Anything in Excess is negative Oedipus The King by Sophocles

The next stage on his of the journey to self-awareness is doubt. Oedipus demonstrates the puerile arrogance by refusing to accept the truth even as more and more proof of his inadvertent sins. He uses many common coping strategies to avoid the cruel truth of his fate. For instance, when he invites the distinguished prophet Teiresias to help him cure Thebes, he begins respectfully but quickly turns impatient and insolent when the prophet refuses to answer his questions, threatening to use his power as king to punish this disobedience, though by doing this Oedipus himself displays the same defiance toward the will of the gods being channeled through Teiresias. Eventually, Teiresias angrily reveals: “I say you are the murderer of the king/whose murderer you seek.” (Oed. 362-363) Oedipus, of course, orders him away and quickly returns to his state of denial, albeit somewhat disturbed. To dismiss the idea completely, he uses another coping strategy, blame, scapegoating

Humanity is by no means perfect, each person has a personal issue that seems to follow them wherever they go. For Oedipus it seems to be his impulsive short temper, which brings up the next evidence to claim that Oedipus is a tragic hero. Oedipus has a major human flaw of being impulsive on top of his short-temper. Almost every argument that occurs is escalated by Oedipus due to him coming to a quick conclusion that does not have all the facts, and when he is trying to get information out of the herdsman by giving him threats of torture off the bat without any lesser punishment beforehand. Other arguments that occurred was between Oedipus and Jocasta and Creon, where he is given some discredit and disapproval

At the beginning of the play, Oedipus uses verbal violence to threaten Tiresias. A plague has struck the city of Thebes, and Oedipus learns from Kreon that the plague will only end when the murderer of Laius has been caught. When Oedipus asks Tiresias for help, Tiresias initially refuses to share what he knowns and instead comments about Oedipus’ inability to see the truth. However, Oedipus becomes infuriated and insults the blind prophet. “Now I see it all. You helped hatch the plot…with your own hands…Old man. You’ve lost your power, stone-blind, stone-deaf- senses, eyes blind as stone” (103-104). The quote is an example of verbal violence because Oedipus curses and insults Tiresias, accusing the prophet of conspiring against him with the help of Kreon. Tiresias then introduces another riddle, telling Oedipus that the murderer of Laius is both the father and sibling to his incestuous children, and also the son of his beloved wife. When Oedipus mocks Tiresias for answering only in riddles, Tiresias responds with, “Ah, but aren’t you the best man alive at solving riddles?” (105). As described here, Oedipus presents himself as extremely confident in his ability to untangle puzzles, but this ultimately leads to his own downfall. Given these examples, it is evident that Oedipus’ use of verbal violence against Kreon and Tiresias accurately illustrates his

     Oedipus is a very honest and persistent man. From the instant in which he questions Teiresias about the murder, we see that he is very persistent in trying to find the answer. Even when Teiresias begs Oedipus to stop questioning him, Oedipus forces the truth-teller to speak the truth. He goes as far as to threaten to kill Teiresias to give him the news which would accuse Oedipus as the murderer that he seeks.

Talk about road rage! Oedipus is pushed out the way by a wagon, and he retaliates by killing almost everyone in the wagon, including his father! Sure, Oedipus was destined to kill his father anyway, but the manner in which he did so gives an insight into his demeanor. Oedipus could have killed his father in any number of ways, but to do so in a fit of rage set off by so seemingly trivial of an event is just not rational. Murder may not have been as big of a deal at that time, but if Oedipus had tried that in today’s world, he would have either been executed or have been spending the rest of his life in a mental institution. This incident goes to show that Oedipus is a very rash and impulsive man, and this carries over into his administration and decision-making.

With his great knowledge and accomplishment establishing him as a man of insight and honor he is crowned King of Thebes. Oedipus, unwilling to hear or see truth, smites a blind man in the midst of his own ignorance and denial to reality. Teiresias, a blind prophet, is stood before Oedipus to reveal his visions about the identity of the murderer. “PAGE 11/40 TEIRESIAS thou hast not spared To twit me with my blindness--thou hast eyes, Yet see'st not in what misery thou art fallen, Nor where thou dwellest nor with whom for mate. Dost know thy lineage? Nay, thou know'st it not, And all unwitting art a double foe...” Teiresias reveals Oedipus' fate to him. He reveals that Oedipus doesn't know who his true parents are, and is living a doubly bad fate. Oedipus becomes engaged and accusatory of Teiresias at the thought of someone threatening his preconceived reality. “PAGE 10/40 OEDIPUS There is strength where there is truth, but not in you Oedipus. You don't possess this quality, for you are blind in your ears, mind, and eyes.” Oedipus even goes as far as to suggest that Teiresias murdered King Laius. “PAGE 10/40 OEDIPUS Thou methinks thou art he, I think that you are he who planned this crime, and he who even committed it too..” Oedipus, self righteous and pompous, believes that he can do no wrong. His ego is so big that he tears down and slanders

           He becomes convinced that Tiresias and Creon are plotting to overthrow him, though he has no evidence to prove it and thus insults the seer which was a great crime at that time because he let himself be ruled by his anger. When Teiresias announces to Oedipus that

