Divine Justice and Boundaries Kirsten Abigail Egbert College

The crimes that Oedipus and Socrates are accused of in Oedipus the King by Sophocles and The Apology by Plato are intertwined with the boundaries society sets for its citizens in regard to laws that are just or injust. Crossing one of these set boundaries has consequences established by the cities the characters reside in order to pursue justice and cosmic balance. The two literary works describe a sense of divine justice that is characterized by the just punishment Oedipus and Socrates receive from the law of their societies as well as the gods themselves.

Oedipus’s own hybris, or pride he shows when he tries to escape his own fate, justifies his fall from grace and the fulfillment of his tragic prophecy. Sophocles first shows the irony of Oedipus’s own knowledge of this fulfilment on page 16, Oedipus says,“If anyone knows the man who killed King / Laius, I order him to tell me everything. He /must not be afraid for his long silence. No, I /promise that he will not be punished with death /but may leave this land in safety. If any manknows that the killer was a foreigner, let himspeak out at once.” This dialogue displays the slight arrogance Oedipus has as he commands the murderer of King Laius to reveal himself. Oedipus is...