The Human Condition In Oedipus The King

The early days of Greek storytelling had incorporated the themes and lessons into the stories. One of the most common themes is the human condition. The human condition is a popular theme for the reason to relate an event or journey to anyone. A person can view this theme as a lesson or reflection to events in their own lives to prevent a horrible event or have their aristeia. Ego is one common human condition that is examined throughout Greek Myths which is Ego. Ego is the concept of what a person thinks of oneself compared to our people. Greek Myths show ego as the cause of human problems through the mythological characters obstructions in a journey. The human condition of ego and the effect is seen in Oedipus the King and the Odyssey.

His ego made him blur out every offer of advice and warning given to him to cure the plague and the pollution. One classic case was when Oedipus was given help by Teiresias, the oracle, and he mocked him for his answer and called him crazy. This line comes from the meeting between Oedipus and Teiresias; Oedipus said to Teiresias “I did not know you would speak so stupidly. If I had, you would have waited a long time before I called you here.” (Sophocles Lines 523- 525) This is caused by Teiresias telling Oedipus that he was the pollution of Thebes. The response given to Oedipus caused him to go mad and carry on like a child. Teiresias tells Oedipus that he marry his own mother and killed his father. That just threw Oedipus over the edge and started calling Teiresias crazy because he didn’t like the answer. His ego got in the way because Oedipus didn’t believe Teiresias that he was the problem. He wanted the answer that would help him, but instead he blames Teiresias. If Oedipus understood that he was the problem and he should go away, he would have had saved himself from that the awful ending he had. This is another example how his ego got in the way and made him interpreted the facts around him