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Symbolism In Oedipus The King

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Within the Greek myths and mythos the gods and goddesses, although human, are all powerful and all knowing. Disobeying or angering these mighty beings always leads to a negative outcome. From Athena turning Arachne into a spider for boosting about being better. To Leto sending Apollo and Artemis to kill Niobe’s 12 children for boosting about bearing more children then her. Not even Oedipus in Sophocles’s Oedipus Rex is spared from the gods’ wrath. There are many symbols that reveal how a possible theme in Oedipus Rex is the obeying of the gods or else the moral will be forced to face terrible consequences. Light and dark, two difficult to explain ideas, yet they are clearly seen and used in Oedipus Rex. Light being the gods and their heavenly rewards for obeying their words, while the dark is the punishments and consequences for challenging or disobeying them. In Oedipus Rex, Sophocles writes, “Zeus… throned in light over night and day” (Ode 2.858-859). This shows how the people are begging Zeus to do something, to help them, him being their life and their light. Yet with the city disobeying the gods’ wishes and harboring and letting Laius’s killer, Oedipus, live and rule the kingdom. The people’s light, their obedience to the gods is being blocked by their dark actions which is letting Oedipus stay. The people are forced to face the …show more content…

The symbols that Sophocles added in to the tale of Oedipus also reveals these beliefs in powerful ways that were still easy to grasps. Just think, there are these powerful beings that can reward you for giving them proper praise, and give you harsh omens for ignoring their warnings, why would one believe they could fight them. How could a mere mortal believe they could fight and get away with challenging these human like gods? The play reveals and shows what that kind of mindset will lead

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