What is the role of Greek gods in Oedipus the King?
Well, gee, they are very important to the story, but they have a lesser role that some other greek tales. Oedipus is abandoned by his parents (King and Queen types) because a prophecy is told that he will kill his father and marry his mother. This is Apollo. Apollo gives prophecies. So, they leave him on a mountain side to be killed. He is found and ends up in the family of another ruler that has no child and Oedipus grows up believing that this people are his true parents. He encounters his real father one day on a road and they have a fight in which Oedipus kills his father. He doesn’t know that it is his father though. He goes to tell the man’s wife (his mother) that he is sorry and falls in love with her. They marry. Another prophet tells on him and Oedipus is so horrified that he puts out both of his eyes. His “chance” encounter in orchestrated by one of the gods. His tragic sotyr is really two competing gods playing with his life.
