The death of a parent can represent a dramatic and heartbreaking event for most people; however, this is not the case for all families. Surprisingly, some children are overjoyed at the passing of their parent, as this promises them a lovely inheritance. But what happens when the inheritance is not such a lovely thing for these children, but instead it demands that they be punished for the sins of their father? Sins of the father (or mother) has become a common theme in a few mythological plays, such as Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex and can even be seen in reality.

            The sins of the father concept can be seen played out in many different aspects of the story of Oedipus. In Oedipus Rex, Laios, king of Thebes and father of Oedipus, committed a sin prior to his marriage to Jocasta that came to be known as the “crime of Laios”. Laios, who was to be king of Thebes, was overthrown by his cousins, Amphion and Zethus, who then overtook the throne. Laios decided to flee to save his life and ended up in the neighboring kingdom of Pisa, of which Pelops was the king. The king had a son, Chrysippus, whom Pelops felt should master the art of the charioteer and appointed Laios his teacher. Unfortunately, Laios fell in love with the boy and as his cousins were no longer in power, he returned to Thebes with young Chrysippus. After the gods found out about this sin of homosexuality with a youth, they punished Laios by deeming him childless and condemning his kingdom with the curse of the Sphinx (“The Tale of the Golden Fleece”; “Laius and Chrisippus-Greek Mythology”).

            Let us go back to the beginning of Oedipus Rex, where Oedipus addresses his subjects as his “children” (1223). In this context, these subjects must have also been the “children” of the king before Oedipus, his father Laios. By establishing this relationship between King Laios as the father of the citizens of Thebes, we can bring to light another connection to the sins of the father theme. Because of the crime their father, Laios, committed, the kingdom is forced to suffer the wrath of the Sphinx.       

            Secondly, in some versions of the myth of Oedipus, Hippodamia, wife of Pelops and stepmother of Chrysippus, later became remarried to Laios, making Laios the new stepfather of Chrysippus while still fulfilling the role of his teacher. As Hippodamia found out about the relationship, she became jealous and stabbed Chrysippus while he and Laios were in bed together (“The Tale of the Golden Fleece”; “Laius and Chrisippus-Greek Mythology”). Again, the sins of the father theme comes into play. Although Chrysippus was only the stepson of Laios, he still was punished for his stepfather’s sins.

             One of the most obvious cases that portray how the son is punished for the sins of his father is that of Oedipus. Obviously, because of his crime, Laios was ordered by the gods to remain childless, but while drunk, impregnated Jocasta. Once again, not heeding the words of the gods caused another punishment on Laios- his son would kill him and marry his wife (“The Tale of the Golden Fleece”; “Laius and Chrisippus-Greek Mythology”). Because of his father’s sin, Oedipus was also punished as he would be fated to commit patriarchy and incest (Sophocles 1247). This brings about another connection to the sins of the father. As Oedipus, although unknowingly, committed these sins, his kingdom, which he addressed as his children, were now punished with the plague (Sophocles 1223). Furthermore, when the crime came to light, Oedipus realized that his biological children would suffer as well, as they would be looked down upon as the children of incest. Although he committed these sins unknowingly, knowing that his children, biological and those of his kingdom, would suffer caused Oedipus to accept responsibility and so inflicted punishment upon himself (Sophocles 1259-1261).

            As already established, the sins of the father theme was found to occur several times in Oedipus Rex, however, it can also be found in the Greek myth of King Midas. As the reward for a kind deed that King Midas did for a closed friend of the god Dionysus, Dionysus offered the king a wish of his choice. The greedy king, wanting to be the richest man alive, chose to have the power to turn everything he touched into gold. Soon he started to realize his mistake as he could not eat or drink anything. However, things got worse when, as a consequence of his avarice, Midas’ daughter suffered, as she turned to solid gold when the king approached her with a loving touch. Midas acknowledged his mistake and begged Dionysus to remove his golden touch. As a result, he knew he was punishing himself as he would be less wealthy than he was before (“King Midas”; “The Story of King Midas”).

