Greek mythology frequently has a superior ruler, a ruler that figures out difficult circumstances with superior intellect. Sophocles' 'Oedipus the King' is no different. Before Oedipus arrives in Thebes, the Sphinx haunted the city by asking travelers her dark riddle "What walks on four legs in the morning, on two at noon, and on three in the evening?" With simplicity, Oedipus solves the riddle, destroys the Sphinx, marries his mother, and takes the throne. Although Oedipus figures out the riddle with ease, he cannot comprehend that the riddle has much to do with his own life. Oedipus' pride and oblivion leads to his epic downfall as the archetypal tragic man, which presents itself within the three stages of the Sphinx's riddle. …show more content…
In the morning of Oedipus' life, destiny predicts a horrid event of him killing his father and marrying his mother. To prevent this, Lauis insists Oedipus be killed, however because Oedipus survives the King Polybus of Corinth adopts him. As an infant, crawling on all four legs, Oedipus depended on the herdsman and his newly adopted parents to fend for him. "A blight has fallen on the fruitful blossoms of the land", says the Priest (25). Lauis' fruitful offspring, Oedipus has fallen from royalty to the depths of the corrupt world as an infant, left to be looked after by adoptive parents. Through the dependence of his adoptive parents, baby Oedipus looses the only hope of true ancestral connection, Laius, leaving Oedipus with a rocky foundation to hopefully build a life of truth and humility. This marks the beginning of Oedipus' oblivion of his mysterious upbringing, thus creating a cloudy understanding of his …show more content…
Oedipus independently rushes off to the Oracles for answers, however along the way Oedipus unknowingly kills his father, solves Sphinx riddle, which leads to his rising in power. Within the Sphinx's riddle, at noon refers to adulthood, which represents a self-sufficient man whom walks on two legs. At noon, Oedipus independently stands on two feet as the King, however along with oblivion, his pride grows stronger. Rising from a boy to a man, Oedipus stands independently with pride, looking out for himself, no longer needing the herdsman and his adopted parents to protect him. "With good omen you provided us that past happiness: show yourself the same now too, since if you are to rule this land just as you do now, it is better to be lord of men than of a wasteland.", says the Priest (51-54). Gratefully thanking Oedipus for his good deeds to the city of Cadmus, the priest compares him to the gods, for he, at the time, possessed such humility and patience. While the priest urges Oedipus to remain as gracious and connected with the cities' common needs, his independence prevails, in the end, through pride and
Trying to solve the mystery of who killed the previous King, Oedipus does not look at the facts around him. As a prophet, Teiresias explains to Oedipus that he is at fault for the death of Laius but Oedipus does not accept this as true, he embraces the darkness and his view of the truth. Teiresias goes further to convince Oedipus of his fault by saying, “Your clear eyes flooded with darkness. That day will come.” Oedipus has placed himself in a world that is suitable as the truth for him. He is not prepared for change or the opinions of others although he is directly seeking the answer to who killed Laius. This connects to Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” because Oedipus is very similar to the prisoners. He is set in his way and the light of knowledge does not immediately impact him. Teiresias bluntly says to Oedipus, “You have eyes to see with, but you do not see yourself” (Sophocles, 42). He pushes and pushes Oedipus to understand that he killed Laius but with no luck. Once Oedipus learns more about how Laius was killed and figures out that he killed a man that way he goes into the light. His reality has now changed just as it did for the prisoner who was released from the cave. But for Oedipus, facing the truth is something he is not able to do with ease. Teiresias says to Oedipus that “wisdom is a curse when [it] does nothing for the man who has it” (37).
What makes Oedipus very interesting is that in times of trouble, he discovers the truth of understanding by using Plato’s four stages of awareness, the audience can see Oedipus’s path to enlightenment which causes his downfall. This begins with imagination, advances to belief, continues to thoughts and reason and the truth understanding and awareness. Life can be very challenging if you don’t know the truth and try to find it out without the four steps.
A son who kills his own father, marries his own mother, and is both the father and brother of his mother’s children. Oedipus, meaning “swollen foot”, grows up with adopted parents and a brooding prophecy on his heels. The frightful tale of Oedipus and his indescribable fate play out in the Greek theatrical production of Oedipus Rex. The horrible destiny for Oedipus is inevitable due to the unfavorable traits given to him by the author, Sophocles. Throughout Oedipus Rex, Sophocles masterfully weaves Oedipus’ fatal traits of naiveté, arrogance, and curiosity into the intriguing plot.
