Oedipus Crime Essay Example For Students

Oedipus Crime Essay Oedipus, ruler of Thebes, murdered his father and married his mother. Such actsare almost always deemed unnatural and criminal; they are not tolerated withintraditional society. A person who has committed these illegal acts of murder andincest would be considered a criminal, yet Sophocless character, Oedipus, isnot guilty of either crime. Prior to the birth of Oedipus, a prophecy was spokenover Laius and his wife Jocasta. They were told that their son would one day behis fathers killer and would then marry his mother. In fear, King Laius andQueen Jocasta sent the baby Oedipus off with a slave to be killed. He was neverkilled, but rather was given to a childless king and queen which lovingly raisedhim. Oedipus was never factually told about his lineage. Later in his life,Oedipus was confronted by several unknown men while traveling. Uponconfrontation, Oedipus killed all but one of the men in self defense. Unknowingly, Oedipus had begun to fulfill the prophecy for one of the men hadbeen his birth father, Laius. While still traveling, Oedipus had come to thecity of Thebes. There, he saved the city from the wrath of the Sphinx by solvingher riddle. Seen as a savior by the citizens of Thebes, Oedipus was made kingand subsequently, the husband of Jocasta. Oedipus and his wife-mother ruledtogether and had four children while never knowing of the true relationshipbetween each other. As the tragedy comes to a close, the truth is revealed toOedipus concerning his lineage and unnatural actions. Although the truth hadbeen spoken to him about these matters previously, Oedipus had chosen not tobelieve and understandably so. True revelation comes to Oedipus through the sameslave that had been ordered to kill him as a baby. Since Oedipus had noknowledge of his birth parents, he cannot be accused of knowingly fulfilling theprophecy. He had no understanding of Laius as his birth father upon killing hi m. One might say that Oedipus is then guilty of murder regardless, but if he hadkilled in self defense, that cannot be true. Likewise, if Oedipus had nounderstanding of Jocasta as his birth mother, then he cannot be guilty ofincest. Neither can he be guilty of defiling Laiuss marriage bed, as he didnot know that Jocasta was the wife of the man he had murdered. Oedipus cannot beguilty of lying to the people of the city of Thebes since he did not know he wasnot speaking the truth. Unfortunately, Oedipus was the victim of destiny. Thegods caused him to fall prey to fate and injustice. According to the norms ofmodern Criminal Justice, an individual cannot be guilty of a crime that he didnot understandably commit; he cannot be guilty of a crime unless there isevidence of mens rea. A crime is defined as an act act punishable by law; a sin;a grave offense. Oedipus cannot be guilty of an act, sin or grave offense thathe did not knowingly commit.