How does Laius die in "Oedipus Rex"?
Answer (3)
Oedipus kills him after leaving home, upset at hearing the prophecy in which he was told he would kill his father. He runs away from home because he doesn't want to kill the man he thinks is his father (Polybus). So he comes upon a chariot that knocks him off the road, and he gets so mad, he kills all of the people in it, including Laios. The exact line from the book ( Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald translation) is : "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." What isn't clear is whether he killed him by knocking him over the head, which caused him to become unconcious and die, or whether he fell out of the car and then Oedipus killed him. But that is in a nutshell, how Laios died. Hope that helped!
Laius, the former king of Thebes, was killed by Oedipus. This murder set the stage for the events of the play Oedipus Rex, as Oedipus inadvertently fulfills a prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother, setting off a chain of tragic events.
In the play, the city of Thebes is blighted by a plague, and the oracle at Delphi reveals that the plague will end only when the murderer of Laius is found and brought to justice. As Oedipus investigates, he discovers through a series of revelations that he himself is Laius's killer—the unfortunate fulfillment of a prophecy given to Laius before Oedipus's birth. Laius's death occurred at a place where three roads met; it was here that Oedipus unknowingly killed him in a dispute as he journeyed away from his home in Corinth, attempting to thwart a prophecy that he would slay his father and marry his mother. Oedipus's deed was unwitting; he did not know Laius's identity at the time. This tragic mistake leads to Oedipus's downfall as he eventually learns the truth of his birth and actions.
Laius dies in 'Oedipus Rex' when Oedipus, unaware that Laius is his father, kills him during a confrontation at a crossroad. This act fulfills the prophecy that Laius tried to evade. Ultimately, this tragic incident illustrates the themes of fate and free will in the play.
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