Oedipus then came across the city of Thebes, a city that had been plagued by the horrible creature know as the Sphinx, a monster with the body of a lion, the wings of a bird, and the head of a woman. Oedipus' intelligence became evident to the Theban people when he figured out the Sphinx's riddle and upon being freed from the Sphinx's spell, the Thebans proclaimed "It was some god breathed in you to set us free" (Sophocles 5). ... After saving the city of Thebes from the Sphinx, a plague settled over the city and Oedipus sent his brother-in-law Creon to the Oracle of D...

• Word Count: 1488
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

In the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus is a classic tragic hero.According to Aristotle's definition, Oedipus is a tragic hero because he is a king whose life falls apart when he finds out his life story. ... A prophecy is foretold to Laius, the father of Oedipus, that the destiny of Oedipus is a terrible one beyond his control. ... Oedipus just happens to be born a prince, and he has saved a kingdom that is rightfully his from the Sphinx. His destiny is to be of noble stature from birth, which is denied to him by his parents, but given back by the Sphinx. ... In the play Oed...

• Word Count: 1309
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

In the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Oedipus is a classic tragic hero.According to Aristotle's definition, Oedipus is a tragic hero because he is a king whose life falls apart when he finds out his life story. ... A prophecy is foretold to Laius, the father of Oedipus, that the destiny of Oedipus is a terrible one beyond his control. ... Oedipus just happens to be born a prince, and he has saved a kingdom that is rightfully his from the Sphinx. His destiny is to be of noble stature from birth, which is denied to him by his parents, but given back by the Sphinx. ... In the play Oed...

• Word Count: 1311
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

The role of fate and destiny, and the impact of the prophecy is further seen when the reward for the person who destroys the pestilence brought on by the riddling sphinx is Jocasta, Laius's wife and Oedipus's mothers, hand in marriage. ... If Oedipus had a serious harmatia, it was his hubris. ... Oedipus's nemesis results in a cathartic effect. ... Oedipus is blessed with the gift of perception, being the only person who could "see" the answer to the Sphinx's riddle, yet ironically, he cannot see what is right before his eyes. ... He did what no other could do, destroyed t...

• Word Count: 1270
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

As Thebes's King, Oedipus has to solve this plague. ... Laios attacked Oedipus. ... In order to free the city of this plague you had to solve the riddle that came with it, the riddle of the Sphinx. ... They asked for his help since he was the king who saved Thebes from the Sphinx and restored the city. ... Oedipus digs a whole to bury himself. ...

• Word Count: 1308
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

As Thebes's King, Oedipus has to solve this plague. ... Laios attacked Oedipus. ... In order to free the city of this plague you had to solve the riddle that came with it, the riddle of the Sphinx. ... They asked for his help since he was the king who saved Thebes from the Sphinx and restored the city. ... Oedipus digs a whole to bury himself. ...

• Word Count: 1308
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

As Thebes's King, Oedipus has to solve this plague. ... Laios attacked Oedipus. ... In order to free the city of this plague you had to solve the riddle that came with it, the riddle of the Sphinx. ... They asked for his help since he was the king who saved Thebes from the Sphinx and restored the city. ... Oedipus digs a whole to bury himself. ...

• Word Count: 1308
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

His confronting with Sphinx, his tender empathy for the Thebans, and his resolve to rescue Thebes from the plague successfully prove his greatness, which makes him an honored king. ... He saves the Thebans from the Sphinx but fails to do so from Laois's murderer-Oedipus himself, which makes the investigation so agonizing and eventually leads his life to an even poorer end. Oedipus, like Sherlock Holmes, moves ahead of others. ... Teiresias's ridiculous accusation of Oedipus as a murderer further irritates Oedipus, whom Thebans trust and rely on. ... Oedipus's straightforwardne...

• Word Count: 1352
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Oedipus in a moment of true agony says: ". . . ... For example, when the Sphinx is exacerbating the city of Thebes, Oedipus decides that he is going to take charge and try to solve the riddle. Whoever solves the riddle of the Sphinx will become the next King of Thebes, which means they will marry Queen Jocasta and save the entire town from destruction: Oedipus volunteered to answer the riddle: "There is a creature two-footed, and also four-footed, and three-footed. ... Oedipus answered the riddle correctly. ... Sophocles" character Oedipus in the play Oedipus the King, symbolizes huma...