As a young man in Corinth, Oedipus learns from the Oracle at Delphi that he is destined to “kill [his] father, the one who gave [him] life!” (Sophocles). No one informs Oedipus that he is adopted, so he believes that his adoptive father, Polybus, is his biological father. Consequently, he runs away from Corinth in an attempt to beat the prophecy. For years, Oedipus has “given Corinth a wide berth” and Polybus has remained alive (Sophocles). This illusory correlation between Polybus’ survival and Oedipus’ departure causes Oedipus to believe that he has defeated the prophecy. Oedipus ' arrogance swells further when he defeats the Sphinx that terrorizes the city of Thebes. As Oedipus ascends to Thebes’ throne, his hubris escalates. He begins to see himself as more than a mortal. In fact, Oedipus deems himself a god on Earth. When the Chorus prays to the gods to save the city of Thebes, Oedipus responds, “You pray to the gods? Let me grant your prayers” (Sophocles). Oedipus’ arrogance is not challenged by the city of Thebes. On the contrary, Oedipus’ tyrannical rule only illuminates society’s lack of rebellion. The Theban citizens are completely subservient to Oedipus’ will. A priest refers to Oedipus not only as “first of men” but also says that “your country calls you a savior now” (Sophocles). The citizens of Thebes
The greatest realization faced by a character is that of Oedipus who for many years has come to terms with his situation. The Prophet Apollo’s predictions that he will kill his father and have sex with his mother. The course of his life is shaped by this prophecy. What Oedipus has been told from the beginning of his life shaped his thinking, this also allows the reader to grasp that this myth is relevant to their lives. The physical actions of Oedipus are the results of a man with high principles and probing intelligence. The story can be separated into points where Oedipus gathers more information about himself. The “ignorance” that Oedipus faces is the foundation he was brought up by. He has believed that he lived with his birth mother and father and therefore when he learns of Apollo’s prophecy he leaves home so that it cannot come true. Slowly as the story progresses Oedipus discovers bits and pieces of his true-life story, as Oedipus learns that he killed Laius by the story of the shepherd. He continues on his journey to discovering the truth. When he pieces together what he has done he cannot face himself. The chorus best shows his true emotions
Oedipus Rex”, by Socrates, is a play that shows the fault of men and the ultimate power of the gods. Throughout the play, the main character, Oedipus, continually failed to recognize the fault in human condition, and these failures let to his ultimate demise. Oedipus failed to realize that he, himself was the true answer to the riddle of the Sphinx. Oedipus ignored the truth told to him by the oracles and the drunk at the party, also. These attempts to get around his fate which was determined by the gods was his biggest mistake. Oedipus was filled with hubris and this angered the gods. He believed he was more that a man. These beliefs cause him to ignore the limits he had in being a man. Oedipus needed to look at Teiresias as his window to his future.
All ignorant! And I refuse to link my utterance with a downfall such as yours.(Pg.42) At this point in the play, Oedipus still cannot perceive who the murderer of King Laius is, even though the riddle is obvious. Oliver 2 Oedipus has the ability to comprehend the riddles, but he won't allow himself to accept the truth. When Oedipus saved Thebes from The Sphinx, he answered this difficult puzzle. The Sphinx demanded, What creature is it that walks on four feet in the morning, on two at noon, and on three in the evening? With his eminent mastery of riddles and having an open mind, Oedipus replied, It is Man. As a child he crawls on four. When he grows up he walks upright on his two feet, and in old age he leans on a staff.1 This puzzle is far more complex than Tiresias's rudimentary riddles, so Oedipus has the ability to solve the riddles but cannot let himself do so, because of his pomposity. Oedipus is so arrogant that he can't believe that he could possibly have done anything wrong. He suffered from the sin of hubris. That is, he was very vain, and conceited. No matter how straightforward Tiresias's riddles were, Oedipus's pride wouldn't let him solve them. Finally, Tiresias came right out and said what he meant without a riddle, and Oedipus still couldn't accept that he did anything wrong.
