Compare and contrast two heroes, Rama and Oedipus, in relation to their societies. How do social roles and expectations of the gods in part determine what it means for them to be “heroes,” and what do the similarities and differences tell us about the belief in them?

Rama and Oedipus make for an interesting comparison given the events that occur in their respective stories. While both are rulers, their stories unravel in incredibly different ways. However, there are many themes that are similar in nature between the two.
The most prominent similarity between the two is the importance of fate in their journeys. Both Rama and Oedipus are servants to duty and to fate. However, it is the role of fate that also leads to the greatest difference between the two.
The biggest difference between the two men is their ability and willingness to accept their fates. Oedipus famously attempts to avoid a horrible fate after hearing a prophecy that he will murder his father and have a sexual relationship with his mother; however, in attempting to run away from this fate he ends up causing these events to happen.
In the Ramayana, Rama is exiled from his kingdom due to the actions of his stepmother. Rather than fight against fate, he gladly agrees to go to the forest. There, he learns important lessons and eventually the younger brother his stepmother intended to take the throne finds him. The younger brother knows that Rama is destined to be the ruler of their land and, in an act of dharma (which determines law and order), the younger brother tells Rama that he will willingly give up the throne when Rama returns from exile.
It is these heroes' different reactions to fate that lead to different outcomes in the story. Oedipus attempts to defy fate, and so his story ends in tragedy, whereas Rama accepts his duty as well as fate and ultimately restores order to a kingdom in chaos.
http://medhum.med.nyu.edu/view/1530

https://web.cs.ucdavis.edu/~vemuri/classes/freshman/RamayanaSynopsis.htm