The play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles is a classical Greek tragedy because it follows the five requirements given by Aristotle. The five requirements the play should follow, which it does, are: The downfall of a great hero, tragic flaws which aid in the heroes downfall, unexpected plot twists, pity and fear among the audience, and a disastrous ending.
As the play sets out and begins, there is this great in notable King of Thebes known as Oedipus. He's very beloved by his royal subjects and family. He soon falls victim to what Aristotle lists as the first requirement to being a Greek tragedy. Oedipus is a great hero at the beginning of the play, he was the one who solved the Sphinx's riddle, he is the one who saved Thebes. Then later on towards the end of the play Oedipus falls, he is no longer the great hero, he, at the end of the play is a blind
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Oedipus shows this flaw of immense anger when he unknowlingly kills his birth father at a crossroads. This was probably the first documented case of road rage, talk about anger issues.
Also, there's more that ties in to Aristotle's rules. There must be an unexpected twist of fate to be a Greek tragedy, which there is. When Oedipus finds out that he was adopted, that was a huge plot twist, although seen by the reader due to dramatic irony. Nevertheless, it changed the story around for the characters within and provides the beloved "grab the popcorn" reaction.
The play also express the fourth requirement by Aristotle of being a classical Greek tragedy which happens to be great fear among the audience. This is seen when Oedipus, in front of everyone states that he is better than the gods themselves. Due to the time period in which the play took place, people were very religious and saying something to this extent creates fear among people. The people feared that by saying this there shall be