In Oedipus Rex, our tragic hero, Oedipus, is subject to bountiful moments of suffering, ultimately leading him into a degraded state, which leaves the conqueror piercing his eyeballs out, and pleading his brother in law Creon, now king, to carry out his final wishes, which include exiling him, and killing him. By the end of the story, Oedipus, once a strong and fearless leader, had shrunk down to a humiliated, god detested man. Through all this pain and self-torment, however, Oedipus has achieved true wisdom through the realization of his own wrong doings. The main instance that allowed Oedipus to establish his intelligence is the moment he had finally recognized the crimes he had committed, the assassination of King Laius, and the marriage
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As per the usual, it was up to Oedipus to step forward and find the antidote, and end this mass impairment of a once thriving city. In his arrogance, however, Oedipus initially denies having anything to do with the crimes committed, and when accused by the city's prophet, Tiresias, as the murderer, responds, “Not twice you shall say calumnies like this and stay unpunished.” Oedipus is so revered In Thebes that it is an absolute mad thought for him to perform any wrongdoing. It is in this way, that he is ignorant, and not a wise man, yet. If Oedipus showed a sliver of wisdom, he would have acknowledged the oracle, and reflected deeply into his self-conscious to gather anything he could that may help in determining the King's slayer. A man who possesses wisdom would not exclude himself from the suspect roster, but put himself in their shoes, and evaluate himself just like any ordinary man. As a direct result from Oedipus' egotistical actions, life as he knew it was altered. When the King finally put the pieces of the puzzle together, and came to the realization of his heinous crimes, it was too late. Thebans had to live with the fact that their great leader murdered their previous king, and in addition, slept with his own mother, which violated two very strict mandates in Greek culture; assassination, and incest. There
As per the usual, it was up to Oedipus to step forward and find the antidote, and end this mass impairment of a once thriving city. In his arrogance, however, Oedipus initially denies having anything to do with the crimes committed, and when accused by the city's prophet, Tiresias, as the murderer, responds, “Not twice you shall say calumnies like this and stay unpunished.” Oedipus is so revered In Thebes that it is an absolute mad thought for him to perform any wrongdoing. It is in this way, that he is ignorant, and not a wise man, yet. If Oedipus showed a sliver of wisdom, he would have acknowledged the oracle, and reflected deeply into his self-conscious to gather anything he could that may help in determining the King's slayer. A man who possesses wisdom would not exclude himself from the suspect roster, but put himself in their shoes, and evaluate himself just like any ordinary man. As a direct result from Oedipus' egotistical actions, life as he knew it was altered. When the King finally put the pieces of the puzzle together, and came to the realization of his heinous crimes, it was too late. Thebans had to live with the fact that their great leader murdered their previous king, and in addition, slept with his own mother, which violated two very strict mandates in Greek culture; assassination, and incest. There