The Downfall of Oedipus

The word hamartia means a fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic hero. Yet the cause of his downfall was not due to one flaw but to many flaws. Oedipus had great traits and qualities of a great king such as intelligence, pride and determination. These traits are also the main cause of his downfall. The traits that helped him also hurt him.
Early in the poem there are signs that Oedipus is going to fail. When he becomes the king and his city is hit by a plague, he tries his hardest to satisfy his people. Unlike most kings who would have sat aside and let their kingdom die from the plague, Oedipus is determined to find answers. He truly is doing the best he can to find out what it the cause for this plague. Oedipus only wants the best for his people, so he tells them, ‘I’ve wept trough the nights, you must know that,/goping, laboring over many paths of though./ After a painful search I found one cure:/ I acted at once, I sent Creon…/ to learn what I might do or say to save our city’ (lines 78-84) Oedipus accepts the first thing he hears, which is that all he has to do is to f...