Being one of the most respected men of his day, Sophocles uniquely combined Greek mythology with tragedy into the two of his most known plays: Antigone and Oedipus Rex. 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. "Three thousand years, at the least, have passed away since that riddle was propounded." (De Quincey 235-51). He proclaimed his name proudly as if he was a god, "I would not have you speak through messengers, and therefore I have come hear you-I, Oedipus who bear the famous name" (7-9) When Creon first appears in Oedipus the King, Creon is shown to be separate from the citizens of Thebes and not wanting any type of power but, when Oedipus life disintegrates, Creon takes to the throne immediately. In Antigone, Creon resides comfortablely in the place of power. Creon holds the same unquestioned supremacy that Oedipus once held, Oedipus now holds nothing but his shame. Of course, once Creon achieves the stability and power that he sought and Oedipus possessed, he begins to echo Oedipus's mistakes. In Oedipus and Antigone, Sopholcles portrays Oedipus and Creon as once good kings who have lost their ability to reason since they both have been corrupted by power.
In Greek mythology the gods are rarely wrong in their predictions of the future. .
Yet some characters still ignore their predictions. Oedipus was a sharp man furnished with wit and intellect, yet his lack of self-knowledge and his arrogance led to his termination. Oedipus's was naturally gifted in unraveling riddles, and solving any puzzles with ease. He had to look outward, but unfortunately he had the inability to look inward. .
This talent of looking outward made him renowned for solving riddles and mysteries. Yet when Tiresias appears and speaks in riddles, Oedipus cannot solve them because of his lack of insight.