Therefore, O mighty power, we turn to you: find us our safety, find us a remedy, whether by counsel of the gods or of men. A king of wisdom tested in the past can act in a time of troubles, and act well. Noblest of men, restore life to your city! Think how all men call you liberator for your boldness long ago; A when your years are remembered, let them not say we rose, but later fell - keep the State from going down in the storm! Once, years ago, with happy augury, you brought us fortune; be the same again! (Literature 1019)

said the priest when looking to Oedipus to save the city from the plague. Right here it is seen that the people of Thebes rely on and look to Oedipus for safety in times of need. Also, the quote shows that the people of Thebes even give godlike qualities to Oedipus by saying "by the counsel of the gods or of men". The words used to describe Oedipus such as liberator, noblest of men, boldness, and mighty power again show that the people of Thebes look to Oedipus with the utmost respect. The people of Thebes considered Oedipus the keeper of the city and he even referred to people as his children on many occasions. Aristotle also says that the tragic hero is great because of qualities of passion or aspiration or nobility of mind. In Oedipus's case, it was his nobility of mind and his ability to solve the riddle of the Sphinx that made him great in the eyes of the people. Oedipus is a man of noble stature, a king, in the play Oedipus Rex and therefore falls into the tragic hero category.

In addition to being a man of noble stature, Oedipus also is a tragic hero under the definition of Aristotle because his fall is a result of an act of injustice through ignorance. Oedipus proved to be a "good" man throughout his life. When he hears that he is destined to kill his father and bare children with his mother, he does what ever he can to stay away from the city of Corinth where his parents live, in order to avoid the fate. That is a "good" thing of Oedipus to do considering he had to leave the city that he grew up in and that he would never see his parents again. Also, Oedipus is a good man because of the way he treats his people. When confronted with the problem of the plague, he shows the utmost concern for his people both through his words and actions. He says that he will do anything for the people and he talks about how much he would like to protect them. His actions show that he is concerned with his people because he quickly sends messengers out to get any help that might be possible. As for his fall because of an act of ignorance, that is what the play is about. While trying to avoid his fate by traveling away from Corinth, Oedipus was confronted by some men on the road who ordered him to get off the road. When he did not comply, there was a scuffle and Oedipus ended up killing all of the men. Unaware that he had just killed the King of Thebes, his own father, the ignorant Oedipus then went on to solve the riddle of the Sphinx and later became king of Thebes, producing four offspring with the queen. Although he did not know it until many years later, it was indeed the "good" Oedipus who killed his father and had children with his mother. If Oedipus would have known his true parents, he probably wouldn't have had the same fate, but it was ignorance which enabled him to commit such crimes. Oedipus is a good man who committed an act, or rather acts, of injustice through ignorance.

Not only is Oedipus a tragic hero because he is a good man who committed an act of injustice through ignorance, but he is also a tragic hero because his down fall is own fault. Some people might say that the gods sentenced him to his awful fate,' that there is no way that Oedipus was at fault in his downfall. Although fate definitely played a part in Oedipus's actions, it was he himself who made the decisions that ultimately led to his demise. Once he heard that he was destined to kill his father and marry his mother, he ignorantly though that his real parents were the king and queen of Corinth and he fled Corinth forever. After he left Corinth, he had the run-in with the men where the three roads met and unknowingly killed his father. First of all, he didn't have to leave Corinth. At no time during the play does the oracle say that if Oedipus left Corinth that he would be freed from his fate. He took matters into his own hands and tried to elude his fate by fleeing Corinth. Also, he did not have to kill a man in the scuffle, let alone all of them. The way that he told the story, it sounded like he did it out of pure anger. Oedipus told the story of the killings:

The groom leading the horses forced me off the road at his lord's command; but as the charioteer lurched over towards me I struck him in my rage. The old saw me and brought his double goad down upon my head as I came abreast. He was paid back, and more! Swinging my club in this right hand I knocked him out of his car, and he rolled on the ground. I killed him. I killed them all. (Literature 1039)

Even many years later, Oedipus tells the story with rage. The exclamation point at the end of the sentence where he says that he paid the man back shows that he was in pure rage. Also he even admits that it was done out of rage. The rage that is shown by Oedipus is his own fault. Despite the fact that fate played a role in Oedipus's downfall, he is a tragic hero because it was(~Who was mainly responsible for the crimes that led to his destruction.