• Word Count: 1524
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

At the beginning of Oedipus the King, Oedipus is highly confident, and with good reason. He has saved Thebes from the curse of the Sphinx and becomes the king of the city virtually overnight. ... When Oedipus saved Thebes from The Sphinx, he answered this difficult puzzle. The Sphinx demanded: What creature is it that walks on four feet in the morning, on two at noon, and on three in the evening? ... Oedipus is very vain. ...

• Word Count: 1256
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

As in any great tragedy, the story of Oedipus is rife with heartbreaking irony. In "Oedipus the King," Sophocles provides the reader with an interesting contrast between the truth as defined by the gods and their oracles and the truth as defined by Oedipus himself. ... Oedipus is a complex individual whose decisions illuminate his world view, providing the reader with insight into why Oedipus behaves the way he does. ... In fact, so certain that he's the only one who really knows the truth, Oedipus flaunts his success in defeating the Sphinx in an attempt to needle Tiresias into complyin...

• Word Count: 1443
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Jocasta played the role of both the mother and wife of Oedipus. ... She knows what Oedipus did to the King, she knows that Oedipus is her first son, she knows that she married the boy with the pinned up ankles that she left to die in the mountains. ... At the end of Oedipus Rex, Oedipus, who is the King of Thebes, is forever banished from his kingdom. ... Oedipus' life was based on pride. It was what led to the murder of Laius, which led to the killing of the Sphinx, which eventually led to him being King of Thebes. ...

• Word Count: 1469
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Throughout the story Oedipus searches for his identity, and the answers to his questions are visible to the audience, but not to Oedipus. ... Oedipus, later on, says to Teiresias, "Oedipus, the simple man, who knows nothing " - in line 383. What Oedipus means to say is that he knows it all because he destroyed the sphinx and rules the city. ... In line 1004 she tells Oedipus, "Is your life nothing to you? ... The theme of Oedipus Rex is of course man's search for truth. ...

• Word Count: 1490
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

When Oedipus arrives in Thebes, he heroically solves the riddle of the sphinx and is made King in honor of saving the city. ... Oedipus criticizes the man for trying to persuade Oedipus away from the truth. ... - The Leader of the chorus even asks of Oedipus "Where's she gone, Oedipus? ... Oedipus demands "Whose house?... - Then Oedipus rushes off. ...

• Word Count: 1783
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

First of all, Oedipus's fall is a result of fate because of actions that occur when Oedipus is an infant. ... While Oedipus is an infant, the last incident that shows how uncontrollable fate can be is the servant's decision not to kill Oedipus. ... Oedipus is on his way to Thebes where a sphinx's riddle has plagued the city. The sphinx has already taken the lives of many men who unsuccessfully tried to solve the riddle. Because Oedipus is fated with intelligence and pride, he is able to solve the sphinx's riddle and save Thebes from the plague. ...

• Word Count: 1505
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

Oedipus is one of these people. ... Both Medea and Oedipus are faced with life changing events. ... Oedipus's life was truly great. After leaving home because of a bad prophecy, he had freed Thebes from the Sphinx, become ruler of Thebes, and now was married with four children. ... She wants Oedipus to stop the inquiry." ...

• Word Count: 2458
• Approx Pages: 10
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

At the beginning of the Sophocles's book, Oedipus is presented to us as being extremely arrogant. ... Oedipus claims that he, who solved the riddle of the sphinx, will quickly put the matter to rights. Any good Greek should know the dangers of hubris, but Oedipus is a bit of a braggart: "And justly you will see in me an ally, a champion of my country and the God" (Oedipus Rex, 135-136). ... It is one that Oedipus doesn't like, and accordingly he refuses to believe it, essentially denying the truth of the gods. ... Oedipus's fall is terrible. ...

• Word Count: 1999
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

In Oedipus of Colonus, Sophocles illustrates these qualities that Antigone possesses. During the first twenty years of her life, Antigone spends her time secluded from society with her blind, exiled father, Oedipus. Sophocles sums up her childhood in the following soliloquy by Oedipus:"Since her childhood ended and her body gained its power, has wandered ever with me, an old man's governess; often in the wild forest without shoes, and hungry, beaten by many rains tired by the sun; yet she rejected the sweet life of home so that her father should have sustenance" (Fitzgerald 104). ... OED...

• Word Count: 2132
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School