The Riddle

Sophocles' Oedipus Rex (the King) is a tragic play that discusses the discovery of Oedipus that he has killed his father and married his mother. Oedipus is the embodiment of the perfect Athenian. He is self-confident, intelligent, and strong willed. Ironically these are the very traits which bring about his tragic discovery. Oedipus gained the rule of Thebes by answering the riddle of Sphinx. Sophocles used the riddle of the sphinx as a metaphor for the three phases of Oedipus' life and to further characterized him as a tragic man.

The Sphinx posed the following riddle to all who came to obtain the rule of thebes: "What is it that walks on 4 feet and 2 feet and 3 feet and has only one voice, when it walks on most feet it is the weakest?" Oedipus correctly answered "Man" and became the king of Thebes. This riddle is a metaphor for the life of Oedipus. As a child man crawls on his hands and knees this is the four feet to which the Sphinx refers. Also man is at his weakest as a small child. He depends solely on others for his nourishment and well being. Oedipus was the child of Jocasta and King Laius who was ta

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By becoming king of Thebes he marries Jocasta the Queen of thebes and his own mother. He is very dilligent in the inquiriy and finally comes to the horrible truth that he himself is the murderer. Also, the god apollo did not predestine that Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother by the oracle, he only stated what he knew was inevitable because of who Oedipus was.

Man walks on 2 feet when he has matured. Oedipus meets up with a band of travelers and in a rage kills them. Sophocles used this to characterized Oedipus as a tragic man for he came about his tragic discovery not because of an evil act or an evil trait but because of the person he was. Oedipus uses the same intelligence and perseverence to find the killer of Laius. Oedipus was the weakest of his life at this point. Many years later after bearing children with Jocasta a plague kills many of the inhabitants of Thebes. Also in answering the riddle Oedipus brought about his own tragic ending by a horrible discovery. He calls the shepard and interrogates him till he discovers the horrifying truth that he is the killer. Inadvertently Oedipus has killed his own father. This fulfills the final part of the Sphinx's riddle for Oedipus will have to walk with a cane for the rest of his life because of his blindness, this will give him the 3 feet which man walks with at the end of his years. Oedipus is told by the gods to find the killer of Laius.

Approximate Word count = 757
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

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