Oedipus and Compromise?

Oedipus is porbably the last person who one would think is willing to compromise. When the story begins, Oedipus is saying,"And therefore I have come myself to hear you -- I, Oedipus who bear the famous name," (7-8). Oedipus seems like the kind of man who is set in his ways, a man who is fairly prideful and seems like a candidate for hubris to be his tragic flaw. He acts pompous and sure of himself, and doesn't seem likely to be willing to compromise with the gods, or with anyone else for that matter. As the story continues, the reader finds out about how Oedipus came to be where he is today, what has caused him to be the king of Thebes. After the oracle informs him that he will kill his father and marry his mother, he leaves his home, sure that this will solve the problem. He is unaware, though, that his "parents" are, in fact, adoptive, and are not the object of the prophecy. He chooses to leave Corinth, his "native" land. When telling the story to his wife/mother, he says "I will tell you all that happened there, my lady. There were three highwayscoming together at a place I passed; and there a herald came towards me, and a chariot drawn by horses, with a man such as you describe seated in it. The groom leading the horses forced me off the road at his lord's command; but as this charioteer lurched over towards me I struck him in my rage. The old man saw me and brought his double goad down upon my head as I came abreast. He was paid back, and more! Swinging my club in this right hand I knocked him out of his car, and he rolled on the ground. I killed him. I killed them all," (761-774).

Oedipus refused to compromise with this man. In those times, when two chariots came upon eachother on the narrow roads, one had to get off the road, usually the younger man, as he would have an easier time getting back on the road. Oedipus decided that he was too busy and it would be a terrible inconvenience to leave the road for a moment, and instead killed the man in the other chariot, who turned out to be his actual father. Through his lack of compromise in such a commonplace situation, Oedipus accidentally killed his father, fulfilling the prophecy in a way he had never imagined.

The picture at the top of the blog portrays Oedipus killing his father, and how such a "small" compromise to ignore could lead to such huge consequences. The reader must remember that this story was written by Sophocles to encourage the viewers to return to Apollo, to follow his creed. This leads me to believe that Sophocles, at least, believed that compromise was necessary to succeed, even if the commoners of the day did not. The conclusion I have drawn is that compromise has always been a struggle, no matter what year in time it has been. Life needs compromise in order to succeed, and although not everyone has always understood that, some have, and it makes me wonder if we need someone like Sophocles to write another story to scare everyone straight, or if we should make Oedipus required reading for everyone who works in Washington, D.C.