Aristotle believed that tragedy is a representation of terrible and piteous events arousing sorrow and fear. The conscious and unconscious actions of man are what precipitates events and future actions. Clytemnestra, Prometheus, and Oedipus Rex are all protagonists who evoke pity and fear due to their mixed natures, partly good and partly bad. The tragedy in a plot does not rise out of the characters themselves, but instead tests characters through destiny. Under inescapable fate, the moral characters of individuals are truly exposed, separating tragic heroes from tragic characters.

Oedipus Rex is a tragic hero because his attempt to escape fate, an offensive mortal sin to the gods, ultimately leads to his demise. However, before Oedipus ignores the will of the gods, he establishes

himself as a moral and upright person. For instance, upon discovery of the oracle’s prediction, Oedipus flees Corinth to avoid killing Polybus and marrying Merope, the people he believes to be his parents. This sacrifice for his adoptive parents displays Oedipus’ virtue. Next, once arriving at the town of Thebes, the townspeople revere Oedipus as a hero for bravely expelling the plague by solving the Sphinx’s riddle. He secures a reputation as an intelligent, brave, and just leader. Oedipus’ nobility is emphasized further by his determination to punish Laius’ murderer appropriately. Unfortunately, a young victim of illusion, Oedipus spurns those who actually know the truth, believing he is above his own fate. As in Plato’s brilliant “The Allegory of the Den,” Oedipus is a prisoner of blindness, unwilling to believe his fellow prisoner, the prophet Teiresias, who has escaped bondage and seen the Truth. Teiresias tells Oedipus, “You are the godless defiler of this land. You are the slayer whom you seek, I say. I say you have forgot that you are joined with those most dear to you in deepest shame and do not see where you are in sin” (Sophocles 362-367). Oedipus is too proud to swallow the prophet’s news, declaring, “Shall these unbearable words be heard from him? Go to perdition! Hurry! Off, away, turn back again and from this hous

Some topics in this essay:
Truth Teiresias, Oedipus Rex, Hell” Aeschylus, Rex” Aeschylus, Jocasta Oedipus, Oedipus Prometheus, , Den” Oedipus, Lastly Oedipus’, Bound” Sophocles, tragic hero, tragic heroes, oedipus rex, earns audience’s, oedipus prometheus,