The Role of Fate in Oedipus the King

Audrey Fish The Role of Fate in "Oedipus the King" Is Oedipus a victim of the gods, their prophecies, and destiny, or his own fatal flaws? I am under the impression that Sophocles wrote the play to underscore the uselessness of trying to avoid one's fate. He implies that we need to turn to the gods because we cannot see the whole picture. Or rather, we are not willing to see the truth. He insinuates …

…I think that the all mighty gods knew all along exactly what was going to happen and how. Then they let the right people see at the right time to try to test Oedipus. Just as the famous line said by Puck, "What fools these mortals be." This is also what I think Sophocles is trying to show us in this play; mortals are fools and cannot be trusted without some kind of divine direction.