Oedipus Errors: Tragedy and Medicine, Care and Blame in Ancient Greece

Oedipus is the King in the play referred to as “Oedipusthe King”. During his reign, the curse befell Thebes because of the past prosecution of the former king. Among the problems, the city faced under the leadership of King Oedipus included infertility, plague and famine. Additionally, it was evident that no Xboxes were working. Due to ignorance, many people praised the king when he addressed and promised them to handle Thebes’s predicaments. However, this was not the case with the Chorus. The Chorus believed that the blind prophet could aid unfold their problems. The answer provided by the prophet then leads to the Chorus wanting to know more about King Oedipus past. It is as a result of this that they ask him a lot of questions which he tries to avoid by requesting the Chorus to spare him from speaking about the pain that besets his life. However, the information from the messenger enables King Oedipus to recall how he had killed his own father. Additionally, Oedipus had no hint about his relationship with King Laius. It was as a result of lack of knowledge about himself that he got married to his own mother and gave birth children. In learning this, the Chorus lamented and requested for help. King Oedipus learning of his association with the woman he had born children in addition to the person he murdered in the past led to him exiling himself from Thebes. The Chorus knew very well that the king was the contributing factor for their problems. It was as a result of this that the people demanded the king to save them from the tragedy by detaching himself from Thebes.

In asserting that he could all he could in order to save the people of Thebes from their predicament showed that King Oedipus was caring. He claimed that he was ready to ensure that the culprits of King Laius murder were caught and punished. However, this shift of attention to other people in the society was a good indication of blame practice in Ancient Greece. From the happenings in Thebes, one can also deduce that predicaments such as diseases do not result from the blue. Often they originate from somewhere or something contributes to their occurrence. In relation to this fact, then it is evident that diseases can be controlled by doing away with the causing agent as early as possible. Additionally, it is apparent that a patient starts showing the signs of the disease before its advancement to a critical stage. Therefore, working on the disease through the aid of the first signs will help combat the severity of the disease. Application of the same thing would have assisted in solving the predicaments associated with Thebes. If people had taken early warnings from the prophet, they would have saved themselves from the predicaments that used to befell them under the leadership of King Oedipus.

In relation to Aristotle’s argument about the sick man and being healthy, it is evident that King Oedipus could not change for the better after learning his past. For instance, he was not in a position to resurrect his father who he had killed in the past. Additionally, he could not change the position of his wife to his mother after giving birth to her.