Who is to blame for Oedipus downfall in the Sophocles?
Yes, within the context of the Ancient Greek worldview, Oedipus was responsible for his downfall, not to mention guilty of the destruction of the lives of those closest to him. Oedipus left Corinth when he a drunken man told him that he was not the son of King Polybus and Queen Merope. Highly disturbed by this revelation, he seeks the consul of the Delphi Oracle who further foretells that Oedipus will kill his father and marry his mother. To avoid such a fate, he leaves Corinth and sets out for Thebes. On his way there he meets an old man. Unknown to Oedipus, that man was his real father, Laius, King of Thebes. Oedipus enters into an altercation with the old man simply because, acting out of pride, he refuses to give him the right of way. The altercation leads to Oedipus’ killing the man – Lauis, his father. If we were to thik of this for one minute, we find that Oedipus is guilty of both pride and blindness. He knew that Polybus was not his father and, yet, at the first oportunity, he
