Even though Teiresius, a valid prophet, tells Oedipus that he killed Laius, his father and previous king, his pride and self-righteousness prevent him from seeing the truth that has been laid out for him. Teiresus says to Oedipus, "You are the curse, the corruption of the land!" (303). 405 B.C.E.).Specifically, Teiresias the blind prophet functions as a living library of all past, present and future knowledge. When a plague falls on Thebes and the only way to rid the city of it is to find the previous king's killer, he calls upon a prophet named Teiresias, who ironically has no physical sight but sees the truth clearly. Prophet is Teiresias role in 'Oedipus Rex' by Sophocles (495 B.C.E. Oedipus possesses physical sight, but is completely blind to the truth. Little did he know that this was not a mere coincidence. Blind to his past and to the power of prophecies, Oedipus killed a man and married a woman that was the exact age to be his mother. Tiresias reveals the fate (he will make himself blind) of Oedipus and his heinous sin (marrying to his mother) in hidden wordings blaming him responsible for murder and for this plague. In Thebes, Oedipus solves the riddle of the Sphinx, becomes king, blind to the fact that he has killed the previous one, and marries Jocasta. Oedipus became furious and declares that blind prophet and his brother-in-law, Creon, must be plotting against his throne. ![]() In his flight he makes the fated mistake of killing a man who he later finds out is his real father. After learning of the prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother, Oedipus flees to Thebes in an attempt to guarantee that the prophecy will never come true. His real parents, Laius and Jocasta, send him to be killed, but the shepherd asked to do this, instead gives him to another couple. This irony and the many forms of blindness that Sophocles gives his characters prove to be some of the most significant aspects in determining the outcome of the play. ![]() The rising activity of the play arises when a blind prophet is brought before the king. The oracle of Apollo tells Prince Creon that the plague is as a result of the killing of king Laius, who was the king of Thebes and whom King Oedipus predeceases. As the blind prophet Teiresias shows, one does not need vision to see the truth and just because a person has physical sight does not mean they can see what is right in front of them. Oedipus is caring such that he doesn’t want the people of Thebes to be tormented. Though many of the characters possess physical sight, their fates are sealed by their lack of intellectual sight. Blindness, though usually referred to as lacking the ability to see with one's eyes, can in other ways be equally, if not more detrimental to one's fate. One of the themes in Sophocles" Oedipus the King is the concept of sight.
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