King Is To Blame In Sophocles Oedipus The King

For any good tragic story to exist, at least one character of wealth must suffer a downfall, and very few civilizations have been able to produce plays like the Greeks. The Greeks have been able to inspire almost all playwrights in history, including the likes of Shakespeare [any other ones?]. And of all the best playwrights in Greek history, Sophocles is one of the greatest. Out of all of Sophocles’ plays, Oedipus Rex is considered to be one of his best known works.Oedipus is a classical example of early tragedy displaying the views and beliefs of Greek culture. Therefore in Oedipus Rex, Oedipus and Locasta both suffer a downfall due to their disrespect towards the gods while Creon, being the most humble and respectful character in the play,

Unfortunately, as the play continues and Oedipus is told of his past that he did not know from a prophet, he begins his downfall due to his disrespect towards the prophet. In Hellenistic culture, the disrespect of gods and anyone associated with them would have been seen as one of the worst things that someone would be able to do. During the time where Oedipus and the prophet Tiresias confront, Oedipus becomes outraged on the accusations that Tiresias is accusing of Oedipus of, and because of this Oedipus begins to insult him, calling him a “sightless, witless, mad old man”(Sophocles Oedipus Rex, P.20). Throughout the rest of the play and as Oedipus learns more about the murder of King Laios and his early childhood, a thought appears that Oedipus may actually be a demi-god, or at the very least be favoured by them, “... of the nymphs that flower beyond the year, who bore you, royal child, To pan of the hills or the timberline of Apollo....” (Oedipus, P.58). Finally, at the end of the play, we find that Oedipus had figured out his true childhood and that all he did in life was foretold in his prophecy long ago. Due to Oedipus’ revelations of his past, Oedipus is unable to live with what he had done in his life and took to both blinding and exiling himself, “... o light, my I look on you for the last time....” (Oedipus, P.64). Thus, Oedipus is meant

Prior to the start of the play, its known that Locasta was with her late husband Laios, after learning from a prophet that their son would wed Locasta and kill Laios – planning to have Oedipus killed in the far hills in an attempt to outsmart the gods, “... as for the child, it was three days old when Laios, its ankles pinned together....” (Oedipus, P.45). Later on, we see that Locasta confronts Oedipus on the prophecy that Tiresias had given him in that they normally never come true as she too had gotten a prophecy from Apollo that never came true and that he should just stop with his investigation [this sentence made no sense], “... No! From now on, where oracles are concerned, I would not waste a second thought on any” (Oedipus, P.45). Around the end of the play, when Oedipus learns about his true childhood and instead of dealing with the consequences of her actions, she kills herself as a final spite to the gods. In Greek culture, Locastas’ fate would have been seen as a punishment of the gods due of her disrespect towards them. Therefore, Locasta is meant to represent the worst in a person who belives that they have the power to control any event to their