the humans, than in Oedipus Rex where humans have a set life planned out for them to follow. In The Odyssey, the Gods and mortals have a more direct relationship that involves communication between the two, whereas in Oedipus Rex, the Gods do not communicate with mortals and therefore they are not ultimately sure of their divine existence. It is important to understand each author's perception of the Gods because it reflects the same Greek culture and religion at two different time periods in history.

Oedipus Rex was written during a period in Greek history where Sophists were trying to introduce new ideas to the Greek culture. The play is a rhetorical debate in which the author is trying to reinforce the traditional religious beliefs in the Gods. The belief that the Gods were real and had a large impact on the outcome of your daily life was slowly slipping as outside influences made their way into the Greek culture. Sophocles was trying to remind his audience of the power and importance of the Greek gods. In Oedipus Rex, the entire story is based around a prophecy. The mortals in this story have no control over their fate and are powerless against the will of the Gods. The prophecy that Oedipus will kill his father and marry his mother is given before Oedipus was born and plays out exactly as planned regardless of the actions that are taken by the humans to avoid the tragedy. The way in which the author states the message from the prophet sets the scene for what is to come, "If we make enquiry, we may touch things that otherwise escape us (Sophocles 903)." Along with informing the Thebans of the need to revenge Laios' murder, he is also foreshadowing the fact that knowing too much information will lead to another tragedy all in itself.

The idea of dangerous knowledge is also seen in another quote said by Teiresias, "How dreadful knowledge of the truth can be when there's no help in truth! I knew this well, but made myself forget. I should not have come (Sophocles 909)." The Gods are toying with the mortals with this; they knew what the mortals would do with the prophecy and all of the efforts that would go into avoiding it. Teiresias is the blind prophet who ironically is the only mortal who truly "sees" the truth of the matter. The gods see that Oedipus has no idea that he had indeed fulfilled his destiny and that the only missing piece in the story was the knowledge of his tragic fate.

Sophocles shows the audience that fate is so rigidly instilled, that even praying to the gods won't have an impact on their fate. The chorus says, "Let me pray to Athene, the immortal daughter of Zeus, and to Artemis her sister who keeps her famous throne in the market ring, and to Apollo, bowman at the far butts of heaven- Oh gods descend! Like three streams leap against the fires of our grief, the fires of darkness; be swift to bring us rest (Sophocles 905)!" Although there is no real proof of the gods, the people of Thebes never once doubted their existence. The chorus is directly supplicating the gods even though they know they can never get a direct response back. The author is showing the audience that these prayers are completely useless in changing the fate of the city. No matter how hard or how much these people pray to the gods, the gods will not alter their decision of the outcome of the lives of these people. The only way of communicating between the Gods and mortals is through the prophecies that only tell the predetermined fate of mortals. The Thebans strongly believe that their lives are predestined by the Gods because Oedipus as well as King Laios both undergo drastic changes in their lives in order to attempt to avoid the prophecy. Despite supplication, Oedipus Rex proves that humans cannot do anything to change their fate; it is set from birth and is completely out of their control.

The Odyssey shares the same idea of pre-determination but in a more flexible manner. The Gods directly communicate with the mortals in the forms of disguise, prophecy, and signs through nature. The Odyssey is a folk epic which means it was passed down orally for generations until it was finally written down. The Odyssey is a much older text than Oedipus Rex which is why the Gods interacted much more with the mortals in the story. As cultures advance and mature, they learn more and more about their environment and become better educated about the world around them. This idea of increasing knowledge through time is also seen in life today with our advances in science and medicine that have grown tremendously over the past fifty years. Presently, there is an immense information bank on why things in nature occur. In comparison to the time of The Odyssey, there weren't many explanations for why natural disasters like storms and floods occurred. This is where the culture would use the divine to explain these things as a direct omen from the Gods and interpret them accordingly. This is why The Odyssey has a much more mystical and magical feel to it than Oedipus Rex.

Prophecies indicate rigid pre-determination, for example the situation with Amphinomous who is destined to die with the rest of the suitors. Odysseus tries to warn Amphinomous as seen in this quote, "Now his heart foreknew the wrath to come, but he could not take flight, being by Athena bound here (Homer 679)." This is interpreted as a more flexible fate being that Amphinomous is given the choice to leave if he really wanted to. Another thing to take into consideration is the fact that the prophecy came from Odysseus dressed up as a beggar that was already determined in the suitors minds not to be of a divine origin. It would be foolish of Amphinomous to turn around and leave the pursuit of Penelope's hand in marriage due to the words of a mere beggar. A good argument against The Odyssey's prophecies being fixed is, "...either we believe in free will or we are determinists. But fifth-century Greeks did not think in these terms any more than Homer did: the debate about determinism is a creation of Hellenistic thought. Homeric heroes have their predetermined 'portion