Gods Vs. Mortals in Oedipus Rex & the Bacchae

Anyone who is familiar with Greek mythology has heard a story about tyrannous Zeus, throwing thunderbolts, turning people into animals, or causing other supernatural events while releasing his wrath. He proves time and time again that he is more powerful than any mortal who tries to compete with him. Though Zeus is the mightiest, there are stories about many other gods demonstrating their power over mortals. Two such gods are Apollo and Dionysus. In the stories "Oedipus Rex" and "The Bacchae", these gods conflict with men that are not just average mortals, but respected kings. Although the political position of these kings makes them feel superior to all, the gods in the two stories show them that immortals are far superior to any man. In this way, "Oedipus Rex" and "The Bacchae" present a tension between politics and religion, the result of which reveals that religion indubitably prevails.

In “Oedipus Rex”, the presence of religion influences Oedipus and his family years before he is even king. The god Apollo determines that when Oedipus grows up, he will kill his father and marry his mother. When Oedipus is only an infant, a prophet tells his parents, King Laius and Queen Jocasta, the prophesized fate of their son. They take this prophecy seriously. Laius and Jocasta respond by binding his feet and giving him to a shepherd, with instructions to leave him on a mountain to die. They now believe that they have defied the prophecy and have overcome the treacherous fate that was predicted for them. Oedipus is given sympathy, however, as he is given to another shepherd who saves him. Oedipus grows up in a town called Corinth, believing that a different man and woman who are part of a different royal family are his parents. He eventually hears the same prophecy that his real parents heard years ago, and responds to it in the same way they did. He tries to avoid his fate by leaving Corinth. On his journey away from the city, he gets into a scuffle with a few men and kills all except one of them. Unbeknownst to Oedipus, one of the men he kills is his own father. After this half of the prophecy is fulfilled, he continues to the town of Thebes where he was born. He becomes king there, and fulfills the second half of the prophecy when he marries his mother, the widowed queen. The way in which he becomes the king of Thebes is also determined by the divine. A monster called the Sphinx is tormenting the city, and Oedipus is the only man that is able to stop it by solving its riddle. Believing that he is a hero, he does not know true circumstances of the situation he has just stepped into. By the end of the story, everyone learns the truth of the situation. As a result, Jocasta kills herself, and Oedipus violently blinds himself and leaves the country. It is clear through the events of the story that Oedipus and his parents are battling fate, and are essentially battling the will of the gods. Despite their efforts, or perhaps in effect to them, the fate that Apollo determines is fulfilled. The god succeeds in killing the city’s rulers- King Laius and queen Jocasta. As a result of the atrocious chain of events, the new king Oedipus is blind and exiled, and the royal family’s reputation is destroyed. Resultantly, Apollo annihilates the ruling family members, as well as the lives of its future generations.

After Oedipus becomes the king, a horrible plague begins to torment Thebes. As king, he is very ambitious and passionate about restoring health to his city. He resolves that the gods will be able to offer a solution, so he sends his brother-in-law, Creon, to obtain information from an oracle. When Creon returns, he tells Oedipus and the city that the plague will end when the murderer of Laius is removed. Confident in this resolution, Oedipus immediately begins a search for the killer, and sends for the prophet Tiresias for assistance. Tiresias tells him that the cause of the city’s plague and Laius’ killer is Oedipus himself. Oedipus becomes enraged, and believes that he is hearing only lies and insanity. As prophets are the messengers of the gods, contesting with Tiresias is tantamount to defying the gods themselves. As king, he feels that he has the power to determine truth, and that he has supreme power over the city. He accuses Creon of conspiring with Tiresias, and threatens to exile or even kill him. Before Oedipus was the accused, his status as king gave him confidence and leadership, which are attributes that were productive in solving the mystery. After he was accused of murdering the former king, this status became a negative and caused him to be too overwhelmed with his power to identify the truth. This is also the point at which he stops trusting the divine ability of prophets. His mother Jocasta seems to stop trusting prophets at this point as well. She began to tell Oedipus not to listen to Tiresias,