            The sins of the father concept was not just limited to ancient times, it is also portrayed in the modern theatre as well, specifically in the film Chinatown. In this film Noel Crowe, the father, sins by committing statutory rape with his daughter, Evelyn. Although Evelyn may have or have not willingly engaged in this activity, as this is not apparent in the film, she must still suffer for her father’s sin by being forced to undergo the mental torture of bearing the child of incest. Evelyn’s daughter is therefore subjected to her mother’s sin of incest as she will be looked down upon on society as a child of incest. This case can also be connected to that of Laios as this concept of sins of the father is seemingly becoming a chain effect. In essence, the sins of the father can be punishable to the grandchildren as well. For example, Laios’ sins affected Antigone and her siblings just as Noel’s sins affected Evelyn’s daughter (Sophocles 1260).

            The sins of the father concept can also be seen in today’s society. Take into consideration the debt inherited due to the death of a parent. The parent made the mistake of overspending and falling into debt and obviously can no longer pay off this debt in death. As a result the child is punished for the mistake their parents made with being forced to inherit this debt.

            Another famous example of sins of the father being played out in reality is that of the Bush family. The poor relations with Iraq and the Middle Eastern nations started with Bush Sr. Although these problems quieted down for the Clinton administration, they arose again for the Bush Jr. administration. Bush Jr. is now paying for his father’s mistakes by losing thousands of American lives to war and causing the decreasing economy of the United States. Furthermore Bush’s “children”, the American citizens are also suffering from the same fate for Bush Jr.’s hasty mistake, as he chose to go into war instead of trying to resolve issues peacefully. In fact, Bush Jr. may even be causing need for punishment of the American citizens as he is committing a sin by seeking revenge for his father, who was not able to resolve the Middle East issues. This statement can be made because anyone can see that the war was not necessary; although it was “a nice gesture” to free the citizens of Iraq, it is “none of America’s business.” Furthermore, there is also basis for this theory of revenge as Bush Jr. publicly stated that he hated Saddam Hussein since the Iraqi president once plotted the assassination of Bush Sr. However, although Bush Jr. has made this remark publicly, he has yet to acknowledge his mistakes and take responsibility for his actions, unlike Oedipus.

            Oedipus and Bush Jr. are also related in another aspect. In Aristotle’s A Definition of Justice, Aristotle points out that the city state, meaning the government, should begin with the family (116-117). This can be interpreted as the government beginning with the royal family, in a monarchy, or the elected family, in a democracy, starting with the present ruler and continuing with the offspring. The connection between this concept of Aristotle and Oedipus and Bush Jr. is that in the case of both rulers, their fathers ruled primarily. Furthermore, followed by their fathers’ rule was a gap in the family rule in both cases, in which the son “next in line” was not the next to rule; in Bush’s case this gap was caused by Clinton’s rule and in Oedipus’s case this gap was caused by Creon’s rule after the death of Laios (Sophocles). After this “outsider” ruled, the rightful sons “next in line” assumed rule once again in both cases. Another way these two people are connected is in regards to the chain effect mentioned above specifically as the sins of Bush Sr. are affecting the “children”, the American citizens, of Bush Jr. Regardless of all these examples, the most prominent connection between these two people is that of the sins of the father.

            Many innocent people have suffered because of the mistakes that their parents made, whether it be in Greek mythology or in reality. But is this right? Some people would argue that someone has to pay for these mistakes; if the parent doesn’t suffer, the children should. Regardless of whether it is fair or not, this theory of punishing the heirs for the sins of the father has become a tradition that has been passed on from ancient time and is still practiced to this day.

Works Cited 

"Aristotle- A Definition of Justice." A World Of Ides. Ed. Lee A.
Jacobus. Boston: Bedford/St.Martin's, 2002. 115-121.

Chinatown. Dir. Roman Polanski. Perf. Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, and
John Hutson. DVD. Paramount Studio, 1974.

Corbett, Sally, and James Parks. The Story of King Midas. 1997. Highland
Park Elementary School. 2 Feb. 2005 <http://www.hipark.austin.isd.tenet.edu/mythology/midas.html>.

Laius and Chrisippus-Greek Mythology. 2 Feb. 2005 <http://www.androphile.org/preview/Library/Mythology/Greek/Laius/Laius_and_Ch
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King Midas. 2 Feb. 2005 <http://www.phrygians.com/midas.html>.

Sophocles-Oedipus Rex. Literature- Reading Fiction, Poetry, and
Drama. Ed. Robert DiYanni. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002. 1223-1262.