![]() ![]() Ultimately, however, Oedipus must pay the price for dismissing Teiresias' judgment and the Oracle's prophecy, as yet another reminder that the Gods are infinitely more powerful than men. Indeed, Oedipus' greatest sin appears to take place when he kills a man at a roadside in a fit of temper, suggesting that no deed goes unpunished. That said, Oedipus' hamartia is not always so clear - since it appears that his prideful sins occurred long before the start of the play. in this case, it's his pride, which allows him to disbelieve the Gods and hunt the source of a plague instead of looking inside himself. In line with most tragic 'heroes,' Oedipus has a clear hamartia - or tragic flaw - which precipitates his woeful fate. This echoes his name, which roughly translates as 'swollen-feet'. ![]() He has a 'tell-tale limp', a piercing wound in his ankles, made as a child by the father who exposed him. Soon he learns that it was he that put his kingdom at such terrible risk, and blinds himself using a brooch. He is unaware, at the start of the play, that he has murdered his father and slept with his mother. Oedipus is the king of Thebes, married to Jocasta. ![]()
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