You Better Watch Out, He's Gonna Get Ya, Sophocles Style

In Oedipus Rex, Sophocles clearly establishes his religious beliefs through the use of Oedipus and his foils Creon and Choragos. Though the exact ideologies of Sophocles regarding religion are unknown, many sources cite Socrates’s controversial religious views, especially those regarding the higher power of the gods. Though Sophocles did not believe in the conventional religious forms of worship or popular legends, he still firmly held the belief of the gods’ power of all facets of life, especially humanity’s fate. Through the use of the three main characters of the play, Sophocles asserts his belief in the omnipotent power of the gods or God over the entire earth and his refusal to place any human above the reigns of the gods, an innovative belief system for the era of near-complete conformity he lived in.

Every aspect of the story, from the plot to the characters themselves, aids in the establishment of Sophocles unique religious views. The most obvious, concrete use of plot to declare his moral and religious ideas takes the form of the entire Theban royal family’s attempts to evade the gripping claws of fate. Laois and Iocaste attempt to evade their intertwined destiny by killing their potentially dangerous son, Oedipus. Later in life, seemingly because of a genetic flaw, Oedipus seeks to escape the same fate by departing his adoptive family in order to save them and then again mentally tries to avoid the realization of the fulfillment of his fate by ignoring all propositions of such an occurrence, though in the end the truth prove too factual to discount. Like in most ancient Greek tales, the divine governance of the gods in humanity’s predestination proves too overpowering to escape.

While this view was shared by all minds of his time, his exploration of man’s efforts to reign over the gods was unique to his individual being. To explain the unthinkable effects of such acts, Sophocles uses a contrast between the actions and words of Oedipus and those of the character Creon. Oedipus’s pride, his tragic flaw caused by the reverence the Theban people afford him after the saves them from the oppressive power of the Sphinx, is the main source behind his disregard for the ultimate supremacy of the higher powers. In his role as the powerful king of Thebes, he begins to see himself as the true source of power, order, justice and all things good in his kingdom. Sophocles emphasizes the consequences of Oedipus’s disregarding the gods’ power in Ode II: “any mortal who dares hold no immortal Power in awe will be caught up in a net of pain.” Though generally Oedipus’s tragic flaw, pride, is the definitive force that leads to his downfall, his self-triumph over the gods did not exact help in the gods’ final decision as to his fate. Through Oedipus, Sophocles makes a general critique on the fact that in his society he feels that true and honest “reverence for the gods has died away,” in place of an obligatory notion of simply appearing reverent. Contradictorily, Creon serves as the perfect example of reason and worship of the gods, at least in Oedipus Rex. Not only does Creon remain free of the corruption of the royal family and never allow his awe for the gods waiver, he also leads Oedipus towards God and the truth after his final realization of his fate. At the end of story instead of being guided primal emotion or Oedipus’s declaration, he allows god to determine his actions and therefore the future of the destroyed Oedipus. Unlike his fellow characters, Creon never seeks to escape fate but rather lets god guide his every move and in the final lines almost acts as the gods’ representation on Earth, acting to recreate true devotion in the audience.

Sophocles’ strong convictions span far beyond the sole belief of the gods’ supreme power and humanity’s inability to escape it; however, this ideology stands out throughout the entire tragedy. On the other hand, this pessimistic belief in fate does protect the innocent from the fate of Oedipus. Even pious devotees of God are not safe in the face of God’s plan. Though Oedipus’s tragic flaw overthrew him in the end, the last line of the play affirms the fact that anyone could face the same fate. “Let none presume on his good fortune until he finds life, at his death, a memory without pain.”