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The events in the tragic play, Oedipus Rex illustrates a mixture of fate and free will. Both the concept of fate and free will led to the destruction of Oedipus. Although he was a victim of fate, he was not controlled by it. Oedipus was destined from birth to marry his mother and murder his father. This prophecy was inevitable no matter what Oedipus may have done to avoid it. His past actions were determined by fate, but his decisions to flee from Corinth, murder an older man (which so happened to be his father and the King of Thebes), and to marry an older woman were that of his free will. From the beginning of this tragedy, Oedipus took many actions leading to his own downfall. When Oedipus heard the news of his fate, he chose to flee Corinth, the city in which he lived. This was his first decision that led to his self-destruction. Also, as the new king of Thebes, Oedipus could have done nothing, hoping that the plague would end by some other means than to find the “sour” thing in Thebes, but out of compassion for his suffering people and his yearning to