Oedipus possessed an excessive amount of pride, which was necessary for upholding the position of a king, but caused him to believe that he could override his fate. Initially, pride was beneficial to Oedipus because it aided him in solving the riddle of the sphinx as his “pride lay in solving them,” (Burgess 35). From there, he saved Thebes from the Sphinx and assumed the position as King of Thebes.While ruling as king, there was a plague cast upon Thebes. Oedipus, as prideful as he was, believed that he was able to save Thebes and get rid of the “unclean thing”, stating “I saved it once. I will again. I am Oedipus,” (Burgess 35). However, this pride “blinds” him from seeing the truth that he was in fact Laius’s murderer. Creon advised Oedipus
