Gods In Metamorphoses

Introduction

The various gods that populate the myths Ovid uses in Metamorphoses contain several different aspects of personality and relate to people in very different ways. Each god is associated with a different type of myth that relates to his specific personality and the metamorphoses that occur within these stories are unique to each god.

Oedipus the King by Sophocles

Among the first thing a historian discovers in his study of early civilization are records of people's belief, or faith, in powers greater than themselves, and their desire to understand what causes these powers to act. People everywhere wonder about the marvelous things in the sky and on the earth. What makes the rain? How do the plants and animals live and grow and die? Why are some people lucky and others unlucky? Some believe in free will while others believe in fate or destiny. In the play Oedipus the King by Sophocles, Oedipus was a true victim of fate.

Gods and goddesses were believed to be responsible for the wonders of science, and the vagaries of human nature; therefore, according to the facts of this story, Oedipus was a true victim of fate for several reasons. Laius and Jocasta, the childless king and queen of Thebes, were told by the god Apollo that their son would kill his father and marry his mother (page 56). A son was born to them, and they tried to make sure that the prophecy would not come true. They drove a metal pin through the infants ankles and gave it to a shepherd, with instructions to leave it to die. The shepherd pitied the little infant so he gave the child to another shepherd. This shepherd gave the baby to a childless king and queen of Corinth, Polybus and Merope. This royal couple named the boy Oedipus, which in its Greek form Oidipous means 'swollen foot.' Oedipus was brought up believing that Polybus and Merope were his real parents, and Lauis and Jocasta believed that their child was dead and the prophecy of Apollo was false.

The prophecy of Apollo was now completely fulfilled. Oedipus having no knowledge of Apollo's prophecy being true, cursed the individual who killed Laius to be banished from Thebes forever. After putting two and two together, it was he, Oedipus, who had killed Laius, his own father. He did not go back on his word, and like a man, he dethroned himself as king, and banished himself from Thebes. Once again, he was destined to be dethroned and banished.

Comparing my life with Oedipus', I've discovered a great deal about free choice and destiny. I learned that one day, you can be the richest person alive, yet be the poorest person the next day and vice versa. In life, anything can happen, whether it is expected or unexpected. That is when fate overrides and overpowers free will. Free will is a choice that an individual decides to do or accomplish. Destiny or fate is what just happens. No one knows when ...