Machiavelli 's Mandragola tells the story of an Italian nobleman, Callimaco who returns to Italy from Paris after learning about an astonishingly beautiful woman known as Lucrezia. Despite Lucrezia being married, Callimaco is conniving and uses means of corruption to seduce her. His actions are successful and eventually Lucrezia submits to his negative influence. A prevalent theme in Mandragola that is often reflected in politics is dishonesty and deception in order to achieve a selfish goal. In contrast, Oedipus the King, tells the story of a once power and capable leader whose pride leads to a personal and political demise. Throughout history, many leaders develop boastful attitudes which leads to overconfidence and a decline of