The dominant theme in Oedipus is the inevitability of fate, with each character ultimately succumbing to his or her destiny. Throughout the play, the main characters attempt to avoid fate. Oedipus, Jocasta, and Laius try to avoid fulfilling the prophecy both before and during the main action. Jocasta and Laius abandon baby Oedipus to prevent their son from fulfilling the prophecy; Oedipus flees the city of his presumed parents in an attempt to also avoid it. However, it is through these very actions that the three characters end up fulfilling their fates. Despite their efforts, their fate is unavoidable as humans are powerless before fate and the gods.

The Oracle at Delphi and the blind prophet Tiresias embody fate within the play. Both accurately, but ambiguously, describe what will happen throughout the play. As a result, the characters only have the free will to affect the details of the plot, but cannot control the major events.

Oedipus expresses a heightened awareness of fate from the beginning of the play. As he is reflecting on the suffering of Thebes, he notes how he was “right to flee” his fate (I.12). This statement illustrates his

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