The minor character Tiresias in the play Oedipus the King by Sophocles serves as a foil to the main character Oedipus. The extreme contrast between the two men emphasizes the inherent weaknesses that Oedipus possesses. Oedipus is able-bodied, whereas Tiresias is old and blind. Oedipus ignorantly denies fate, whereas Tiresias humbly accepts it. Tiresias may be physically weak, but he possesses an inner strength - he is able to recognize and accept the truth of the myth. Tiresias is frail and blind whereas Oedipus is physically the opposite, yet the audience perceives Tiresias to have more strength than Oedipus because he is the only one who knows the truth, thus revealing the meaninglessness of physical strength. Oedipus insults Tiresias’ old age and blindness by saying, “You live your life in one continuous state of darkness. Neither I nor any other man that can see would do you any harm” (26). This behavior characterizes Oedipus as a tyrant, who, ironically, is blind for
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Oedipus’ eventual downfall serves to emphasize that humanity has limitations, but fate is set in stone. Oedipus’ hubris is evident when he mocks Tiresias’ passive way of trusting the gods to rid Thebes of the plague, saying, “. . . you offered no answer told to you by the birds or the gods. No. I came . . . I stopped the Sphinx. I answered the riddle with my own intelligence” (27). Oedipus has excessive pride in his own abilities, thinking that his own wit could overrule fate. His hubris sheds light on his fatal flaw, or hamartia: throughout the play, he arrogantly believes that fate is malleable, when it actually turns out to be set in stone. Tiresias, on the other hand, believes that “Apollo is enough, it’s in his able hands.” He completely entrusts the gods with solving problems, and in return for this obedience he holds a truth that no one else does, that the prophecy is Oedipus’
Oedipus’ eventual downfall serves to emphasize that humanity has limitations, but fate is set in stone. Oedipus’ hubris is evident when he mocks Tiresias’ passive way of trusting the gods to rid Thebes of the plague, saying, “. . . you offered no answer told to you by the birds or the gods. No. I came . . . I stopped the Sphinx. I answered the riddle with my own intelligence” (27). Oedipus has excessive pride in his own abilities, thinking that his own wit could overrule fate. His hubris sheds light on his fatal flaw, or hamartia: throughout the play, he arrogantly believes that fate is malleable, when it actually turns out to be set in stone. Tiresias, on the other hand, believes that “Apollo is enough, it’s in his able hands.” He completely entrusts the gods with solving problems, and in return for this obedience he holds a truth that no one else does, that the prophecy is Oedipus’