Preview

Oedipus Statesmanship Quotes

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
355 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Oedipus Statesmanship Quotes
In the play Oedipus by Sophocles, King Oedipus is nothing but a self diluted ruler who thinks too highly of himself. He calls the most respected and revered prophet in the land a liar and scam artist to his face "Say what you will. Whatever you say is worthless… Wealth, power, craft of statesmanship! Kingly position, everywhere admired!" just because Oedipus does not like what he has told him. The fact that he can not, and will not believe that he might have killed his father is strange, taking into fact what has happened in Oedipus's life. Having killed a known wealthy man and his servants during the same time as the former king of Thebes was killed and simply just ignores it seems very stubborn and ignorant. Also the fact the Oedipus
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Hubris In Oedipus The King
    • 1852 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Hubris In Oedipus The King

    Sophocles wrote Oedipus the King in the 5th century BCE, in contrast with the work of the Roman Ovid. The character of King Oedipus demonstrates his attitude of overconfidence from the beginning, as he speaks to the children outside his palace and introduces himself as, “I, Oedipus whom all men call the Great” (Oedipus the King 73). As a result of this hubris, he tries to defy the prophecies given by the gods, but he goes on to follow the prophecy as it was laid out and do exactly what he was most afraid of doing (Oedipus the King 83). The Oracle of Delphi gives him the prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother, but his overconfidence convinces him that he can overcome this; instead of taking the advice of the prophet Teiresias, he attacks Teiresias in anger over the prophecy (Oedipus the King 80-81, 86). He embarks on an adventure towards Thebes from Corinth, and on his way, he kills an old man and marries the queen of Thebes (Oedipus the King 105), completely unaware that in doing so, he is fulfilling the prophecy. Throughout the story, his pride shines through both his actions and his attitude, as he attempts to prove that he knows more and is more powerful than the prophet, stating, “it has no strength for you because you are blind in mind and ears as well as in your eyes…You life is one long night so that you cannot hurt me or any…

    • 1852 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Of Mice and Men Character Description Essay Example
    • 353 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Of Mice and Men Character Description Essay Example

    Further information: Candy is an old handyman, aging and has only one hand most probably because of an accident. With only one hand he would most probably not be very useful around the ranch. As he has aged his dog has aged also once an impressive sheep herder and now a worn out dog. Candy seems like a friendly character that doesn't like getting into trouble and understands the ranch very well, meaning he has been there for quite a while. From what he says he doesn't seem too happy in the ranch and probably has hopes of owning a farm like George and Lennie.…

    • 353 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Odysseus Quotes
    • 844 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Odysseus Quotes

    He drew to his fist the cruel head of an arrow for Antinous just as the young man leaned to lift his beautiful drinking cup, embossed, two-handled, golden: the cup was in his fingers: the wine was even at his lips: and did he dream of death? How could he? In the revelry amid his throng of friends who would imagine a single foe- though a strong foe indeed- could dare bring death’s pain on him and darkness in his eyes? (Homer, line 1412, page 1009)…

    • 844 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus Intellect Quotes
    • 923 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Oedipus Intellect Quotes

    In his novel Brave New World, Aldous Huxley uses intellect as both the rise and fall of John the Savage. The ‘Savage' enters civilization and instantly becomes somewhat of a celebrity because of his knowledge of the outside world. He learns quickly of the conformist society, and is eventually disgusted by what he sees. Shortly after his arrival in civilization, John the Savage is internally torn apart by his knowledge and eventually commits suicide. Oedipus the Play is somewhat parallel to Brave New World – Sophocles also uses intellect as the hero's fatal flaw. In Oedipus the Play, there are three great polarities: fame and shame, sight and blindness, and ignorance and insight. These polarities are intertwined with Oedipus' reliance on intellect, and all contribute to his downfall. Throughout his search for identity, Oedipus experiences the great polarities that reflect his reliance on intellect as both his greatest…

    • 923 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus Leadership Analysis
    • 449 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Oedipus Leadership Analysis

    At the beginning of the play, Oedipus exhibits strong leadership qualities. King Oedipus solved a past problem by defeating the Sphinx. Doing so the people of thebes went straight to him to try to solve the next problem in the city. Oedipus asks the people of thebes what the new problem is. ”what is it my children?”(1) trying to be a strong leader he accepts. Oedipus was destined to find out who was laius’s murderer. Oedipus asks apollo's oracle for the answers to his problem. ”I command you to do first for me!”(2) oedipus is fully motivated to solve the mystery and once again be the hero. Oedipus listens to the oracle and does not want to believe it.…

