Oedipus Tragic Hero Elements
Oedipus' hero status is shown through others' diction and the manner in which they speak to him. Oedipus asks the current situation in Thebes and a priest replies to him in a way that indicates hero status. The priest says, "Oh Oedipus, king of the land, our greatest power!" (Sophocles, 264). The fact that the pries recognizes Oedipus as not only "king of the land", but also "our greatest power" shows that Oedipus is in a position of great power and respect (hero status). Later the priest also talks to Oedipus in a way that makes Oedipus god-like. The priest says, " Now we pray to you. You cannot equal the gods, your children know that, bending at your altar. But we do rate you first of men" (Sophocles, 264). Praying to Oedipus shows just how much people value him, and his contributions as a society. Also the priest says, they rate him "first of men", which also displays Oedipus' hero status. The hero status of Oedipus is depicted by others' words spoken about him.The hamartia in the story of Oedipus is when he calls upon Tiresias to get told the truth. The hamarita is the event that marks the start of the downfall for the protagonist. For Oedipus this is when he calls on Tiresias to hear who the murderer of Laius is. After much questioning Tiresias reveals, " You are the curse, the corruption of the land" (Sophocles, 278). Oedipus wants to find the murderer of Laius, however he has no idea it is him, and by questioning who did the murder reveals that he himself did it. Tiresias also later reveals that Oedipus will have a massive downfall. He says, " No man will ever be rooted from the earth as brutally as you" (Sophocles, 280). While Tiresias may have been exaggerating some at this point, he is still a prophet and so what he says shows that Oedipus will have a massive fall from the top of his hero status all the way to nothing. The start of Oedipus' downfall will be his calling upon Tiresias and his nagging of Tiresias for the truth.
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