Tiresias In Oedipus The King Essay

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When a Greek mythological character is mentioned, most people think of Zeus, Poseidon, or Heracles, and others of similar power positions. However, some of the greatest Greek characters may be individuals not getting recognition because they are not classified as Gods or have not been told in well known stories. Tiresias, a blind prophet of Apollo in Thebes, famous for being transformed into a woman for seven years is one of those characters. Tiresias was a prominent character in the story of Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles, where he served as a seer to the king, Petra Kuppers agrees by saying that the, “The project happens in the name of Tiresias: we claim Greek gods with a sarcastic eye, colonize the theatre of Dionysius, invade the outdoors of olive groves playfully. Disabled people and our fascinating bodies, senses, and minds live in Greek mythology. In the Tiresias Project, we extend that lineage, and use our own disabled bodies to reshape myth.“ (Kuppers 178) Oedipus. Throughout Oedipus the King, Tiresias served as a source of knowledge and wisdom, the fact that the …show more content…
in the end. Ironically, Tiresias was a blind man who had the ability to see the truth. The whole premise of the story of Oedipus is about Oedipus being cursed from birth; how he would kill his father and end up sleeping with his mother, with this all being revealed by Tireasies. The moments leading up to the reveal of the fate of Oedipus, Oedipus tries to "perceive" the guilt of Tiresias, which is non existence. Robert L. Kane of John Hopkins backs up this statement by stating, “The process repeats itself after Teiresias has been goaded into identifying Oedipus as the killer. Oedipus sees that the prophet has accused him, but he does not perceive the facts which make the accusation true. Accordingly, he surmises that it is all a plot to drive him from the throne.” (Kane 190) So this quote backs up the statement made

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