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Unfolding The Truth In Oedipus Rex And Antigone By Sophocles

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In Greek Tragedies, the consequences of personal integrity and unfolding the truth can often lead to fatality. In Sophocles tradgic plays, ‘Oedipus Rex’ and ‘Antigone’, this is evident. The characters in these plays, all have weaknesses of their own and they suffer a type of downfall, which is a very prominent characteristic in a Greek Tragedy. At the beginning of these plays, the main characters especially, have a need to do the right thing. Yet, little do they know that this need to help people and discover the truth will eventually lead to the death of themselves or others. In the play “Oedipus Rex”, we witness how Oedipus is a man who is sure and confident in where and who he has come from. But as the play unfolds we see how Oedipus’ want for discovering the truth about who killed the former king leads to a detailed truth that perhaps Oedipus and the people of Thebes could have survived without unfolding it. At the beginning, we are introduced to a strong and wise man, who presents bravery and nobility towards us as readers and to the people of Thebes as he begins to discover who has murdered the former king of Thebes, Laius. We as readers know of his crimes and watch his discovery unfold. We see Oedipus for who he really is, before he even realizes what kind of a person he is underneath the noble man that everyone sees him as. We see him as a “king who does not know he is king, a son, father, husband, and brother, who is not merely son, father, husband and brother:

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