Excessive Pride In Oedipus Rex

Oedipus from the tragic “Oedipus Tyrannus” by Socrates is a great example of a tragic hero. He saved the people of Thebes from the daunting hands of the Sphinx. Due to his heroic act he became the kind of the city. However, he had always been tied by the prophecy given by the gods. The prophecy stated that he would murder his father and marry the women that bore him. This tragic fate caused many complications within Oedipus’s life, indicating its place in Aristotle’s characteristics of a tragic hero. Oedipus possesses specific characteristics such as, flaw or error of judgment, the discovery or recognition that the reversal was brought about by the hero’s own actions, and excess pride, that gives him his title as a tragic hero. Oedipus can …show more content…
In the beginning, Oedipus is introduces himself to his priests with, “I came, Oedipus, Oedipus, whose name is known to all.” (Socrates 3). The moment the character Oedipus is introduced, he boasts of his fame. This allows the readers to infer that Oedipus is a man with hubris. During his back and forth with Teiresias, Oedipus shamelessly boasts, “Ah, wealth and sovereignty and skill surpassing skill in life’s contentions, why must envy always attend them? This city gave me power; I did not ask for it.” (Socrates 10 ~ 11). When Oedipus forces Teiresias to speak and he does so seriously, Oedipus ignores his warning and assumes Creon is trying to overthrow him. All due to jealousy of Oedipus’s position of power. Oedipus assumes everything revolves around his throne, wealth, and power. When all goes wrong Oedipus, “... tore [Jocasta’s brooches] from her gown and plunged them into his eyes again and again and again…” (Socrates 29). His pride caused him to severely punish himself even when he didn’t have to. It showed that he wanted to keep his honor even during his downfall. Oedipus since beginning till end kept his sense of pride even when it was unnecessary, which is one of the characteristics of a tragic hero, along with his error of judgment, and recognition of his own undoing. Following Aristotle’s characteristics of a tragic hero, Oedipus has certain traits that makes him a tragic hero such as, errored judgement, discovery or recognition of his own guiltiness, and hubris. Aristotle’s theory of a tragic hero is a literary theory that can be used as tool for analyzing Greek characters. When utilized it is easy to determine that Oedipus was a tragic hero. His continuous flawed choices, leading to his downfall, while still keeping his pride intact. Oedipus was a true tragic