about killing his father and marrying his mother, though he does not know this. The people have learned from the oracle that someone is a criminal in the kingdom, and Oedipus vows to ferret out the culprit, not knowing that he is looking for himself. the fact that the environment changes because a king has committed a crime is itself a manifestation of the supernatural and a recognition of the fact that a king has special responsibilities as the leader of his people--he in effect represents the masses and further has a special relationship with the gods in that capacity, serving as a conduit for supernatural energies on earth. The oracle is a supernatural device by which the gods communicate with human beings. The importance given to the words of the oracle shows again the need on the part of the people to understand their surroundings and to know that there are powers looking out for them and capable of telling them the future.
Of course, Oedipus is not a criminal by choice, beca
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