    • 449 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Did The Watergate Scandal
    • 469 Words
    • 2 Pages

    How Did The Watergate Scandal

    I would say that the first event that lead to the Watergate Affair, was the break-in at the Democratic Party Headquarters, at the Watergate apartment complex, in Washington, D.C., in June 19721. The break-in was lead by five former employees of President Nixon’s reelection committee, and to this day, no one knows for sure what the burglars were actually looking for. The police would end up being called, and all five members were arrested1. As their trial proceeded in 1973, two investigative journalists of the Washington Post, began to reveal that the break-in had been sponsored by someone very close to the President, and had then tried to “cover-up” the whole ordeal1. Congressional hearings that followed, also revealed that Nixon, who has also been described as a paranoid, and secretive, person to begin with, had made recordings of conversations in his office…

    • 469 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus and David Denby
    • 1168 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Oedipus and David Denby

    Sophocles gives him all this freedom to roam and go about his doing’s that in his own mind are the right things. Which in fact are the opposite because of the information that he doesn’t know. Moving forward upon what Oedipus’s knowledge is the right thing to do is actually in tern leading him to his demise. I believe Oedipus was cheated a very huge proportion due to the fact that he had no prior information about his father or his mother. About who he was and was acting mostly towards a prophecy that was fated to him. Oedipus’s life wouldn’t be a whole lot if he wasn’t trying to move up in life but how can he stand there not fighting back at the fact that the guilt and burden shouldn’t be all on his shoulders. There are many other people to blame like his father because of the actions and choices he made. His mother…

    • 1168 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Leadership In Oedipus The King
    • 1447 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Leadership In Oedipus The King

    Although ruling with an iron ego, Oedipus has the admirable qualities that a leader of any place would and should possess; he has a deep devotion to the Theban population, “whose fame all men acknowledge” (Sophocles, 8). At the outset of the play, Oedipus’ intentions were honorable; he was determined to find Laius’ murderer and went to such lengths to end the plague on his people. His intentions were there and good. As a man of such noble status, he was dedicated to his people. Despite his dedication and apparent likability, it is his immense pride that disallows him from seeing his true nature: a hot-tempered, proud and cocky individual who ends up, in a paradox, blind as he “sees” the truth that he murdered his own father and has married and procreated with his mother, however unaware of that fact he was. Even in seeing his own truth, no pun intended, Oedipus begs for exile as a way to escape his cursed family; he asks his brother-in-law Creon to protect his daughters/half-sisters Antigone and Ismene in a move of selflessness counteracting his normally proud…

    • 1447 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus Selfish Quotes
    • 1428 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Oedipus Selfish Quotes

    How does Oedipus treat those who are reluctant to obey him throughout the play? What does this tell you about his character?…

    • 1428 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Tragic Hero In Oedipus The King
    • 610 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Tragic Hero In Oedipus The King

    Oedipus Rex displays an error in judgement by escaping the Corinth prophecy, believing that Teiresias is lying about the prophecy, and also believing that Creon is only there to doom him. By escaping the Corinth prophecy Oedipus still kills his father, Polybus, by being alive. The Prophecy was true. That’s why Oedipus was sent away at only two days old to be left alone on top of a mountain so he could die and Polybus remain king. Teirsias comes to Oedipus and tries to explain that the prophecy is still true and tries to get it out of him, that he is his father’s murderer. Oedipus states “Old man, I did not wish to kill my father” kind of realizng…

    • 610 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus The King: A Tragic Analysis
    • 1506 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Oedipus The King: A Tragic Analysis

    According to Adade-Yeboah, Ahenkora, and Amankwah (2012), “Tragedy is of action and not character as Aristotle puts it” (p. 10). Therefore, Oedipus’ tragedy deals with his ignorance and not his character. Oedipus is ignorant in the fact that he does not realize he is committing patricide or incest (Adade-Yeboah et al., 2012, p. 11). Oedipus grows up knowing two opposite people that he thought were his parents, which leads to him killing his biological father and marrying his biological mother. Oedipus then goes on to search for his biological father’s killer and soon realizes that it was he himself who committed the atrocious acts toward his family. He came to this realization after it was revealed to him by an oracle. Originally, Oedipus believes that the man he originally kills is only just a shepherd, when in return it is his biological father. According to Greenburg (2012), “Oedipus has been told, and has come to believe, that at the end of his life and in death he will have the power to protect the city that has taken him and buried him” (p. 52). Oedipus maintains the belief that things will always be the way he knew them to be and he would be in charge of the city he knew and loved. He maintains this belief until an oracle reveals his misfortune. At first, Oedipus and his wife (biological mother) refuse to believe that what they were told is true. According to…

