Oedipus the King - Vanished Fathers Although they appear briefly or not at all in Oedipus the King, Oedipus' father figures play very important roles in Oedipus' life. Laius, Polybus and the shepherds can be considered Oedipus' father figures. Each of these characters could have prevented Oedipus from facing his horrible fate by doing something a little different. Although mentioned several times throughout the play, but being absent from the stage, Laius, Oedipus' biological father, started things off on a bad note. with his decision to leave the task of killing Oedipus to another person. If Laius had killed Oedipus himself nothing would have happened. Another option for Laius would have been to imprison Oedipus and throw away the key, thus keeping Oedipus alive and aware of who his father is but harmless to do anything. In any case, things would not have been very fun for Oedipus, but certainly better than what ultimately happened. Appearing for a brief and influential part in the play but mentioned little otherwise, the shepherd did not improve matters for Oedipus and his future. If the shepherd had done what he was commanded, that is, to kill Oedipus, everything would have turned out well for all parties involved. Instead of killing Oedipus, the shepherd felt sorry for him and gave him to a Corinthian shepherd from Corinth who, not knowing what the child's fate was, gave him to King Polybus. This would later turn against Oedipus due to his ignorance of who his real parents are. Briefly mentioned and never seen, the most influential of Oedipus' father figures, Polybus could be seen as guilty or innocent when it comes to his part in dealing with Oedipus. ' destiny. On the guilty side, Polybus lied to Oedipus by telling him that he was his real father, causing Oedipus to run away and ultimately meet his fate. At that time Oedipus was old enough to face the truth. From the innocent point of view, one could say that Polybus was totally ignorant and had no idea why Oedipus was asking him this question. Being childless also caused Polybus to lie to Oedipus thinking that if Oedipus found out that Polybus was not his real father, he might lose interest in his family and search for his biological family. On the other hand, if Oedipus had told Polybus what had been predicted about himself, Polybus would have told him immediately that he was not his father and that Laius was his real father.