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The Plague In Sophocles 'Oedipus The King'

442 Words2 Pages

Oedipus is putting himself into danger as he saves his city.

Oedipus was a king who wholeheartedly loved his city which is known as Thebes. When Thebes was experiencing a plague. This plague was leading the whole Thebes to its own destruction. Hence, he sent away Creon to the temple of Apollo to know the probable cause of it. When Creon ,with an important message, went back to the Thebes. He told Oedipus that the murderer of king Lauis, a ruler before Oedipus, must be revealed and punish for the plague to end. As the highest ruler of the Thebes, Oedipus was so determine to discover as well as to punish the said culprit. Hence, he investigated how Lauis was killed. He sought helps from others for more enlightenment. In the ending of the story, …show more content…

Upon his investigation, he commanded the blind prophet to give him information about the culprit. Tiresias,the seer, avoided the questions of Oedipus. Hence, Oedipus thought that he was protecting the culprit. Because of this accusation, the blind prophet told Oedipus that he was the real murderer. However, Oedipus refused to believe him. As the story continued, Jocasta, widowed of king Laius and wife to Oedipus, told him about an unbelievable prophecy. The prophecy was about Lauis who would be killed by their own son in “where three roads meet” . Their son would marry Jocasta and would be the next ruler of Thebes. This prophecy made Oedipus more uncomfortable knowing his past as an adopted child. Hence, he sought help from the messenger and a shepherd by asking question. Finally, Oedipus realized that he was the murderer of Lauis and has married his biological mother, Jocast. Oedipus punished himself by gouging out his eyes and leaving the Thebes. On the other hand, Jocasta realized that the prophecy was real so she hanged herself to death. In the scenario, even though Oedipus’s eyes were fine, the blind prophet was the one who was really able to see things beyond what Oedipus could see. In addition, Oedipus was ignorant of the truth contrary to his greatness as the ruler of

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