Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex essentially bulges, pregnant with the themes of hubris and hamartia that the Greek playwright so frequently used. It is the play’s protagonist, King Oedipus, who is the unfortunate soul born unto a terrible prophecy that foretold that he would one day kill his very own father and marry his mother. In order to prevent such a horrendous nightmare from occurring, Oedipus’ father sent baby Oedipus to be murdered but he was instead given to the childless king and queen of Corinth to be raised as their own. Oedipus in later years hears rumors of the prophecy. In an attempt to escape his fate he flees Corinth and ends up in his original homeland of Thebes, kills his biological father King Laios while travelling, rids Thebes of the awful and terrifying Sphinx, is subsequently crowned king and marries his mother the Queen Jocasta. It is unfortunately Oedipus’ hubris and the culminating qualities of his hamartia that attribute to not only the discovery of his incestuous relationship with his mother and murder of his father, but also his ultimate self-destruction and how he finally atones for his sins.
Contrary to his damning hubris and hamartia, Oedipus was not a bad king. He was actually quite loved by his people and his hubris and many hamartia qualities actually at times presented themselves as somewhat positive traits. Instead of proud and arrogant (hubris), he was viewed as confident in demeanor by his people. His riddle obsession and determination (both part of his hamartia) are actually what ended up saving Thebes, so his inquisitiveness the people were very glad for. His serpentine cunning and intelligence (also part of the hamartia pie), though closely intertwined with his riddle obsession, can also be appreciated as their own singular attributes and/or flaws. It is however Oedipus’ impulsiveness and explosive temper that are the aggressors of his hamartiathere is just no positive way to spin those two.
Ironically enough, had Oedipus never run away from home (Corinth) in order to escape his fate, the prophecy foretold by the oracle would have most likely never be fulfilled. It was Oedipus’ hubris, or excessive amount of pride and arrogance, that made him believe that he had the power within himself to change the fate that the gods had chosen for him. Based on Greek literature, one would know that the gods do NOT take kindly to their plans being changed for them. They are to be revered and worshiped, not treated with disdain as Oedipus had done. Oedipus’ arrogance becomes all too clear as the play begins to progress and it is only reaffirmed by the Chorus:
breed the tyrant
feed him on thing after thing blindly
at the wrong time uselessly
and he grows reaches so high
nothing can stop his fall
his feet thrashing the air standing on nothing
and nowhere to stand he plunges down
o god shatter the tyrant
but let men compete let self-perfection grow
let men sharpen their skills
soldiers citizens building the good city
Apollo
protect me always
always the god I will honor (1104-1118)
Oedipus was in denial when it came to the fate that he was assigned, as presumably anyone would be. However, Oedipus abruptly leapt into drastic action rather than wait, ponder a bit, and make rational decisions. One could argue that he could have simply decided to not kill his father and sleep with his mother, and the prophecy would have never been fulfilled. However, making the simple decision to not do these two things were merely not enough for Oedipus. Oedipus was impulsive and had an explosive temper. He was hell bent and determined to get as far away from Corinth as possible. It was this hasty decision to flee Corinth combined with his explosive temper and impulsiveness that led to the first leg of the prophecy being fulfilled: the murder of his father, King Laios. Had Oedipus never left Corinth he would have in all probability never crossed paths with Laios, nor would he have had the opportunity to lose his temper and murder nearly everyone in the crossroads outside of the city of Thebes. Even Oedipus’ behavior toward the blind prophet Teiresias was shrewd and violent, primarily because he simply did not like the fact that the elderly prophet held Oedipus himself accountable for the murder of the former king and the city’s current plague. The proud and arrogant fool that he was, Oedipus was even blind to the fact that he, King Oedipus, could have even been involved and began his verbal assault on Teiresias:
I’ll rage, prophet, I’ll give you all my anger.
