Prophecy
Prophecy is a prediction made by a prophet. In Oedipus the King, prophecy is an important part of the story. Prophecy led everyone who were involved with Oedipus to meet tragic endings.
In Oedipus the King, prophecy led everything to downfall. When Laius and Jocasta were married, oracle told them that their son would kill Laius. Afraid that the prophecy might come true, Laius, the king of Thebes, decided to kill his infant son Oedipus. However, his servant did not obey Laius’ order and gave Oedipus to someone, wishing that the baby would go live in a foreign land. Oedipus grew up with different parents in a foreign land. When Oedipus went to Oracle in Delphi, he heard that he would eventually kill his own father and mother. Oedipus, similar to Laius, decided to leave his country fearing that the prophecy might come true. On his way to Thebes, he met travelers and killed them. Not knowing that he had killed his father Laius, he became the king of Thebes and married his own mother Jocasta. Eventually, when Jocasta found out that Oedipus was her son, she hanged herself. Prophecies all came true even though Laius, Jocasta, and Oedipus tried to avoid them.
Did they really need to know their future? If they did not believe in the prophecies, would results be the same? Since prophecies always came true to them in Oedipus the King, I think their future would have not changed even if they did not act in such ways.
Knowledge is helpful most of the time; however, it could also hurt people more than it should. Having a knowledge in one’s future could lead them in more painful moments. Oedipus and Jocasta had tragic moments when they found out that their actions had caused the endings that they tried to avoid. I believe that Oedipus and Jocasta had more painful moments when they realized that the prophecy had come true.
Laius and Jocasta certainly did not require the information provided by the oracle’s prophecy; however, humans tend to be curious about matters that relate to them—even if they reside outside of their jurisdiction. I imagine the mere existence of a prophecy is rather tempting, so we cannot blame the parents of Oedipus for exercising caution. When you hold a relatively high position in society there might be instances where concern over your safety can override your judgment.
Personally, I believe that prophecies are simply potential routes that a person may follow, but they are not fixed paths. A myriad of events typically occur between the beginning of a prophecy, and its end. In other words, the individual described by a prophet can still deviate from the steps that are explained. Oedipus’ parents reacted irrationally to theirs, which slowly initiated a lengthy string of events. Under normal circumstances Oedipus would never marry or procreate with his own mother, yet there is no guarantee that Laius would not fall to Oedipus for another reason (i.e. accident while sparring). The outcome of the story unraveled in this manner thanks to a very specific set of actions, but many of those exchanges would have never took place without the prophecy.