Since the beginning of time, there have been questions about fate and destiny. Man has always struggled with questions of predestination versus the impact of his own actions. In present times this debate continues and the modern man seems no closer to discovering the answer to this ageless riddle than did his ancestors. In times past, times when it was believed that the gods were heavily involved with the day-to-day life of man, this debate was most likely more perplexing and challenging. In Sophocles' Oedipus The King, these ideas of destiny and individual action place Oedipus in a paradox of contrasting views.
             Oedipus, King of Thebes, seems a kind and honest man. A fair ruler of his people, and a faithful believer in the gods, Oedipus reflects the essence of the nobility of the Greek people. When a plague falls upon Thebes, Oedipus is desperate to alleviate the suffering of his people. The King sends his brother-in-law to an oracle of Apollo so that the cause of the plague may be known. When Creon returns with news that the plague is caused by the god Apollo because the murder of King Laius has never been investigated and the murderer never punished Oedipus immediately takes up the charge. Oedipus states that Apollo is justified in his anger and vows that he will set the matter right. Full of pride in his own intellectual ability Oedipus tells Creon that the murder will soon be solved:
             Now you have me to fight for you, you'll see: I am the land's avenger by all rights, and Apollo's champion too (153-155. 603).
             Oedipus is spurred to action by the words of the god because he believes that the gods are omnipotent. In his effort to discover the murderer of the previous King, Oedipus sends for Tiresias, a prophet of Apollo. When the blind prophet proclaims that Oedipus himself is responsible for the murder of King Laius, Oedipus is outraged and feels that there must be some conspiracy between Tiresias and Creon. Through this confr...