As the play continues, we start to see a shift in Oedipus’s personality. This was due to the conclusion he makes based on the conversation him and the prophet Tiresias has. It mentions how Kreon, Oedipus brother-in-law, is plotting against him. “So? You come here? You have the nerve to face me in my own house? When you’re exposed as its master’s murderer? Caught trying to steal my kinship?” (Sophocles 500). Now, Oedipus is arrogant, he blames Kreon based off of the conclusion he jumps too. He gets discouraged from his role as a leader, he is irrational, angry and hot tempered, whereas, in the beginning,

Oedipus thinks his human powers can match anything put in front of him. He forces other characters to tell him things, which again creates his tragic ending. (O790) Oedipus by not knowing his identity seems to create his own tragedy. Throughout the entire play, he is blind to everything people are telling him. (O320) He continues to badger Teiresias to answer things that Oedipus does not believe is true. If he

To support this, Oedipus is stunned when Tiresias, one of his loyal subjects, refuses to tell him what happened so many years ago. “What? You know and you won’t tell? You’re bent on betraying us, destroying Thebes?” (Sophocles, line 377). Automatically, Oedipus assumes the worst of Tiresias. He believes this man is trying to betray him and his city. This quick to anger moment shows just how Oedipus thinks if someone doesn’t give him what he wants. Enraged when he hears the truth, Oedipus lashes out “You, you scum of the earth!” (Sophocles, line 381). This quote just shows how butt hurt Oedipus is when he learns about his faults. When hie ego is damaged in the slightest way, he becomes temperamental and hot headed. “No, I can’t say I grasped your meaning. Out with it, again!” 411. When Oedipus hears the truth, he lashes out, not wanting to believe in such accusations. This just shows that Oedipus can't bear the truth. “You're blind to the corruption of your life!” (Sophocles, line 471). Tiresias lashes out at Oedipus with this statement. This evidence shows just how childish Oedipus is. He doesn't think about his own faults or what he has done in the past.

When Oedipus hears that he is the killer, his pride is wounded for he cannot accept the truth. His judgment is so blurred that he also begins to view Creon as a traitor for using Tiresias. Creon’s words sum up Oedipus’s rage when he said, “Oedipus, your husband, he’s bent on a choice of punishments for me, banishment from the fatherland or death” (715-717). Jocasta is even surprised with Oedipus’s unusual character, as she said, “For the love of God, Oedipus, tell me too, what is it? Why this rage? You’re so unbending” (767-769). The reason why Oedipus pride is so wounded can be because his negative experiences with the Gods. As a baby, he was condemned to death, yet he survived and learned the horrible truth of his prophecy. In attempt to escape that life, he lost belief in the word of the gods because he refused that the prophecies should come true. This struggle between God and Oedipus only tears his moral beliefs as he has to be stone cold to survive his tribulations. This meant giving no consideration against people who presently posed a great threat to him.

In the beginning, Oedipus is told by Teiresias that he lives in shame. Of course, Oedipus feels that Teiresias is blind of not only sight, but knowledge:

At the beginning, Oedipus is ignorant and is constantly avoids and ignores the truth in order to protect his reputation. Oedipus’ unwillingness to open his ears to the truth develops when Tiresias reveals that he killed Laius and one of his responses is, “Your words are nothing-- / futile” (416-417). Although Oedipus begged to hear Tiresias’ words, he was not willing to pay attention or open his eyes to the unfortunate idea. Oedipus pushes aside the words Tiresias says, refusing to believe that he could be the one who killed Laius, the one who must be cursed. Later, Tiresias brings up Oedipus’ ignorance saying “you’re blind to the corruption of your life” (471), and telling him a few lines later that “No man will ever / be rooted from the earth as brutally as you” (488-489). Oedipus was put in his place and blatantly told that he is ignorant but his rise to knowledge will also bring his demise. Sophocles foreshadowed using Tiresias in that way, but Oedipus was so into avoiding any confrontation with the truth at the beginning that he would respond calling Tiresias’ visions “absurdities” (494). Therefore, even though the truth has been revealed to him, Oedipus still chooses to remain blind to the truth in order to remain good in the eyes of his people.

“Nothing in excess.” This Doric saying situated in the foreground of the temple at Delphi, is one of the earliest elaborations of the doctrine known as the Golden Mean. It was this one saying that sparked the birth of an ethical principle, in which the concepts are tenfold. In the aftermath of reading this excerpt, scholars alike have interpreted this statement, gradually contributing to the pantheon of perceptions that revolve around the connotation of the Mean. First reflected in Socrates’ teachings, the Mean was passed down by Plato, and then utterly revolutionized by Aristotle. Utilizing cross-fertilization, it eventually spread throughout the known Earth. (Aristotle on the Concept of the Golden Mean) Simply, the Golden Mean is the the belief in moderation between two extremes, and it reaffirms the balance that we, as a thriving species, need in life. The golden mean is the most influential axiom that was developed by the Ancient Greeks because it is prevalent in many Greek myths, was theorized by Aristotle, and has influenced the livelihood of people in the Western World.

threatens those that speak it."(1) This is going a little overboard in terms of judging Oedipus's character.