Essay about The Tragedy Of Oedipus Rex

Sophocles gives a whole new meaning to the word destiny in his Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex. King Laius and Queen Jocasta of Thebes are told a horrific oracle in which their son kills his father, marries his mother, and has children with her as well. In order to prevent the oracle from coming true, they abandon their son, Oedipus, on top of a mountain. A man working for King Polybus, who is the king of Corinth, finds Oedipus and gives him to King Polybus and Queen Merope. Many years later, Oedipus hears the oracle and decides to leave Corinth and go to Thebes to escape the tragedy waiting for him. On Oedipus’ way to Thebes, he gets into a fight with King Laius and his men and Laius is killed by Oedipus. By doing this, Oedipus unknowingly already fulfills part of the prophecy. The city of Thebes was guarded by a Sphinx who spoke a riddle, and the only way to get in or out of Thebes was by solving that riddle. Once Oedipus solved it, the sphinx killed herself, setting the city of Thebes free. Due to the sudden death of King Laius and the sphinx, the people of Thebes make Oedipus the new king. Aristotle was a Greek philosopher who along with his other great contributions to human knowledge invented the archetype tragic hero. A tragic hero is a literary character who makes a judgment error that inevitably leads to his/her own destruction. In Sophocles’ Greek tragedy, Oedipus Rex, Sophocles makes Oedipus a tragic hero to show that pride leads to a downfall in order to teach the…