"Too much knowledge is dangerous as Oedipus Discovers.
Even before the beginning of the play, Oedipus had taken a significant step in fulfilling the Delphi Oracle. It is during a banquet that a drunken servant first informs Oedipus that his parents of Corinth are not his biological parents. It is by hearing a horrific tale after consulting a prophet near Corinth, that Oedipus fled the nation state to Thebes, in love for his parents, and to attempt to evade the oracle. Ironically, by escaping to Thebes, he will later find out that this contributed to animate the Oracle, set out by the Gods. What makes this play such a tragedy is the parody in Oedipus" life. During the play, it is evident to the audience; Oedipus is given only partially the truth, but never the entire truth. This can be possibly censured on the work of fate, as he only discovers the whole tragic tale of his deeds, after it has fully unfolded, after where he stands to lose the most - at the very end of the play. By discovering his identity and taking unnecessary methods in discovering his birth, he loses everything that he dearly treasures. Not only does he lose his wife/ his mother- who commits suicide, he is sentenced to exile and separated from the children that remain, it is the guilt that remains, when he discovers the man he slays on the way to Corinth is also his father. So was it really too much knowledge that caused his downfall? .
Looking deeper into Sophocles" Oedipus Rex, it is not so black and white. Too much knowledge cannot be simply judged to be hazardous to Oedipus. As hypothetically speaking, had he known the total truth, and been made aware of the events that were prophesized to happen, such as hearing the complete oracle, or knowing the full truth, the tragedy would have never occurred. By having knowledge of the full truth, Oedipus, would have more than likely decided to stay in Corinth, both saving himself from such a tragedy and of his parent's lives.
