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In reply to the discussion: I'm apparently a terrible, awful person. [View all]tama
(9,137 posts)But the gist of Greek tragedy is that not even acting helps to prevent the horrible prediction - destiny. Oedipus was predicted to kill his father, so the King of Thebes ordered the newborn to be killed - which didn't happen as we know. Gods sitting at the top of the mountain Olympos also killed their father Uranos, who had in vain tried to avoid destiny by eating his children.
The Katharsis of Destiny, repeating the pattern of crime against your children and community at large, begins at the moment when Oedipus, now King of Thebes, admits that he is responsible for the plague in the polis, truth so horrible that he can't watch it with his eyes but blinds himself, and leaves Town escorted by his daughter. And even after that, it is a long journey ahead to find peace and balance...