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Oedipus and Tiresias: Character Analysis

Introduction

Comparatively, the characters Tiresias and Oedipus in Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, one of

ancient Greece’s most notable tragedies, serve as converging points in the play. Unfortunately,

Oedipus slays his father Laius early in his life and because of his lack of knowledge over the

identity of his birth parents, ends up wedding his mother Jocastra. Tiresias’ role in the play is as

the bearer of bad news where his gift as a prophet of Apollo gives him insight on the identity of

his parents. This shot essay aims to identify the similarities and differences between Tiresias and

Oedipus in the play. Ultimately it intends to display how despite Tiresias’ blindness and

Oedipus’ possession of both eyes, Oedipus is blind to the world due to lack of knowledge while

Tiresias is aware of his surroundings due to his special insight because of his connection to

Apollo.

Analysis

As an illustration on the manner in which prophesy differed between the two characters,

the power of sight verses prophesy was used to serve as the determinative factor in the play. It is

important to realize that Oedipus’ blindness ruled his life. From the outset, his origins are hidden

from him. In Thebes, plagues rip the city apart and the knowledge he derives from a priest
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indicates to him that the people of the city are in danger. The priest begs Oedipus to save the city

and “Rule our land…but rule a land of the living not a wasteland.”(Meyer, p. 1301). The irony of

the play is that Oedipus is blind to the cause of their tribulations: they pray to Apollo, god of

prophesy and healing, to give them a savior as well as heal their beloved city. Apollo instead

gives them the cause of their pain and suffering in the form of Oedipus (Meyer, p. 1300). As

Apollo commands, “…pay the killers back, whoever is responsible.” (p. 1303). The corruption

that Apollo gives to Creon is Oedipus himself who is blind to his misdeeds: he not only kills his

father but he sleeps with his mother.

Prophesies

It is important to realize that the influence of prophesy in Oedipus Rex is great in that it

not only provides the tempest for the plot but also guides the lives of the characters. The two

characters in the play are prophets in that their actions and prophesies allow them to direct the

plot of the play. Oedipus delivers a curse on the unknown perpetrator of the crime, consigning

himself to suffering. As worded in the text, Oedipus calls upon the same curse to harm him in the

off chance that the king’s murderer happened to be a member of the royal house and under his

wing. As he stated:

“I curse myself as well…if by any chance

He proves to be an intimate of our house,

Here at my hearth, with my full knowledge,

May the curse I just called down on him strike me!” (Meyer, p. 1307).

It is for this reason that the paper posits that Oedipus’ powers of prophesy are not as

guided as Tiresias’ since he has no special relationship to Apollo. While on the one hand
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Apollo’s ire at the patricide and incest causes him to actualize the curse Oedipus conveys upon

himself, the fact that the prophesy of the murder was made long before Oedipus reached

manhood displayed the manner in which Oedipus’ fate was sealed. It is this speial knowledge

that allows Tiresias to act the wise man while leaving Oedipus in darkness as deep as Tiresias’

blindness. As a result, Oedipus suffers the knowledge of his father’s death and his relationship to

his mother. He gouges out his eyes because they did not aid him with sight and the man suffers

as his curse foretold.

It is important to realize that Tiresias’ own role in the play is minimal yet crucial. He

provides the characters and the audience with the link and motivation for the suffering the people

experience. Tiresias acts out of the position of knowledge in that his relationship to Apollo gifts

him with sight. His response to Oedipus is riddled with truths, insights and revelations for he

makes the king aware of his blindness. As he claims:

“…you with your precious eyes

You’re blind to the corruption of your life

To the house you live in, in those you live with-

Who are your parents?” (p. 1311)

To Tiresias, Oedipus’ sight is useless to the man since it does not aid his kingship. Oedipus seeks

the answers to the riddle of Thebes’ suffering when all he has to do is look to himself. As a

result, Tiresias’ last act of service to Oedipus comes in the form of another riddle. Upon his
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departure, he delivers a final clue as to the reason Thebes suffers and does this in the form of a

riddle:

“…brother and father both

To the children he embraces…son and husband both…he spilled his father’s blood…” (p. 1313).

Conclusion

“…you are fated to couple with your mother, you will bring a breed of children into the

light no man can bear to see-you will kill your father” (p. 1321).

These ill-fated words spark the intelligence within Oedipus. Oedipus, esteemed for his insight

and intelligence, realizes his blindness and the cruel fate the gods played upon him. The old

prophesy, retuning to haunt the king, resonates with Tiresias’s final words of parting. Under

those circumstances, Oedipus is left with no option but to abase himself before the will of the

gods. He realizes that his arrogance in esteeming the power and independence of men brought

him to the attention of the gods and for this suffered their wrath. Oedipus ends up gouging his

eyes due to the shame and anguish of his life. Ultimately the play displays how Oedipus, wisest

of men, is laid low by his lack of knowledge. The prophesy which hounded his life are

unavoidable and result in casting him in a life of pain and suffering.

In contrast, Tiresias’ effectiveness as a prophet is offset by his knowledge and insight

into the workings of the gods. Owen in Drama of Sophocles attempts to claim that Tiresias acts

as the true prophet in the play, however, he merely serves as the gods’ messenger. While his

deliveries are accurate and full of meaning to those in the know: his role is no more than that of a
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messenger, telling rather than foretelling. Granted that, it is difficult to credit Tiresias with

wisdom and the gift of prophesy and we leave him with nothing more that the position of an

oracle. In contrast, Oedipus’ own role as a prophet is more powerful and real. He acts from a

position of ignorance yet delivers prophesy that fate acted to materialize. Unlike Tiresias,

Oedipus has no special relation to the gods other than his piety. However, his curse proves true

as they resonate with prophesies cast by other men earlier on in the play. Both men thus deliver

the messages of the gods, albeit one of them through ignorance. In this we thus conclude that

Oedipus’ role as a prophet in the play is greater as his prophesies provide the plot with a greater

emphasis than that of Tiresias.

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Works Cited

Sophocles. "Oedipus the King." Meyer, Michael. THE BEDFORD INTRODUCTION TO

LITERATURE. Seventh. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2005.

Owen, E.T. ‘Drama in Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannus’, in O’Brien 30-40, The University of

Toronto Quarterly X :47-55, 1968.