According to ancient Greeks the state of human beings was always in constant tragedy. This is due to the continuous control that the Gods exerted on all human beings. The Gods determined their fate and if humans tried to change their destiny and thus their character they were punished. The Gods required justice and never let someone go unpunished. Sophocles wrote two plays that described these ideas. The characters in these plays, Oedipus, Jocasta, Creon, and Antigone were bound to the Gods, and trapped between various moral obligations.

A question that was deeply present in Greek conscience was that everyone needed to know their place in the universe as a human being. Oedipus was on a continual search throughout King Oedipus for his identity. The use of oracles in the play depict the importance of the Gods role in the Theban society. Greeks depended on them for guidance and answers to problems.

Oedipus as the king of Thebes was morally obligated to his subjects to find the killer of Laius who is the source of the vile plague and promises that he will save the city just as he did when he solved the riddle of the Sphinx. After sending Creon to the oracle at Delphi

Creon is shown as a self serving ruler who does not care about anything else except seeking revenge. And even when it is suggested to him that he should change his mind about Antigone and his edict by Haemon and Teiresias he remains obstinate and blind to his own actions. He adheres to the laws of the state rather than having irreverence to the laws of the Gods. In a conversation with Teiresias he displays that he would not yield even if the eagles carry the body to Zeus he would remain unyielding in his principles. Haemon also advises his father to learn from others, but Creon feels that he should rule not for others but for himself. He forgets the power of the kingdom is to rule over people and is not to be caught in his own vengeful power struggle.

Creon's tragic flaw is his foolish pride. He sends the edict out in the first place because he did not have the state that he ruled in mind, but because of the inner revenge against Polynices. He also is stubborn because he is unrelenting in his stubbornness. He believes that if he is persuaded by anyone that it means he is womanish. He sticks to his guns until it is too late to change anything which includes the deaths of his wife, son, and niece.

Jocasta can be seen as a disbeliever of the Gods and their oracles. The moral dilemma that Jocasta faced was to prevent a prophecy from coming true and to test Oedipus' faith. Jocasta tried to avoid the prophecy from coming true by sending her son to be exposed on a mountain to be killed. By doing this and pinning her son's feet together she tried to defeat the Gods which highly angered them.

And it is because of this his stubbornness that he experiences a turn of events that show that he really was wrong in what he did. His downfall was caused by his irrationality by defying the decree of the Gods that demanded a proper burial for all. It was an violation to have an indecent burial. By Creon's edict and will to have Polynices unburied and Antigone sentenced to death he has shown that he surpassed the Gods. This is very bad judgement because the Gods are punishing beings and ruled overall, but Creon only ruled his kingdom.

Oedipus also angers the Gods. At the oracle of Apollo he wanted to find if Polybus was really his father, but instead gets a horrific

Some common words found in the essay are:
Haemon Teiresias, Gods Antigone, Apollo Polybus, Creon Oedipus', Oedipus Creon's, King Oedipus, Gods Jocasta, Oedipus Antigone, Antigone According, Gods Oedipus', proper burial, king oedipus, moral predicament, tragic flaw, prophecy coming true, conversation teiresias, coming true, prophecy coming, laws gods, laius killed, oedipus jocasta creon, jocasta creon antigone, gods conversation teiresias, gods conversation,
Approximate Word count = 1544
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)