Prophecy in Oedipus Rex Prophecy is a central part of Oedipus the King. The play begins with Creon's return from the oracle at Delphi, where he has learned that the plague will be lifted if Thebes banishes the man who killed Laius. Tiresias prophesies the capture of one who is both father and brother to his own children. Oedipus tells Jocasta of a prophecy he heard as a youth, that he would kill his father …showed first 75 words of 752 total…

…showed last 75 words of 752 total…but his fate continually catches up with him. It is easy to say that Oedipus brings about his catastrophe because of a "tragic flaw," but it is hard to see for sure what Oedipus's flaw actually could be. Perhaps his story is meant to show that error and disaster can happen to anyone, that human beings are relatively powerless before fate or the gods, and that a cautious humility is the best attitude toward life.