Is Oedipus Guilty Or Innocent Essay

Violet Falgout

Carrie Crockett

English II Honors

2/28/23

Oedipus: Guilty or Innocent? Whether Oedipus killed his father, Laius, and married his mother, Jocasta, in the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, is intended to have an obvious answer: “Yes!”. But while all the evidence provided in the play points to it, if you examine the work more closely, it can be found that all the evidence presented is purely circumstantial, and in the context of Greek culture murder (not of one’s parents) was not taken as a grave offense as it is in contemporary culture, leaving Oedipus’ true guilt at most indeterminable if not innocent.

The evidence Sophocles offers the viewer in the play, Oedipus Rex, leads the average viewer to believe that Oedipus killed his father and married his mother. The play, Oedipus Rex, begins with a search to find the killer of Lauis (the fallen king of Thebes). Oedipus is charged with heading this search after being newly crowned king. The prophet, Tiresias, enters and proclaims “…that you [Oedipus] are Lauis’ murderer-- He whom you seek” (Sophocles 16). Oedipus naturally denies this claim, regardless, the reader is left suspicious. In another revealing conversation, an old Shepard from Oedipus’ birth land confirms to

Upon further examination of the context and gaps in the evidence, Oedipus' guilt becomes indeterminable, if not innocent. The circumstantial evidence and the unclear identity of the victim leave room for doubt and speculation. Additionally, Greek culture viewed murder differently than contemporary culture, further complicating the question of Oedipus' guilt. Ultimately, the question of Oedipus' guilt remains a matter of interpretation and perspective, and the play continues to be a classic tragedy that challenges the audience to question their assumptions and