Oedipus Essay

            With ancient Greece being polytheistic, gods obviously play a major role in the structure of the culture. In the trilogy of the Oedipus plays, Sophocles implies that human beings should obey the will of the gods, without question, for the gods stand for what is right. I would have to agree with this statement. .
             In the play "Oedipus the King," it is left to the gods to see that Oedipus pays for killing his father. In the dialogue on page 22, involving Oedipus and Tiresias, a blind prophet, Tiresias says "You"re right. I"m not the one that fate casts for your fall. Apollo is enough. It's in his able hands." He says this in response to Oedipus" heated denial of the fact that he was the one that killed his father and married his mother. .
             In "Oedipus at Colonus,"on page 163, Oedipus says to his son, Polyneices, "Therefore, if Justice is still seated side by side with Zeus in ancient and eternal sway, I consign to perdition your sanctimonious supplications and your precious throne." Keep in mind what the gods have put Oedipus through. They placed a course on him that will haunt him and his entire bloodline throughout the plays. .
             In the play "Antigone," Creon forbid the burial of Antigone's brother Polyneices because he turned against Thebes. After he(Polyneices) died, he was left were he fell. Antigone tried burying him twice, both times proved to be unsuccessful. After she was caught and imprisoned, the bodied was mauled by dogs. According to the messenger, one of the people that found the body in its state, "And there with humble hearts we prayed Hecate, goddess of the Great Divide. to Hades too, and begged their clemency." This shows that they believe that the gods want order in the world and to have proper care of the dead.
             I think that the Gods as depicted in the plays do stand for justice. They know what really happens when it comes to who committed crimes and see to it that they are punished.