Oedipus The King: A Heroic Analysis

Human beings have been fascinated and borderline obsessed with the idea of fate and predestination for centuries, as can be seen in various forms of literature dating back thousands of years to biblical eras. During these times, fate, or the idea that events in one's life are beyond an individual's control, was often the explanation to a majority of life's happenings. People believed in, and ultimately relied on faith so heavily during this time that the concept of finding the truth for oneself is often considered by experts as heroic. That is the argument that scholar Bernard Knox makes in his assessment of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, and it is arguable that there is much evidence in the story itself that supports this conclusion that Oedipus

Therefore, the sheer act of venturing out to discover the truth behind his own destiny serves to validate Oedipus' heroic qualities. This can be seen in Tiresias' comment regarding "how dreadful knowledge of the truth can be when there is no help in the truth"(Lines 145-146). What is illustrated by this statement is the mindset that was held amongst those around Oedipus that seeking out truth is meaningless because fate will follow through regardless. In other words, knowing what will happen will not change what will happen, and therefore there is no logical need to torture oneself by seeking truth. Oedipus on the other hand, defies this way of thinking by stopping at nothing to seek out the truth behind his

When Oedipus ultimately discovers that he is in fact, the murderer, he exiles himself from his homeland partially due to shame, but mostly due to being a man of his word. A coward would have stayed in Thebes and hid the fact that he had murdered his own father and committed incest with his mother. However, Oedipus is indeed a hero, through and through, and his journey to find the truth ended in him fulfilling his own destiny and being out-casted as a