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Oedipus is Both a Saving and Destructive Force for Thebes. Discuss.
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Oedipus is Both a Saving and Destructive Force for Thebes. Discuss. Throughout Sophocles' play 'Oedipus Rex', Oedipus acts as both a saving and destructive force for the city of Thebes. He saves the city from the Sphinx and searches for the killer of Laius, the previous king, to cleanse the land and end plague. He is destructive in that he was unwittingly the killer of Laius and therefore the cause of plague and suffering in Thebes. Oedipus leaves immediately without fuss when he is proven, thus saving Thebes again. However, these acts were simply the fate the gods had handed him. He was merely a puppet controlled by the gods, therefore the saving and destructive forces were not those of Oedipus but rather the gods. The theme of 'Oedipus Rex' is fate. It is meant to tell the audience that the gods have complete control and that one cannot change...
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