Oedipus_as_an_Archetype_Hero

Archetype heroes are in a vast variety of stories; they go all the way back to Moses and are also found in present day books, such as, Twilight and Harry Potter. An archetype hero is a general character who has certain characteristics which can be found in a wide range of people. They can be found in comic and tragic story lines. Oedipus is a tragic archetype hero. All tragic hero archetypes are given a destiny at birth or at a later stage in their life. When Oedipus is born, his father King Laios is told by Apollo, the God of truth, Oedipus will kill him once he is grown. Once Laios was warned by the oracle he became determined not to die at the hands of his son. In order to detour this destiny Laios binds Oedipus feet together and has the guards take Oedipus away on the mountain and nail his feet to the ground and leave him to die. Too cowardly to do the task themselves, they leave it to a servant and the servant feels sympathetic and does not follow through with the plan. Oedipus is unknowingly raised by a foreign king. When a prophecy is foretold it is futile to attempt to evade it. For the hero or archetype to come to be, he must try to escape his destiny. Oedipus departs from his land because he feels if he does he will be escaping the predicted fate. While he is running from his destiny he ends up running right into it, which is what usually happens. He kills his father, not knowing at the time it was his father, on his way to the new land where the four corners meet. Once the archetype has come face to face to his destiny everything starts to unravel. In Oedipus’ case after killing King Laios, he marries the Queen of Thebes his mother. Once he is appointed king and has had four children he has unknowingly fulfilled the prophecy. When the priest comes to complain about the famine and illness in Thebes, Oedipus says he will find the culprit which killed their king so many years ago. He feels if he catches the guilty one the curse on the town will be lifted. Oedipus swears once he has found the murderer he will be put to death, he does not care if the guilty person is his closest friend or if he lives in his own house. He demands to see the prophet of Apollo. The prophet, Teiresias, is reluctant to give him the information; he knows Oedipus is the one who did the wrong. He talks to Oedipus in riddles and leaves him alone to figure it out on his own. Oedipus doesn't have to look long, he finds out he is the one who killed the king while streaking from his destiny. Since he proclaimed the guilty one must be banished he was eventually excommunicated. When the Queen Iocaste hears she married her son she goes into the castle and kills herself. When Oedipus sees her he pulls his eyes out because he doesn't feel he deserves to see the light of day. Once the archetype has finally fulfilled the prophecy he is then forced to deal with the consequences. Oedipus roams from country to country with his daughter Antigone guiding him along the way. At the very last chapter of his life he finds peace. Theseus welcomes him to his land and says he will offer him a second chance. Right when Oedipus finds some peace he dies and is buried in a special location. Oedipus demonstrated an archetype hero by, being given a destiny from Apollo. The archetype hero comes to be by trying to avoid the problem at hand. Undoubtedly, Oedipus tried to escape it and as a result ran into the problem. Our society needs to know what an archetype hero is, do to the fact they are still used today. Archetypes are found in numerous types of entertainment such as, books and movies. Archetypes heroes give a blue print to modern stories of today.