Along with being a tragic hero because Oedipus's actions were his own fault, he is also what Aristotle defines as a tragic hero because his misfortune is not wholly deserved. The reason that Oedipus's misfortune is not fully deserved goes back to the fact that Oedipus was ignorant his entire life that the punishment and suffering that Oedipus goes through exceed the crimes he committed. Oedipus did kill his father, but realistically if he would have known that the man was his father, he wouldn't have killed his own father. In fact, if Oedipus would have known who his real parents were he wouldn't have even left Corinth in the first place. Also, if Oedipus would have known that the queen he was to marry and have children with was his mother, he would have never become king. Marrying your mother and having children with her is a crime that was fiercely looked down on during that time period. Even Oedipus himself shamefully looked down on the action of sleeping with his mother. "To have been the man they call his mother's husband! Oh accurst! O child of evil, to have entered that wretched bed - the self same one!" (Literature 1054), said Oedipus. It is clearly evident that Oedipus is aware of the severity of such a crime and he is very disgusted with himself "O marriage, marriage! The act that engendered me, and again the act performed by the son in the same bed - Ah, the net of incest, mingling fathers, brothers, sons, with brides, wives, mothers: the last evil that can be known by men: no tongue can say how evil!'(Literature 105), said Oedipus when talking about his incest. Once again, the audience is presented with the feeling of just how severe and how looked down on such a crime is. With Oedipus's crimes being done out of complete ignorance, Oedipus should not have got such a severe punishment because if he was not ignorant, he wouldn't have committed such crimes. Also, the crimes that Oedipus committed were not as severe as the punishment he received. It turns out that Oedipus would have been better off with death. Oedipus ends up as a blind exile who cannot face a man, the love of his life kills herself, and his children are essentially left as orphans. Oedipus even finds himself wishing that he would have died as a baby so that he wouldn't have had to endure the suffering that he did. Death would have been an easier punishment by far. What is life without the elements that make up life? By the end of the play there is no life left in Oedipus and that is what he is left with. This punishment is one of ultimate suffering. Therefore, Oedipus's punishment was not wholly deserved and he is a tragic hero because of it.

Besides being a tragic hero whose punishment was not wholly deserved, Oedipus is also a tragic hero because his fall is not pure loss; his fall involves an increase of selfknowledge. Throughout the play, Oedipus is lacking the knowledge of who his real parents are. Also, Oedipus is stuck with the prophecy that he will eventually kill his father and marry his mother. The combination of these two things lead to changes in Oedipus's actions which lead him to actions that lead to his downfall. Basically, what it comes down to is that Oedipus was blind, figuratively, his entire life. It must be tough to live an entire lifetime without having full self-awareness and self-knowledge. Although the resolution of the play was the complete downfall of Oedipus, he did gain the knowledge that he was blind to reality his entire life. At the end of the play, Oedipus learns who his parents are, what he did to and with them, and who he really was. According to Aristotle, this acquisition of self knowledge qualifies Oedipus as a tragic hero.

All tragedies have a tragic hero, including Oedipus in the play Oedipus Rex. But what is a tragic hero? There are many definitions of a tragic a hero, but that of Aristotle follows Oedipus the closest. Aristotle's definition of a tragic hero contains a set of guidelines that are parallel with the character of Oedipus. "Aristotle's" tragic hero must be a man of noble stature (usually a king or a prince), is good and his fall results from an act of injustice through ignorance, his downfall is his own fault, his misfortune is not wholly deserved, and finally the tragic fall is not pure loss, it results in a gain of some self-knowledge for the character. Throughout the play, Oedipus follows these guidelines and clearly emerges as the tragic hero. By definition of Aristotle, Oedipus is the tragic hero in Oedipus Rex because he is a noble man, he is good, but commits an act of injustice through ignorance, his downfall is his own fault, his misfortune is not wholly deserved, and because his tragic fall is not one of pure loss.