    • 1506 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Organizational Structure
    • 1074 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Organizational Structure

    The reporting structure is a very important tool in an organization. This structure is a chart that serves as a roadmap of management levels and positions. Every business has a chain of command and it is structured uniquely, depending on the organization. The structure of an organization, if not built correctly can destroy the organization just like a building with poor architecture. The blueprints clarify and build a strong foundation in which to grow or build an organization. Chipotle is a Mexican Grill Restaurant in the fast food industry that started out with one location in Colorado back in 1993. Today it has just more than 1,400 locations in the United States, Canada, England, and France. The structure of this organization has had to change and adapt to the growth of the business over time. Like a majority of businesses and organizations the vertical organizational structure is similar with multiple levels of hierarchy. At Chipotle, the top of the pyramid is fulfilled by the board of directors whom have the ultimate responsibility of making decisions for the entire company (Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., 2010). At the bottom of the pyramid there are the store managers, assistants, shift managers, and employees completing the everyday operational tasks that brings in the money. Between these two levels there are district and regional managers seeing over the many locations spread out across America and beyond.…

    • 1074 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Truth In Oedipus The King
    • 1156 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Truth In Oedipus The King

    Oedipus believes that he is married to a woman he has no relation to, and that the parents he left behind are in fact his own. Teiresias, no longer willing to allow Oedipus to be blind says, " he shall be proved father and brother both to his own children in his own house; to her that gave him birth, a son and husband both; a fellow sower in his father's bed with the same father he murdered" (535- 539). Oedipus himself was ignorant to the fact that he married his mother and then is by blood the father and brother to his children. Regardless to the fact that, Oedipus is unaware of such circumstances they are still the true. In fact ignorance can not inhibit truth from being true. There is only so long Oedipus could be blind to the facts in front of him before he is truly able to see. After Teiresias' words Oedipus begins to question his wife, Jocasta, about her previous husband's murder. All she says leads him to fear that in fact he killed him. Jocasta mentions a shepherd who was still alive that witnessed the murder, so Oedipus decides that in order to figure out if he was the murder he would question the Shepard. In refrence to questioning the shepherd, Oedipus says to Jocasta, "I'll tell you; if I find that his story is the same as yours, I at least will be clear of this guilt" (974-975). Oedipus has guilt inside himself because he is aware that he killed the king. His…

    • 1156 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Sophocles Quotes From Oedipus The King
    • 809 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Sophocles Quotes From Oedipus The King

    Once the shepherd had delivered his account of my birth origin, I felt as though I could’ve been ill. “Oh, Oh, Oh, they will all come, all come out clearly! Light of the sun, let me look upon you no more after today! I who first saw the light bred of a match accursed and accursed in my living with them I lived with, cursed in my killing.” (Sophocles 19)…

    • 809 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Oedipus the King
    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Oedipus the King

    In the polis of Thebes, Oedipus was the not only the king but he was also the hero of the community. The security and health of the community depended on him and he was expected to meet every urgent crisis with a plausible solution. He was celebrated for acting decisively and making decisions and then acting on them. With all his past accomplishments and achievements, Oedipus developed a strong sense of confidence, which fueled his over inflated ego. Unfortunately, when circumstances did not turn out in his favor, such as in his conflict with Tiresias the blind prophet, Oedipus became rigid and refused to see the problem on any one else’s terms except his own. Oedipus only wanted things to go the way he thought they should go. Whatever stood in his way he tried to overcome publicly and without any compromise from the opposing party, which was illustrated in his argument in front of the palace with Creon over the murder of the former King Laius. Ultimately his attitude of confidence with no compromises contributed to his disastrous and sad end. In most cases, intelligence and diligence are valuable traits to possess, but for Oedipus they contributed to his eventual downfall. Oedipus was known for being extremely intelligent and was very talented at solving riddles. To earn the right to be King of Thebes, Oedipus solved a riddle, which as a result…

    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics