Oedipus

Oedipus grew up never knowing he wasn't the son of Polybos. He heard someone say that he wasn't his father's son one day and that bothered him greatly. He decided to take a trip to Delphi to see if he could learn of his true origins. The Oracle told him what his fate was, but wouldn't answer the question of his true parents. Believing that his fate involved killing Polybos and marrying Merope, he left the city vowing not to return until his father was dead. This is where Oedipus seals his fate, essentially. If he didn't believe in the power of the Oracle, or believed the man that said he wasn't his father's son, then he might have stayed with his adoptive parents and lived a happier life. Oedipus tried to avoid his fate, but instead, he makes it more possible for the prophecy to be fulfilled.

You could say that if it wasn't for the Oracle, then Oedipus, Jocasta, and Laios may have lived happily ever after. The Oracle led these three to their ruin. Having seen the Oracle about another matter, Oedipus heard his fate, then proceeded to try and prevent it. Laios and Jocasta believed the Oracle, but they also believed they could control their fate. The play makes it seem as though fate can't be controlled because when you try and control fate, the decisions you make cause your fate to be sealed. It is interesting to try and figure out how these events would have been able to take place if no one tried to control their own fate. In all likelihood, the fate of Oedipus would have been much different if his parents decided to accept fate, rather than control it. It can be said that fate is only uncontrollable when you try to control it.

Fate and prophecy aren't limited to just the prophecy the Oracle gave in this play. There is also foreshadowing as to what will happen to Oedipus as he tries to discover the killer of Laios to save his city. The priest of Apollo is blind and old and knows the real truth behind the identity of Oedipus. Oedipus mocks him and states that he will never be like him, but in the end he's blinded as the old man is and had discovered that you can't escape your fate. Oedipus believes that fate can be controlled throughout the play, until the end. He yearns for the truth, but will not believe it when it is spelled out for him because he's already convinced himself that he beat his fate by moving out of the city of his father. Jocasta believes she's beaten fate, too. She didn't believe what the Oracle had to say because Laios and she pierced their son's ankles and left him for dead. A dead baby can't kill his father, or marry his mother. Jocasta believes that killing her son was a mistake because if the son died, their fate couldn't be fulfilled and if their fate couldn't be fulfilled, then it isn't really fate after all.