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Hubris In Oedipus Rex

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Oedipus, a man fated from birth to kill his father and marry his mother, is the epitome of Aristotle’s tragic hero. The traits necessary to be a tragic hero are as follows: nobility and goodness, hamartia, hubris, peripeteia, anagnorisis, and catharsis. Prior to Sophocles’ play, Oedipus Rex, he saves the kingdom of Thebes from a sphinx, showing his goodness. This earns him not only the title of king, but also Iocaste as his wife. Right away, he demonstrates hubris by saying, “I know that you are deathly sick; and yet,/ sick as you are, not one as sick as I” (5). In his arrogance, he puts himself above the people, saying he is worse off than they are. He also shows hubris through his pride when he is accusing Teiresias of the murder of king

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