Fate in Oedipus RexDo you think that fate controls the lives of ordinary people, or do you think that someone's actions control their lives? In the play Oedipus Rex, fate played an important role in the lives of the characters. . In order to avoid their predestined fate, the main characters took every precaution to avoid their predetermined fate. Queen Iocaste and her son Oedipus both tried to escape what the oracle Teriresias had told them, but it would eventually come back to haunt them. [Fate controlled the lives of the characters in this play...] NEW THESISWhen Queen Iocasta discovered that she and King Laius were going to have a child, she went to an oracle for advice. However, Teriresias had a devastating prophecy that their eldest son would kill his father's king and marry his mother. In order to prevent the prophecy from coming true, the king, when his son was born, pierced the baby's feet with an iron pin to prevent him from using his feet. The king ordered a shepherd to abandon the child in the mountains, so that he would die. [The shepherd, despite the king's order, entrusted the baby to one of his friends, a shepherd from Corinth. The shepherd entrusted the baby to his master, the king of Corinth. It is with this family that Oedipus grew up without knowing his real family or the fate that awaited him.] AVOID THE SUMMARY!!! As a young man, Oedipus went to consult the same oracle as his biological mother, Queen Iocaste. The oracle Teriresias told Oedipus the same prophecy that he had previously revealed to Queen Iocasta, his mother. Oedipus, in order to escape the prophesied fate, fled Corinth never to return. He didn't know he was adopted. During his journey, Oedipus comes across a vile and angry old man who insults him. Oedipus, to defend his honor, killed the old man and all his servants. Arriving in Thebes, Oedipus is asked a riddle by the Sphinx of Thebes. The Sphinx is a monster that is part lion, part eagle and part human and likes to pose riddles. [The question she asked was what walks on four legs in the morning, on two legs in the afternoon, and on three legs at night. Oedipus answered the question correctly and the Sphinx left.