A tragic hero is essentially a character in a story that evokes emotion from the reader; specifically pity and fear. Also commonly found, tragic heroes are characters in high places that fall from grace due to a personal flaw; and, regardless of consequences, the character takes responsibility for their actions, thus solving the conflict through self-sacrifice. By these standards, the title character of Sophocles' "Oedipus the King" is the epitome of the archetypal tragic hero.
             The play begins set in the ancient Greek kingdom of Thebes. Here, Oedipus is the king. This would make him in one of, if not the, highest social position there is, thus fulfilling the first characteristic commonly found in tragic hero's.
             In the course of the first act, it is revealed to the reader that their is a plague on the land. Oedipus the king orders a messenger, Creon, his brother in-law, to ask the oracle how to lift the plague. The solution to lifting the plague from the land is to find a particular murderer in the land, then either killing him or exiling him from the land; which Oedipus vows to uphold. The Lord Theresias, a seer, is sent for to determine the identity of this transgressor. Theresias accuses Oedipus of being the killer they seek, which Oedipus initially denies.
             Through a series of events, it is proven that Oedipus is the true killer. The conditions under which the murder occurred are revealed: Twenty years ago, when Oedipus, though not king of Thebes, but a son of a king of a different land, came to an intersection of roads on foot, he encountered, unbeknownst to him, the current king of Thebes in a chariot. The chariot forced Oedipus off the road, and in turn, damaged his pride. To add to that, as the chariot passed, the king hit Oedipus with his scepter. Being a proud man, this enraged Oedipus, so as revenge, he killed the king and almost his entire party. His pride is what brings his ev...