‘Oedipus is a victim of circumstances beyond his control’. Do you agree?

Oedipus was no more a victim than I, though our differences are many and span the length of time, and the breadth of distance. The once great King of Thebes stumbled and fell from the blessing of the gods, to become one ‘whom the gods have declared accursed’. Surely this could not all be the doing of Oedipus himself? Surely Oedipus, the mighty King of Thebes could find a scapegoat. Alas, it was not to be, Oedipus could only blame himself for his predicament.

Oedipus, a liberated man of Corinth, surely could have seen his folly coming a mile off. After he was told that he would kill his father and marry his mother, he fled from his home town, like any man would do. But what man would then kill another man on the road? Surely Oedipus was smarter than this. After all, he did unlock the riddle of Thebes. Oedipus made a decision that night on the road. He decided to kill several innocent men over a petty argument. He knew that there was doubt over who his real parents were, and he a...