I’ll say it all---
Listen: I think you were involved in the murder of Laios,
you helped plan it, I think you
did everything in your power to kill Laios
everything but strike him with your own hands,
and if you weren’t blind, if you still had eyes to see with,
I’d say you , and you alone, did it all. (463-470)
Yet another victim of Oedipus’ anger is his brother-in-law Creon, the very man who spent the majority of his time by Oedipus’ side assisting him with any and all day to day matters in the kingdom. Oedipus all but convinces himself that Creon must be conspiring with Teiresias in an attempt at seizing his power and station as king. This is all the fuel that Oedipus needs to catalyze his quest for truth, and his unquenchable thirst for riddle obsessions. With the intention of recapturing his glory and hungrily determined to find Laios’ true killer, Oedipus vows to locate the murderer saying, “Now I am here. / I will begin the search again, I / will reveal the truth, expose everything, let it all be seen” (160-162). Oedipus wanted to be Thebes’ hero, just as he was when he rid her of the awful Sphinx. He was arrogant, his intelligence made him conceited, and his determination unrelenting.
It was Oedipus’ very obsession with riddles that led him into the land of Thebes and on the path to fulfilling his damning prophecy. He had faced death itself in his encounter with the Sphinx so it would be safe to say that his victory over her instilled in him this tremendous sense of arrogance concerning his intellectual abilities. This is made evident in Oedipus and Teiresias’ banter during their meeting:
OEDIPUS: How you love mysterious, twisted words.
TEIRESIAS: Aren’t you the great solver of riddles?
Aren’t you Oedipus?
OEDIPUS: Taunt me for the gift of my brilliant mind.
That gift is what makes me great.
TEIRESIAS: That gift is your destiny. It made you everything you are and it has ruined you. (600-606)
According to Teiresias, the gift of Oedipus’ brilliant mind is responsible for everything terrible that has, and will, happen to him. Notice the tense that Teiresias uses, “has ruined you.” This is prior to Oedipus yet even unveiling the fulfillment of his fated prophecy. It is apparently because of Oedipus’ brilliant and cunning mind that he is ruined and he is not even yet aware of it. Unable to contain his brilliance, bound by his determination, fueled by the unsolved riddle of Laios’ murderer, and then charged by his rage at Teiresias Oedipus vows to find Laios’ murderer. It is the culmination of this obsessive nature, rage, impulsiveness, sheer arrogance, proud brilliance and unrelenting determination that created the perfect recipe for disaster: Oedipus’ ultimate self-destruction.
It is later in the play that Oedipus finally learns of his true parentage and that he truly was the one responsible for the murder of his father. This newfound knowledge that he had unrelentingly sought after left him completely and utterly devastated. Oedipus is sickened with his very existence in the world and the shame that he has brought upon the royal Theban house; this all due to his ridiculous obsession with riddles that he could not leave well enough alone. Throughout the play, Oedipus has propelled himself much like a rocket: starting off in a fury, faster and faster, aiming toward a specific target, and once it reaches its destination its only option is to explode and destroy anything and everything surrounding it.
Sophocles’ tragic hero leaves Thebes in a much different state than how he first entered it. His hubris and hamartia had failed him, they had damned him. All that he had previously thought great in himself now sickened him. Oedipus, after learning of the prophecy’s fulfillment and finding Jocasta dead, takes brooches from her robes and pierces his eyes with them, effectually blinding himself. Oedipus does not even believe he deserves the mercy of the gods anymore at this point. This once proud, arrogant, pompous man does not even believe that he is fit to walk to earth any longer amongst men. He finally came to the realization that his fate was inescapable, and one could not merely trick the gods no matter how brilliant or cunning they were. Furthermore, Oedipus realized that the only way to atone for all of his sins and wickedness was through self-infliction (blinding himself) and self-exile from the city. It was only through intense suffering that Oedipus could be purged and show his newfound reverence to the gods. He had accepted accountability for his actions and was beginning to learn to live for the value of others, not for the glory of all that was Oedipus.
Works Cited
Gardnet, Janet E., Jack Ridl, and Peter Schakel. "Oedipus Rex." Literature with a 2009 MLA Update A Portable Anthology. Ed. Beverly Lawn. Second ed. N.p.: Bedford, 2010. N. pag. Print.
