9/1 Oedipus Blog #1

Greek Values
Oedipus reveals several Greek beliefs, mainly ones that center around the character of the gods and the glory and shame of man. The Greeks believed that the gods were all powerful and had to be obeyed or they, the humans would suffer the consequences. The gods were known to play tricks on humans or unleash their anger for any sort of reason. In the beginning of the play, the people of Thebes are desperate to appease the god Apollo and rid the city of the plague it had fell under. After Oedipus discovers that he really did kill the previous king, his father, he exiles himself according to his own decree so that Apollo would be satisfied. The Greeks also believed in fate as designed by the gods and prophecies. Just as Oedipus was prophesied to kill his father and marry his mother, so he did, even though he tried to run away to prevent that fate. The Greeks view of humans, and heroes in particular, was that they were usually self-righteous, arrogant and prideful often to their own demise. Oedipus believed that he had beaten the prophesy by moving away from where he had been brought up and did not think twice about who he killed or who he married once in Thebes.

Heroism
Oedipus can be seen as a hero according to Greek standards. Oedipus was born of the king of Thebes and given to the king of a nearby kingdom. He performed the extraordinary feats of killing the monster of Thebes and ridding the city of the plague. The way he rid the city of the plague also makes him a hero as he inflicted exile upon himself, showing a nobleness in his character. All of his actions were noble except one, which was brought on by his pride. He had assured himself that he had beaten the prophesy and was thus blind that he had killed his father, the former king of Thebes, and married his mother, the queen of Thebes. Oedipus can be seen as the epitome of Greek heroes as he has all of the qualifications, most importantly, his fatal flaw.