Oedipus is a character, who is self-reliant and rational, he is not afraid of seeking answers out of the most challenging questions. His quest is in finding the truth concerning the plague that is facing Thebes. He is kept unaware of his real parents, with the oracle he consulted only telling him of his unfortunate destiny, to mate with his mother and kill his sire. He believes that he is escaping his fate when he moves away from his adopted parents. He, however, is not careful to ensure that no one is killed by his hands, as he ends up killing Laius, his birth father. Knowing the prophecy, one would expect Oedipus to be keen and careful not to harm anybody after all the Delphic Oracle he consulted had not answered him his question on whom his parents were. He, therefore, had doubts from the rumor that reached him but the fear of the prophecy overshadowed it . He sought no more to find out whether the rumor was true or not and so ignorance happens to be his major undoing in his quest. He needed to know himself first with the help of the people that have been around him in his lifetime. Instead, he makes a rash decision and runs away to people who know nothing about him . Hence without knowledge, he became unwise in his actions, and his ending is tragic. Through the play and in the character of Oedipus, one learns the importance of moderation of action, "Nothing too much" and knowledge of self, "Know thyself."
Knowing thyself is getting to prove to yourself that what others are saying about you is either true or false. This proof enables confidence in your personality and enhances a good and decent relationship with others. Oedipus’ quest for knowledge begins when he goes ahead to the Oracle to confirm a rumor he had heard about his parents. His attention to finding out his birth parents is however diverted by the prophecy he is given instead. So he fails to prove himself from the rumor and the relationship with his birth mother ends up as an obscene one . On another occasion, as King of Thebes, he intends to prove whether he was the one involved in the murder of King Laius as claimed by Prophet Tiresias. He manages to do so this time and gets convinced that what was said about him by the prophet was true. Having realized that he was the one to blame for the plague facing Thebes, he stopped being cruel to others, lamenting for her two daughters and asking Creon to watch over them. Therefore, by "knowing thyself," one realizes his or her mistakes and takes responsibility for them.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Knowledge of oneself is essential to defining one’s own free will. As much as Oedipus' case easily depicts a subject of fate, where things seemingly happen as though supernatural powers controlled them, he did according to his own free will, being a grown up and able to make his choices. It was him asking the questions and choosing to go far from his second parents. It is, therefore, possible to conclude that Oedipus by knowledge of the prophecy concerning himself, in his own free will guided himself to his tragic fate.
Doing what the gods command helps you know your life’s purpose and so is being modest. The idea of tragedy in the story is a lesson that disaster is but a process that teaches a man to have modesty before the gods. Oedipus thus becomes modest by eventually knowing himself. The story also implies that the reason behind the plagues and curses in ancient Greek was the conflict between man and gods. Oedipus in his nobility and wisdom was still prone to errors. He unsuccessfully challenged Tiresias who spoke the oracular knowledge as if giving way to the unfortunate events that were to follow. The Greeks thus arrive at an understanding that the gods possess a higher knowledge compared to their own and therefore should be threatened with neither criticism nor doubt.
Perfect vision yet blinded to the truth and on the other hand, imperfect vision yet with clear sight to the truth. Such is the case for Oedipus and the blind prophet Tiresias. Sight relates to knowledge in the story, an advantage that Tiresias as a Prophet had over Oedipus. It is for this reason that Tiresias could tell that Oedipus himself killed his father, Laius the former Thebes King and that he had taken his mother as a wife. Ignorance from pride had blinded him on everything to the point of not knowing himself.
"Nothing too much" is another Greek motto that discourages from doing things in excess. Oedipus was so full of himself and at the same time very easy to anger. He fails to control his extre me rage and ends up killing the man with the chariot without realizing it was his father. He gets into a brawl with Tiresias who speaks directly what the oracle mentioned to him. His judgment is clouded by anger and is not attentive at the second mention of the words of the oracular prophecy. He goes ahead accusing Creon, his brother-in-law of colluding with Tiresias to undermine him. He ends up caught in a tragedy by the prediction that he ought to have thought of carefully for a way to avert it.
