Oedipus Epic Hero

By definition tragic heroes can be considered one who is held up high by society for the good deeds they bring, but is then slowly or quickly taken away from that grace and placed in a world far below what they were originally. An example of this is the excerpt and the tragedy of Oedipus the king. The play shows that the faults humanity can fall through when put into a very stressful situation. Oedipus is a tragic hero because he wants to improve the lives of his citizens, he has a major human flaw of being impulsive and easily irritable, Oedipus takes more punishment than what the play told, his life and fate was not fully under his control, and he makes a vast realization with an equal amount of change.

An epic hero is a character in an epic poem that is recognized for their courageousness and success in the face of great trials and tribulations whereas a tragic hero is a character in a tragedy who, despite his/her nobility, can’t escape their imminent collapse. Although Gilgamesh is an epic hero and Oedipus is a tragic hero there are many similarities between both epics. Both characters are valiant and heroic in their very own way.

Oedipus is described as a hero with god-like qualities. They worship him. The people of Thebes for instance believe that Oedipus ascended to the throne through God’s guidance. Sophocles play Oedipus definitely exemplifies Aristotle definition of a tragic hero.  Oedipus is not only a king but a person born a noble. Oedipus takes his fate into his own hands and takes his decisions head on. He is his own cause of the things happening around him, to him and in his life. Sadly, his life falls apart, but by his own doing. He has to suffer the consequences of his actions in many ways. First, he forces Teiresias to reveal his destiny as well as his father’s name. Teiresias tries to avoid all these questions but in the end he has to head warning to Oedipus against forcing him to reveal those details. Oedipus is relentless and is determined to find the truth. He continues questioning Teiresias further. Teiresias finally

The protagonist of the epic poem The Odyssey by Homer is Odysseus, who is a man of many qualities. Odysseus's skills and intellect are honed through the hardships he experienced on his very long journey away from home. Through his adventures, Odysseus gained for himself the reputation of a hero who survived shipwrecks, battled monsters, faced the wrath of the mighty gods, and met many people of various foreign lands. On top of other classic epic hero traits, Odysseus proves to be the very definition of a Homeric hero through his portrayal as a character who is faithful, loyal, and mentally capable.

“The greatest griefs are those we cause ourselves”, quote by Sophocles. Sophocles is a ancient Greek writer who created multiple plays including the tragic and heartbreaking play called Oedipus the King. Oedipus the King is a tragedy about a young king, Oedipus, who tries to help his land from disease by finding the murderer of the former king. But by solving this mystery Oedipus unravels a tragic truth about his family and fate. Over past years, they’ve been controversy of whether Oedipus is known as a tragic hero. A tragic hero is someone who makes a mistake or error that eventually leads to someone's downfall. Although there are many ways supporting Oedipus as not a tragic hero, there are multiple characteristics that define Oedipus as a

Have you ever heard of a man- a very mortal man- who can defeat a cyclops, outwitt any opponent, kill men six times in number, and survive twenty years at sea? This man, is Odysseus, the son of Laertes. Odysseus can be read about in the epic poem called The Odyssey written by Homer. An epic poem is a long narrative poem about a serious event. Odysseus is the epic hero of this poem. An epic hero is a character who is smart, powerful, and fears almost nothing. Odysseus fits the definition of an epic hero.

Odysseus had many qualities of an epic hero. Odysseus was a war hero who showed courage and was not afraid to put his life on the line to save others. Another aspect that made Odysseus an epic hero was that he traveled to the “Kingdom of Death” and still managed to make it back home. In The Odyssey Book 2,

By definition, a tragic hero is a character who is unavoidably doomed. That hero’s fate has already been decided but the character usually spends the entire course of a story trying tirelessly and unsuccessfully to change that. Oedipus easily falls into this definition. Oedipus is also a hero that

Oedipus Rex, or Oedipus the King is Sophocles’s first play of “The Theban Cycle.” It tells the story of a king that tries to escape his fate, but by doing so he only brings about his downfall. Oedipus is a classic example of the Aristotelian definition of a tragic hero. Aristotle defines a tragic hero as a basically good and noble person who causes his own downfall due to a flaw in his character.

Oedipus was a tragic hero. Sophocles, instead of killing Oedipus in the end of the novel, chose to give Oedipus a fate worse then death. Oedipus found out who he was and that he killed his father and slept with his mother. His tragic end was a result of his hamartia, hubris. His pride was what caused him to attack the carriage and kill his father, which led to him marrying his mother. He

A tragic hero, as defined by Aristotle, is a man who is great but also terribly flawed, who experiences misfortunes while still remaining admirable to the audience at the end of the play. One of Aristotle’s favorite works, Oedipus the King, a play by Sophocles, is a play that above all others, defines the meaning of what a true tragic hero really is. In the play, Oedipus the King, the story unfolds after Oedipus unintentionally kills his own father and goes on to marry his mother. The events of the play are tragic, but it is the way that Oedipus handles the tragedies that make him a tragic hero.

In the greek drama, Oedipus the king by Sophocles, King Oedipus shows all the characteristics of a tragic hero. By definition A tragic hero is, “A privileged, exalted character of high repute, who by virtue of a tragic flaw and fate suffers a fall from glory into suffering”. That definition perfectly describes Oedipus and his life. Throughout this whole story we see the real Oedipus emerge. Oedipus starts out in the beginning by being the best king around but by the end of the story we see the ups and downs of his life and how it changed forever. In the story we here Oedipus say these words, “ah! My poor children, known, ah known too well, the quest that brings

In conclusion, Oedipus’ is excessively proud in himself but that will eventually lead to his downfall that will label him as a tragic hero. Aristotle even claims Oedipus to be the ideal tragic hero in Greek tragedy. Sophocles supports the way that Aristotle defines a tragic hero through the character of Oedipus form his Oedipus the King.

Knox, B. M. (1998). Hero. In Oedipus at Thebes: Sophocles' tragic hero and his time (1st ed., p. 4). New Haven, NY: Yale University Press.

Oedipus the King by Sophocles is a story about a boy who was left by his own parents in the mountains, by himself, to die because of a prophecy that were given to his parents by the Oracle of Delphi. A shepherd found this young child and decided to bring him to King Polybus and Queen Merope, who can’t have a child of their own. The couple decided to adopt the child and name him Oedipus, which means swollen ankles because of the way the shepherd found him with his ankles pierced with pins. When Oedipus grew up, he saved the town from a beast which made Oedipus be considered a hero of his town. Oedipus is considered an epic hero, but also a tragic hero. An epic hero is someone who is applauded for his bravery against the beast. A tragic hero is someone who does good for its town, but does not always do the right thing which leads to their own ruin. Oedipus is a tragic hero because he has a fatal prophecy that he could not bypass.