Oedipus Tyrannus

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Oedipus Tyrannus
Introduction
Oedipus Tyrannus is a prominent king of the Greek Empire, and his entire life is full of misery and tragedy. The tragedy centers on the Greek culture in Athens. This play revolves around a ruler or king in the Greek empire. Also, it revolves a king who married his mother and killed his father. He was described as a tyrant because of the many ills that he committed that were inhuman. Sophocles play is a prolific literary work that is characterized by a plague that attacks the city leading to many deaths. The king also misbehaves by committing incest with his mother. Jocasta, his mother, commits suicide because of the frustrations with the king who happens to be his son. Although fate may have contributed the king’s downfall, it was his free will to fall. The king is also heroic to some extent because of some of the actions he did.
Oedipus king as tragic and heroic
Oedipus Tyrannus prepared the ground for his downfall. It was his free will to fail. He charted his destiny regarding his life which was characterized by numerous pitfalls. Oedipus led a catastrophic life, and he never enjoyed the trappings of power that comes with being a great leader such as a king (Segal 25). He had numerous mishaps with his parents since he was a young child. Though it had been prophesied regarding some of his failures, he immensely contributed to most of them. Oedipus Tyrannus tried to avoid some of his mishaps to no avail.

King Oedipus rule in the Greek Empire was characterized by cruelty, frailty, evil, and other numerous errors that negatively affected people either directly or indirectly. King Oedipus tragic flaws mainly contributed to his downfall from the helm of the Greek Empire (Grene 20). As a tragic hero, his actions aroused emotions of pity and fear among the people. His moral disposition makes people regret about his ability to lead. Oedipus Tyrannus wasted precious time while struggling to come out from one scandal to the other.
The life of King Oedipus was full of evil and misery. It is quite challenging to know whether it was by fate or design. Frankly speaking, Oedipus Tyrannus did not have an easy time to rule. One scandal led to another and this significantly hampered his ruling. His many controversies that dotted his administration make one feel like he was a doomed leader to fail in his ruling (Grene 34). King Oedipus was an ill-fated leader who struggled to steer his ship. King Oedipus would lose his parents at such a tender age. This made his upbringing to be quite challenging and a struggle. His hardened life as a challenge was a significant contributor to who he became when he rose to be a king.
However, it was not all doom for the king as he demonstrated some excellent qualities as a leader. In the play, King Oedipus in his capacity is a king to behold. He has a tremendous individual personality that makes him admirable to his peers and the public at large. Oedipus Tyrannus was highly concerned regarding the welfare of his people (Segal 11). When the city was invaded by a dangerous plague, he came to the rescue of his people. The king saved them from the plague that was continuing to claim many lives. King Oedipus had excellent leadership qualities that were admirable. He could be described as a magnificent king who would solve all the issues concerning his people. The king addressed his people as his children, which was an excellent quality of a king. He had a respectable personality because he was dedicated to uplifting the welfare of his people.
Oedipus Tyrannus had good intentions throughout his life and ruling. Many misfortunes would follow him, but he would try to avoid them. Also, many of the evils that the king encountered were not of his own making but due to fate (Grene 9). He would try to avoid them but to no avail. Oedipus Tyrannus had an honest character, but the terrible prophecy would keep affecting him. The prophecy happened when he was a child. Therefore, even though it came to pass, it was not a problem of his making. He had tried to avoid it but did not manage. His character is so full of misfortunes that kept following him. He would try to avoid them, but fate would not allow it.
Conclusion
Conclusively, Oedipus Tyrannus is a prolific play that focuses on the ruling of King Oedipus of the ancient Greek empire. Oedipus Tyrannus is a prolific play regarding mainly the tragedy of King Oedipus. King Oedipus is regarded as a tragic hero and a nice hero because of what he did regarding his life. In fact, marrying his mother is considered as incest in the Greek empire. Even today, marrying a close relative is regarded as incest. King Oedipus happened to be a doomed ruler as his tenure was full of controversies. However, it is not all doom for Oedipus Tyrannus because there are things he did that are commendable. King Oedipus was a magnificent ruler who valued the welfare of his people. He wanted his people to live a better life. For example, when the city was invaded by the plague, he fought to ensure the dangerous plague was eliminated.
Works Cited
Grene, David. Sophocles: Oedipus the King, Chicago: University of Chicago, 2010.
Segal, Charles. Oedipus Tyrannus: Tragic Heroism and the Limits of Knowledge, London: Oxford University Press, 2001.