The playwright Sophocles existed over 2000 years ago and is
responsible for several highly identified and famous plays. The play in
discussion is his work Oedipus The King, which tells a story of a man born
in Thebes whose whole life becomes shaped and poisoned by a prophecy told
at his birth. The play reveals itself to be one which can be taken in
relation to modern day morals, teachings, personalities and society. The
character in question is the main character of the play, Oedipus, who, as
told, is born in Thebes and becomes ultimately plagued by a prophecy
surrounding his life. The question is whether or not Oedipus is a hero.

Judging by some unspeakable acts committed by this character, it would seem
to point more towards tyrant than hero. But, looking at his personality and
characteristics more deeply reveals a man who is a good ruler, a juste
person, and one who cares for all his fellow citizens. These
characteristics lead us to the conclusion that he is a hero.

The characteristic of Oedipus that most outstandingly
identifies him as heroic is his responsibility and caring towards his
fellow citizens and people in general. As a young man, he discovers the
story of the prophecy surrounding his life. He discovers how he is going to
kill his father and marry his mother. Shocked by this news, he decides not
to go back to Corinth where he supposedly was born, for fear of bringing
these bad tidings down on his parents, king and queen of Corinth. For
abandoning his life to keep his family in Corinth safe, Oedipus has
exhibited some his good characteristic. After his wandering away from the
city of Corinth, he arrives at a city in turmoil, Thebes. As it turns out,
a sphinx is challenging towns people to solve its riddle, and when they
don’t get it right, it eats them. Oedipus approaches the sphinx without
thought for his own safety and manages to solve the riddle and banish the
sphinx. For this heroic action, Oedipus becomes King of Thebes in place of
Laius who had gone missing years earlier, and marries the Queen, Jocasta.

For abandoning his family for their well being and restoring peace to
Thebes, Oedipus can be proclaimed as one who cares for his fellow man
before himself, which in turn is an attribute to his heroic characteristic.

For Oedipus, now formally the King of Thebes, it would not
seem a priority for him to investigate into the disappearance of Laius,
former husband to Jocasta and former King to Thebes, who had been missing
for over a decade. But for Oedipus, being the just man and good ruler, it
seems as his responsibility to solve the riddle of this man’s disappearance
and possible murder, who Oedipus himself has never met. His investigation
begins in calling forth possible suspects, and even sends for Tiresias, an
oracle to aid him in finding the truth. Tiresias reveals that it was
Oedipus himself who killed Liaus. Oedipus almost completely dismisses this
possibility but remains adamant to find the truth, even though he is
dismayed by the telling by Tiresias of where three roads meet. Aware of the
possibility, he hides nothing of his suspicions, telling even Jocasta of
his fear for the truth. He keeps his responsibility as King and as a just
person to find out for certain the truth and he does. Ultimately, it was
him who killed Liaus. The unfolding of this mystery ultimately leads him to
the greater truth and solving of his own riddle, which is that he has lived
out the prophecy by killing his own father and marrying his mother. As a
true hero, and not coward, he does not kill himself as Jocasta does, but
gouges his eyes out. He no longer wants the sight of his predicament.

With his actions through the duration of his fulfilling of
the prophecy, Oedipus always keeps to his heroic qualities and
characteristics. He is very pious, responsible and courageous. The play is
full of riddles, all of which are solved by Oedipus. The greatest riddle he
solves his the one of his own life. His heroic qualities and
characteristics are defined by how he manages his responsibility as a good
human being and ruler with the time he is given. Through his management of
his prophecy, he teaches us that every action, self motivated and not self
motivated has its consequences and responsibilities.