Oedipus as a tragic hero

Oedipus a Tragic Hero

The Tragic Hero: Oedipus, the King

One of the greatest Greek tragedies of all times, Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, ends with the following lines: "Therefore wait to see life's ending ere thou count one mortal blest; / Wait till free from pain and sorrow he has gained his final rest."(Sophocles, 142) These lines represent the gist of the tragedy. The Chorus emphasizes thus, in a few words, some of the quintessential creeds of the ancient Greeks: the fact that human condition in itself is tragic and that the individual is a feeble plaything in the hands of the mighty, inexorable destiny. Oedipus is thus constructed as a tragic hero, an inverted image of the myth hero, to exemplify the cruelty and tragedy of the human condition on earth. There are a few obvious tokens in the text of the tragedy that point to Oedipus trajectory as being that of a tragic hero rather than a common mythological one. First of all, Oedipus has the exceptional qualities and strengths of a myth hero, yet all these turn to be weaknesses in the end and they do not prevent his ultimate downfall. Then, the hero commits some of the most horrible sins of humanity out of an error of judgment, a flaw that is at once human and inevitable. Lastly, Oedipus follows the steps of a myth hero, but his achievements do not lead to triumph but rather to a defeat.

Oedipus has the same characteristics as any other notable myth hero. What makes him a tragic hero is the fact that his greatness does not prevent him from failing and being terrible defeated. The path he follows in life is bitterly ironic, since he strives to act justly and he achieves all the victories that would be achieved by any other great mythological hero. However, all his strengths turn into weaknesses when the truth of his past emerges. Oedipus is indeed remarkable and has the virtues of a mythological hero, such as kindness, a righteous character, intelligence, wisdom, inquisitiveness and so on. His honor and his natural goodness however are not a barrier in front of his inevitable doom. Oedipus is therefore a representative tragic figure, who is caught in the maze of his own destiny and who errs unconsciously, while actually trying to avoid making the terrible mistakes that were predicted for him by the oracle. A relevant example is provided by a turning point is the story: Oedipus' wisdom helps him solve the riddle of the Sphinx and thus save the Thebans of the great monster. A wise man, Oedipus identifies the creature who has sometimes two feet, sometimes three and at still other times four as man himself, evolving from infancy to old age: "What being, with only one voice, has / sometimes two feet, sometimes three, sometimes / four, and is weakest when it has the most?'"(Sophocles, 34) by solving this riddle, Oedipus becomes the savior of the city and is proclaimed king as recompense. This is however also the beginning of his doom, as Oedipus nears the very sin that he is desperately trying to avoid. Also, being a just king, Oedipus endeavors to save his city by pursuing the murderer of the former Theban king, his real father. Without knowing thus, despite his good intentions, Oedipus has to start a war against the murderer of his own father who is actually Oedipus himself. Thus, neither his wisdom nor his just manner help Oedipus avoid the terrible trap that destiny has in store for him.

As a tragic hero therefore, Oedipus does not err because his character is somehow flawed. Instead, his inevitable fall is caused by an error of judgment: instead of accepting his own fate, he tries to find out the truth about his origin and thus begins the quest that will lead to his dramatic end. Oedipus' almost paranoid search for the truth of his birth shows him as a social nonconformist who is urged to seek answers rather than meekly accept ignorance and his given lot. When he is close to finding out the whole truth of his birth Oedipus declares himself confident in accepting whatever may come, and seems to resign himself to his fate: "But I / Who rank myself as Fortune's favorite child, / the giver of good gifts, shall not be shamed. / She is my mother and the changing moons / My brethren, and with them I wax and wane. / Thus sprung why should I fear to trace my birth? / Nothing can make me other than I am."(Sophocles, 64) the infinite irony of this game is that what he is prepared to accept is but the truth of a lowly birth, and that he declares himself the child of fortune, forgetting the essential truth that fate is very fickle and might bring the unexpected. Once more therefore, fate turns against the tragic hero whose quest for identity is not triumphant but rather gruesome.