Born to King Laius and Queen Jocasta in the city of Thebes, Oedipus is surrounded with controversy after a prophecy shows that Oedipus will be destined to murder his father and marry his mother. Fearing the potential consequences of the prophecy, Oedipus’ parents made the decision to abandon their baby at the top of a mountain to die using one of their servants. The servant’s consciousness, however, causes him to instead deliver the baby to a shepherd, who in turn sends him to King Polybius and Queen Merope of the kingdom Corinth. After raising the child as their own, Oedipus becomes suspicious that these weren’t his biological parents and leaves Corinth upon hearing the prophecy by the oracle Delphi. As he unknowingly travels to his birth city, Thebes, Oedipus murdered a man along with his servants after a dispute between them. Before entering Thebes, Oedipus is confronted by the guardian of the city’s Gates, the Sphinx who presents him with a riddle. If he solves the riddle, he will be able to pass. If he doesn’t, he’ll die. Oedipus’s superior intelligence and cleverness allows him to easily solve the riddle, however unbeknownst to him will be a foreshadowing of his tragic downfall. The citizens of Thebes praise Oedipus and Queen Jocasta offers to marry him since her husband was mysteriously murdered. Upon marry Jocasta and becoming the King of Thebes, a powerful plague decimates the citizens of
As stated in Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama, the Sphinx poses the following riddle to all those who would come to her: "What goes on four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three at evening?"(Gioia and Kennedy, 1253) Many of Thebes' most intelligent citizens die as result of answering incorrectly. Using his superior discernment and diligence, Oedipus answers the riddle correctly and secures his reward in claiming the high seat of King of Thebes, along side Queen Jocasta.
Throughout Oedipus’ quest to disprove prophecy and discover the truth about his life, his incredible hubris causes his reaction to his final discovery to be one that flaws his nobility. Upon realizing the truth, Oedipus gouges out his own eyes in attempt to become superior because he is amazed at the fact that a Tiresias, a blind prophet who he has just recently insulted because of his inability to physically see, was able to project Oedipus’ fate and outsmart the ever so noble and ever perfect Oedipus (which is how he invasions himself.) Oedipus’ desire to be the best at everything overwhelms him as he gouges out his own eyes to make himself even more superior, because his false perceptions about the true powers of blindness and sight has led him to believe that being blind makes you superior: “I did it all myself! What good were eyes to me? Nothing I could see could bring me joy.” (241) The fact that Oed...
Oedipus then continued his traveling, and arrived at the kingdom of Thebes, which was plagued by a horrible beast, they called the Sphinx. The frightful creature frequented the roads to the city, asking travelers her riddle then eating them when they could not answer correctly. Oedipus answered the riddle the Sphinx presented him with correctly, saving the city and becoming a hero. Believing that robbers had killed Laius, and grateful to Oedipus for ridding them of the dreadful Sphinx, the Thebans rewarded Oedipus by making him their king and graciously giving Queen Jocasta as his new wife.
Oedipus discovers that the child of king Laius, and queen Jocasta was sent away to die as a child. As he seeks for the reason for this child being sent away he stumbles upon the fact that the child was prophesized to kill his father and he would lay with his mother. From this he became suspicious that the child may be him. He realized that while he had been considered a hero at the same time he had been doing what the oracle told him he would do.
The myth of Oedipus is one of a man brought down by forces aligning against him. Over the years, different playwrights have interpreted his character in various fashions. In Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, Oedipus is a man who is blind to the path on which his questions take him and exemplifies the typical tyrannical leader in ancient times; in Senaca’s Oedipus, it is the fear of his questions that give Oedipus a greater depth of character, a depth he must overcome if he is to survive his ordeal.
Oedipus was willing to die to uncover the truth. Closure was needed for Oedipus the individual and Oedipus the king. Despite this need for closure, Oedipus remained blind to the clues in his path, plainly dismissing the ideas of other characters. Oedipus’ passion for knowledge was at least as strong as his blindness to the clues in his path. This blindness can be attributed to his pride. This pride gradually developed from h...
When Oedipus was born he was taken to an Oracle, this was custom for the rich. The Oracle was to tell his fate. The Oracle said that when Oedipus grows up he will marry his mother and he would also kill his father, "... Why, Loxias declared that I should one day marry my own mother, And with my own hands shed my father's bool. Wherefore Corinth I have kept away far, for long years; and prosperd; none the less it is most sweet to see one's parents' face..."(p36 ln1-6). When his parents herd this they gave Oedipus to a man and he was to get rid of the baby by leaving it in the forest, but an servant of Polybus, the king of Corinth, finds the baby and brings him to the king. The king falls in love with the baby and takes him in as one of his own.