In Prometheus Bound and Oedipus the King, Oedipus and Prometheus are similar in that they both show blasphemy towards the higher powers. However, by the end of both tragedies, Oedipus learns his lesson of being irreverent to the Gods and becomes subservient while Prometheus continues to be defiant.
In both Greek tragedies, Oedipus and Prometheus show open blasphemy towards the Gods. Oedipus first shows blasphemy when he denounces the prophet Tiresias: "But not for you, you purblind man: in ears and mind and vision. You can't hurt me, you night-hatched thing! Me or any man who lives in light" (Sophocles 22). Here, Oedipus is boldly condemning a prophet of Apollo because he is too stubborn to realize the truth: that he, indeed, is the murderer. Because of his stubbornness, he brashly shows his contempt for the prophet as if the prophet was a worthless impoverished beggar. Oedipus does not yet understand the hierarchy, in which Gods and prophet position well above all humans. Prometheus also commits blasphemy when he comments on how Zeus is a tyrant: "Zeus had to make nothing of me, so that he himself could be everything. That's the law and disease of tyrants - they are more sensitive than we are If a friend makes a slip, they see a traitor " (Aeschylus 10). Like Oedipus, Prometheus does not think highly of Zeus. He thinks that Zeus judges and condemns friends too quickly for his own benefit. He sees no reason in why he is being punished for helping the humans.
However, with the blasphemy that Oedipus and Prometheus share in common, the two differ in that Oedipus learns his lesson from his blindness and is submissive by the end of the tragedy while Prometheus, claiming to know his fate, is still calmly strong even with the continued punishment from Zeus. In the end, before Oedipus is exiled from Thebes, he expresses his submissiveness through his advice to his daughters: "My darling little ones, let this suffice, a simple prayer: Abide in modesty so may you live the happy life your father did not have" (Sophocles 79).
